Doing better without studying?

[Frayo]

Im an accelerated economics class (I do financial school year-round because I am hard core).

And anyway- I've been making B's consistantly on all my exams and quizzes.

Well tonight I get smart and study, and then take the test...on the computer. I set out saying "Hey, I will do this and I will make an A because I studied!"

Finance is cool because I never had to study for it....it just flows into my head as it needs to. And tonight is an example why I just cant study finance.

I made a freaking 40.

I was all like "Yeah! I just read that it would be 2.441% and therefore the answer is 2.441%"...then to find out that it never even existed in the first place because the velocity of money wasnt such and such...and whatever...and I was all like "Man, that sucked."

I know others have this problem, so please vent....those of you who are in school...or remember school anyway. MAKE ME FEEL BETTER!

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[birdmadgirl]

I made the mistake of taking a couple of college classes with the husband. We'd have our books spread out every where and I'd actually be studying while he'd play air guitar, sleep, eat, try to pull my clothes off--you name it. He never cracked a book. I studied my arse off. Who do you think made better grades?

Him, dammit!

I'm still bitter.

Does that help?

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[Rubbeet921]

LOL, I was the kind of student who never liked to study! I always preferred the oral on-the-spot exam so I wouldn't have to "waste" time studying.

When I took the NCEE (National College Entrance Exam), I didn't bother studying, but funny enough, I became one of the Topnotchers! (there were 3 of us but since my surname starts in A, my name was right on Top![:D]).

Then, when I took the Nursing Board Exam (right after graduation), I also didn't enroll in a Review Center coz I hated the idea of a professor telling me things I already knew (I preferred to self-study so I could focus on my weak areas). Of course, my parents didn't know, so I had lots of money which was supposed to have been paid to the Review Center[8D]. I told them about it only after I passed.[:p]

[WolverineSyr]

I study my butt off. Going back to school after being out for 20 years, I've lost a lot of info along the way. I also am studying something with a pretty unfamiliar language for me - Biology.

I want A's and I work very hard for them. I've become one of those annoying people who get pissed at myself if I miss a question or two.

This wednesday we had a quiz on gene expression. I barely studied for it, was really freaked about taking the test, and was sure that I'd bomb it. I ended up missing only 2 questions. I don't know if I'm comfortable doing something like that again - but it does tell me that I don't necessarily have to spend 12 hours a week reading and rewriting notes. I'll still do it though...

I don't know how the younger people in the class do it. I'm onlly taking one course & I'm spending this much time on it - how do you manage 4 or 5 classes? I also see most of them could really give a crap about the grade. They show up for half the classes, miss labs, never hand in homework, didn't write a lab report, etc... That really frustrates me. I know 90% of the people in the class are only taking it because a science/lab is required for most majors & they thought Bio would be easy...and they're sadly mistaken.

I was venting to Manekineko one night about this & she said something that has had a huge impact on me & relieved all that frustration - "You're there to learn it, they're there to just get a grade - any grade."

Anyways - I have an A average - I'm very proud of that & I'm glad that I'm motivated to study so much. For anyone who may be older & is thinking of going back to school - do it! You've got such a different perspective & different work ethic.

[manekineko]

I'm so proud of you, Wolvy. And I'm totally not surprised at your good grades and dedication to your studies. I predict great success for you, my friend. Study as much as you think you need to. As you take more courses, you'll learn where you can slack off and where you need to study like crazy.

I am somewhere in the middle between studying and not studying. I must study--I can't just breeze through an exam without cracking a book. I always have good intentions of pacing my studying throughout the week, but I often procrastinate until the last minute and then pull a late nighter. The sense of urgency gives me a rush of energy, but it also really stresses me out, which does more harm than good, especially as I get older. But it always pays off in good grades (I graduated from college--six years ago--in the top 2% of my class), so my procrastination perpetuates itself. I'm seriously considering going back to school, and this time, I want to change how I study and not procrastinate so much.

Edit: In class I'm always "Question Girl". You know, the annoying geek who always speaks up in class, asking questions and clarifying the material, even challenging the instructor when I notice inconsistencies. The other students just sit there half dazed, daydreaming about who knows what, and I'm having this running dialogue with the instructor, while the other students roll their eyes at me. This is one great advantage of being an older student, because I don't buy into the authority relationship of PROFESSOR/student, where the student is expected to sit quietly and soak up like a sponge. I consider the instructor to be my peer, and I am not afraid to speak my mind. It's my education, I'm paying for it, so I want to get my money's worth!

BMG, your husband may have made better grades, but I bet you learned way more than he did. That's more valuable than an easy grade. And no way I could take a class with the husband--talk about stress!

Edit: Frayo--you've got one strange brain. No one's head just naturally has finance flowing through it. That's just not normal. [;)] Anyway, you're confusing the relationship between studying and your recent poor grade. Don't assume that your 40% was because you finally studied for once. And don't assume that your usual good grades are because you don't usually study. Your lack of studying will eventually come back to bite you in the ass. [:D]

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[Frayo]

I had to study a lot for accounting.

But when it came to cost-analysis and financial systems, It clicked. But when i started, I had to spend about 3 horus a night on it....just this year....its just not nearly as hard.

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/Rfrayo/nerd2-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a> "I ain't a-Frayo-No Ghost!!!"

[Mechi]

Well... I thought I was the studying type but when I've entered university I realised I'm not.
I have an exam today and I didn't study a thing for it... the thing is that I had two exams last week and I'm not in the mood for studying anymore. First, I had a killer calculus exam (which I passed with a pretty good mark). Then I had a Molecular Biology exam which was like 3 pages long of tasks that covered like 1000 topics. Now, I've got an exam on what I did in the Molecular Bio lab and I'm not really wanting to have to sit my ass for 3 long hours and write.And I love Molecular Biology, the thing is that I'm really tired and that things at my personal life haven't been easy lately.
Frayo, you'll do better... you are really smart.
Failing once does not mean anything.
I wish I was older cos I'd be more focused on my studies and less interested in partying.



I hope I do well... I'm going to univ right now.

http://spaces.msn.com/members/mechigc

[WolverineSyr]

[quote][i]Originally posted by Mechi[/i]

I wish I was older cos I'd be more focused on my studies and less interested in partying.
http://spaces.msn.com/members/mechigc
[/quote]

You have so many great partying years ahead of you, and so few great studying years. Maybe you can think of it like that? There will always be time to hang out & have fun through your entire life - but grabbing your education now and taking advantage of it at your age is a true gift.

Yeah, yeah - if someone said that to me at 19 I would have blown them off too! [:D]

[birdmadgirl]

[quote][i]Originally posted by WolverineSyr[/i]
<br>[quote][i]Originally posted by Mechi[/i]

I wish I was older cos I'd be more focused on my studies and less interested in partying.
http://spaces.msn.com/members/mechigc
[/quote]

You have so many great partying years ahead of you, and so few great studying years. Maybe you can think of it like that? There will always be time to hang out & have fun through your entire life - but grabbing your education now and taking advantage of it at your age is a true gift.

Yeah, yeah - if someone said that to me at 19 I would have blown them off too! [:D]
[/quote]

I agree with Wolver. I started college in 1992 and quit the semester before I should have graduated. I let life get in the way.

I went back in the fall of 2004 and finally graduated in May of 2005. It was the hardest thing I've ever done. I only thought trying to fit partying and studying in together was hard. Try taking 18 hours a semester, AND working full time, AND taking care of three kids--all of this while the husband was out of town 5 days/nights a week for work. I went for a year getting 3-4 hours of sleep each night. By the time I graduated, I had health problems. But I had to finish what I had started all those years before. I'm stubborn, if anything.

It would have been much easier to have just done it right the first time.

Finish while you are young, Mechi, before "life" gets in the way.

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[Frau_Blucher]

[quote][i]Originally posted by birdmadgirl[/i]
<br>I agree with Wolver. I started college in 1992 and quit the semester before I should have graduated. I let life get in the way.

I went back in the fall of 2004 and finally graduated in May of 2005. It was the hardest thing I've ever done. I only thought trying to fit partying and studying in together was hard. Try taking 18 hours a semester, AND working full time, AND taking care of three kids--all of this while the husband was out of town 5 days/nights a week for work. I went for a year getting 3-4 hours of sleep each night.
[/quote]
Wow, wow, wow!!! I find that to be completely amazing BMG. No way I could have done that. The thought of even being in college again actually makes me physically uncomfortable and emotionally upset. I just hated learning that way. Plus I was a huge slacker and partyer. I never studied and don't think I went to 1/5 of my classes and just squeeked out a degree. It caused me huge stress but I just couldn't bring myself to do anything about it. Very strange. I did great at labs and research and ended up learning most of my stuff that way.

I did end up with a post-graduate degree after finding something more interesting, but that was before kids, and besides, those post-grad things are usually much more interactive and investigational. Big kudos to BMG, Wolvie and anyone who can muster it now.

[My Aural Stimulator]

I have to study--there is no question. When I was in high school, I slacked off and barely graduated. So, upon my entrance of college, I decided that this was my choice. I studied like I never knew how, and I ended up graduating with a GPA that I never even knew I could achieve.

However, I am currently taking some classes needed to renew my teaching credential. Although the state of California is pleased with themselves with the theory of whatever it is I'm supposed to learn, the classes provide no benefit (educational or otherwise) other than my advancing on the pay scale. There's a participatory difference between going to school because one must, and receiving an education because one chooses to do so.

[KYYX4ever]

Heh,
I had a great time I college, but I wished I'd gotten better grades and "applied myself" better. My grades were OK, but I spent too much time partying and getting otherwise distracted.

In restrospect, I feel bad about it. I wish I had been more mature about actually learning. In HS, I was a straight-A student, in all the AP classes, and never had to study. College was another story ! I was unprepared--didn't realize how much time you REALLY WERE SUPPOSED to study & how many opportunities there were and which I should have taken advantage of. Not to mention socially--all those distractions! I had a fantastic time.

It'd be much better now, being older and wiser.

Graduate school ? I REALLY REALLY want to (and intend to), since I am fascinated by my field (Grammar & Linguistics). I just have to figure out how to afford it. I just paid off my student loans after 10 years and have no desire to do that again.

MAS, CA requires teachers to take classes to keep their certification current, huh? Most states do. Not here in NM, though. They can't pay for that ! Does CA pay for yours?

[Bitter Almonds]

[quote][i]Originally posted by Mechi[/i]
<br>Well... I thought I was the studying type but when I've entered university I realised I'm not.
I have an exam today and I didn't study a thing for it... the thing is that I had two exams last week and I'm not in the mood for studying anymore. First, I had a killer calculus exam (which I passed with a pretty good mark). Then I had a Molecular Biology exam which was like 3 pages long of tasks that covered like 1000 topics. Now, I've got an exam on what I did in the Molecular Bio lab and I'm not really wanting to have to sit my ass for 3 long hours and write.And I love Molecular Biology, the thing is that I'm really tired and that things at my personal life haven't been easy lately.
Frayo, you'll do better... you are really smart.
Failing once does not mean anything.
I wish I was older cos I'd be more focused on my studies and less interested in partying.



I hope I do well... I'm going to univ right now.

http://spaces.msn.com/members/mechigc
[/quote]

<p align="justify">Just wait until you have to take upper division physiology laboratory[:D] Hands-down, the hardest class I've ever taken but also one of the most rewarding. I can't say the same thing about genetics, though. I got a "D" in that class and chose not to retake it for fear I might do worse[xx(]

[iposse]

Here's my 2.441 cents worth...

As someone who's working during the day and going for my MBA at night, I've found that I don't always have the time to study as much as I'd like. But really--studying is only part of the equation. Of course, you do have to study, but I'm pretty sure you won't find a 100% correlation between the amount of time people study and their grade. And it's not because some people are "naturally smarter" than others (they aren't...)

What's more important is that you love the subject and have a real interest in learning it (as other posters have stated above). In other words, be an "active learner" and not a "passive learner." Unfortunately, I found myself falling into the second category as an undergrad. I probably studied more than anyone else, but the truth is, I had to because I would always zone out during lectures. And when I studied, a lot of things never stuck. I would try and try--and my brain just wouldn't comply. I would diligently rewrite notes, but I'd do it in almost zombie-like manner without thinking. As a result, my GPA was pretty lousy despite my herculean efforts. What made things sad was that I cared about my grades too. I had always wondered how a select few people could seemingly ace tests with minimal effort, and only later I realized that these people "studied" by actively listening to the professor in class, participating, asking questions, and even skimming parts of the book in advance. As a result, they didn't have to read chapters three or four times and struggle to memorize names, years, equations, graphs, or pathways like some people (me included). Heck, if you like the subject enough, you might even be able to figure things out without using the book (especially if you find yourself stuck with a crappy textbook that doesn't explain things right).

Fast forward, and I obliterated the GMAT and am getting straight A's (hopefully I don't jinx myself) in biz school because I'm making an effort to learn instead of simply "studying for tests." Think outside the book. Try to anticipate what questions the professor will ask the class during the next lecture so you can seem smart when you answer them. Go to Wikipedia and read more about concepts that you feel weren't covered too well in your classes or in the book. Contribute or edit those articles if they don't meet your high standards. Help other people out in class. The process of teaching them will reinforce what you already know.

[quote]Originally posted by Frayo
[br]I was all like "Yeah! I just read that it would be 2.441% and therefore the answer is 2.441%"...then to find out that it never even existed in the first place because the velocity of money wasnt such and such...and whatever...and I was all like "Man, that sucked."
[/quote]

So are you implying that if you hadn't studied, then you would have magically known that "the velocity of money [was] such and such" and thus gotten a better grade? I think not. I think what you're essentially saying that there's a diminishing return to studying, and that the small improvement you got by studying wasn't worth the large amount of effort you put in. To some extent, I agree. If finance really "flows into [your] head" then don't study. I'm being serious. Play to your strengths. Find a way to better harness that mysterious force of yours.

Okay, I've said enough. Time to get back to studying.

[Opera Prima]

[quote][i]Originally posted by Mechi[/i]
<br>Well... I thought I was the studying type but when I've entered university I realised I'm not.
I have an exam today and I didn't study a thing for it... the thing is that I had two exams last week and I'm not in the mood for studying anymore. First, I had a killer calculus exam (which I passed with a pretty good mark). Then I had a Molecular Biology exam which was like 3 pages long of tasks that covered like 1000 topics. Now, I've got an exam on what I did in the Molecular Bio lab and I'm not really wanting to have to sit my ass for 3 long hours and write.And I love Molecular Biology, the thing is that I'm really tired and that things at my personal life haven't been easy lately.
Frayo, you'll do better... you are really smart.
Failing once does not mean anything.
I wish I was older cos I'd be more focused on my studies and less interested in partying.


I hope I do well... I'm going to univ right now.
[/quote]

Hey Mechi, how many years takes to finish a Biology degree in Argentina? And you know, it sounds so strange to me that you have to go to class in July... for Spanish students July is part of the summer holidays and it's in October when a new grade starts. When do you finish your grade down there? In December?

BTW, I studied Biology and some subjects were reeeaaaally hard. Lots of days I spent more than 11 hours in the faculty in the classes and labs. And I don't know how things are there like, but here, if you don't study a lot, you fail.
So Mechi, study more and party less! [:)]