forum Study Tips?

Started December 10, 2018 by @Becfromthedead group

tune

Just a chat to share your advice. I know finals are coming up for me, and probably for a lot of you too.
My advice:

• Don't study for hours on end. Eventually you won't be very focused anymore. Take 10-15 minute breaks for every hour or so.
• Prioritize sleep over study the night before a big exam. I mean it.
• Listen to music (preferably instrumental) to help yourself keep focused during study. Make sure you're drinking water (and caffeine is acceptable before the evening if you think it helps you).
• Don't procrastinate. A little cramming at the end is okay, but make sure you've at least done some practice problems, chapter reading, made flashcards, or whatever other things you do ahead of time.
• Writing is one of the best ways to remember information. This means you should probably make physical flashcards or copy your notes a second time to help you store the information.
• Sitting down in front of your computer with your study guide pulled up for two hours then just sitting there and messing around on your phone is not "studying for two hours." I know people who do this, and then are surprised when they do poorly on tests because they "studied" for so long. Please don't do this. The phone is only for use during breaks and if a text or call absolutely needs to be done.

If anyone else has tips or things that they do to help study, you're welcome to add on!

How do I get myself to study in the first place

That's a good question… I'm struggling with the same thing tbh. Honestly, fear of failure is enough for me. Another thing that makes me do the stuff I'm supposed to (mostly homework, but sometimes studying too) is making outside commitments. Basically the deal is, if I do my work, I can go do this fun thing, but if not, I have to stay in and do the work instead. And also, the whole breaks thing makes it a lot easier and eases any dread around studying.

I have a weird problem… I have an intense fear of failure don't want to seem stupid to teachers. So to avoid getting answers wrong on tests and homework… I just don't answer. I skip a lot of questions because if I'm unsure, I'd rather not try my hardest and disappoint myself by getting it wrong. I kind of have the mindset where I won't fail in the first place if I never even try. I know it's really weird but I can't seem to get past it.

Yeah… I see where you're coming from. But not doing something is really just guaranteed failure. I think what you need is to do something that boosts your confidence, whether that be more practice on subjects or something else. Usually on exams, if I'm not 100% sure about an answer the first time around, it gets skipped, and I BS my way through later if I have time, and my attention thus stays more on the multitude of questions I knew rather than the few I didn't. Even a guess will sometimes get you something.
Teachers are used to seeing students mess up. I'm almost certain that they would rather see you try and fail so both of you can work to fix it rather than leaving things blank and having nothing to work with.

Some of my teachers are absolute dicks though… I can tell they get disappointed and frustrated whenever I don't know something I should, and say "I should've learned by now". And they're right, I should've, but I'm missing a lot of things I should know because I almost failed freshman year. I missed a lot of school and kind of gave up before I was halfway done with the year… and I wish I hadn't done that because now I have judgemental teachers who think I'm a dumbass because I never learned some basic things and I struggle with odd subjects. I don't exactly like being seen as stupid… but I know I'm not, and that's enough for me. If I start to do poorly on things even when I try hard, that gives people real reasons to view me as an absolute dumbass. If I just… don't do anything, nobody really knows my level of intelligence. All they know is that I'm not even trying, which is seen as laziness (but is really just fear of judgement, failure, and my depression making things even harder)

Yeah… I know how toxic an environment school can be. There's not much you can do but ignore their ridicule and disappointment. So what, you struggle with odd subjects, the things you "should already know"? A lot of people do, and teachers should actually do their goddamn job and help their students instead of complaining about how stupid they are. After all, it's sure not their fault if they were never taught something, even if it is basic.
The way I look at it, you will not be seeing these teachers again soon, so you have all the more reason to mess up in front of them. Besides, exams are not a measure of intelligence, but a measure of learning of specific material. You're only hurting yourself and future opportunities (whatever it is you're looking to do after this). With as little as it sounds like the teachers care about you as individuals, you need to look out for yourself, because they sure as hell won't.
I know how it can be though… I had a teacher last year who never specifically said anything, but I know she saw me as a constant disappointment because she made her class way too hard and I failed almost every test. My parents set up a conference with her to see if there was anything we could do, and there, she accused me of missing nearly twice as much class as I actually had and refused to acknowledge that maybe not everything was my fault. I was already pretty depressed, but her class drove me deeper, and I stopped studying for her class because I was failing everything anyway. You know why I kept going in all my other classes and why I try so hard now? Spite. I just want to prove everyone like her who's ever doubted me wrong, and if there's something like that that keeps you going, it's worth holding on to.

Yeah… I'm just afraid that spite will be all for nothing, and that even if I get good grades it won't be good enough…

I can promise you that your best will get you something.
What do you want to do after high school?

I want to be a psychiatrist… but my previous grades have stopped me from doing that. I wish I had realized that I wanted to be a psychiatrst before I completely gave up. Because now I'm a junior, and there's no way to save my grades, so there's no way I can get that good of a job. And I don't really see the point in trying because there's nothing else I'm really interested in.

Oh… That bad? I'm sure there's something salvageable there though. You have the rest of this year. And if it doesn't work out, there are other options. Your life isn't over.

It is if I can't be a psychiatrist lmao

But if your grades are good enough to get into a college somewhere, then they're good enough for you to be a psychiatrist. Grad schools/med schools/etc don't look at high school grades. If you can get into college, that's a clean slate, unless you're saying your grades are so bad that no one will take you into an undergrad program (which is saying a lot). And there is still time enough to get grades high enough so you can be accepted at some college. It's just a matter of whether you're willing to or not.

My grades are pretty screwed up. The only thing that could possibly get me into a college would be my SAT and ACT scores when I take those tests. And if those are bad, I really don't have a chance at anything.

I'm not going to ask you what your GPA looks like, but I can tell you if you're passing and you do okay on the standardized tests, there is someone out there who will take you. I know plenty of people from my school who were failing classes left and right that made it into a school. Another thing that may seem unimportant to you is the personal essay, but I can assure you, if you can write something that grabs a school's attention, they'll be more likely to choose you. Also extracurriculars, service, and good letters of recommendation look good. It's not 100% about the numbers. That's probably one of the most valuable things I've been taught.

I feel like it is though… and I've never failed a class before but I got some pretty bad grades and I don't do extracurricular activities because I'm not allowed to (because my grades are bad ha) and my teachers don't like me so I'm not sure good letter of recommendation would be something I could use. Also I suck at essays so I don't think my personal essay will be that great (tbh I don't even know what that is)

Okay, so a few things:

1. You've never failed a class. You can easily go to a community college. People act like they're inferior for whatever reason, but they're really not. They just lack "prestige," which really doesn't matter.
2. You can do things outside of school. They can't stop you from doing community service and associating with activity groups outside of school, only ones associated with the school. There are ways around that.
3. Make relationships with teachers if you can. It may be senior year before you're able to start with a new teacher to build such a relationship with, but you can absolutely do this before the deadline.
4. Don't put yourself down about the essays. Find the prompts for the places you're interested in attending ASAP so you can get to thinking. A personal essay is a lot different from an academic essay. The college wants to see a little bit of what you're about. Also, it's 100% okay to get help and tips from people about essays, or to have someone edit it. I had a couple of people read over mine and edit them, and it was really helpful, especially for fine-tuning.

1. Yeah I guess but I hate living where I am bc I hate my parents
2. I can't do anything other than go to school and go home. That's it.
3. There are very few teachers at my school. I have had the same history teacher for 2 years, and I have him this year and will have him next year. There are a maximum of 2 different teachers per subject. I don't really have that chance anymore.
4. I always get put down by my parents for wanting help. Especially by my dad. He's got the "if you can't figure it out you're never going to make it in life. Figure it out yourself."

I'm sorry you don't have parents that support you… My relationship with my parents is a little rocky too, and I really want to move out permanently as well, so I see where you're coming from. I'm not really sure how to help you, but for the essay, you can definitely ask around on notebook. There's a community full of writers that I'm sure would be glad to help edit. (That's also a terrible way to think! We humans work together as a species for a reason, and on the topic of the essay, even published journalists and authors go through editing and beta reading and stuff before publishing! That's ridiculous!)
I say what you should do first is look at your options. Look at ranges of GPAs and testing scores for all of the colleges you can, and find a good fit for distance and everything else you might need. You can find something somewhere. I believe in you. Don't give up if you haven't even done all of your research yet. I'm telling you, there's a place for you at some school. Don't count yourself out.

Thank you… I'm still panicking because I feel like my life is over and I wish I could just live anywhere other than this house so I can breathe. I don't agree with my parents on anything and they don't respect my opinion at all, even though I always make it obvious that I respect theirs… and they never take me seriously about my mental health, just because "most people don't actually have problems so you're probably just being dramatic." I feel like if I didn't have to deal with that I'd be doing a lot better… but at the same time I feel like maybe I am just being dramatic because there are people out there living with abusive families and still making it through somehow.

Anxiety in its various forms has a bit under a 20% prevalence rate… Mood disorders (primarily including depression) have a little under 15% I think, and people around our age are at the prime age for developing said disorders… "Most people" just means a majority- over 50%. It's still extremely common. You are not being dramatic. Your parents aren't supporting you when it is critical for them to do so. It's a valid complaint, and I'm sure there are other things that have happened that you don't want to let on about. You're okay to feel the way that you do. As for those other people in abusive situations, not everyone reacts to negative events in the same way. You were probably predisposed to developing mental health issues to some extent, and you don't get to entirely choose how you feel and react to the things that happen to you. I mean, by that extent, you could ask why some people who fight in wars end up with PTSD and others don't. It's not because those who do develop it are being dramatic.
But yeah… you are valid. Your life isn't over, even though I'm sure it feels like it sometimes. You just have to keep pushing. Find a support system in friends and other people whom you trust, and take good care of yourself. You'll find a way. And if you're really worried about not reaching your end goal, come up with a solid plan B.
(Also when looking into colleges, you should totally look at their counseling services. I'm not sure how most places do it, but my university has free services. If you could find that, it may provide some help if you want it/need it.)

Thank you… I hope I can make it through high school…

You can do it!

If anyone knows any websites that helps with math, please share. I got a 50 on an assignment for doing a si glen question wrong

Khan Academy is okay… not the most useful imo
Paul's Online Notes is something my calculus professor told me about two weeks ago, and it's good stuff! I'm not sure which other math areas are on that site though.
I'll let you know if I find more!