How To Study For Science Courses in 3 Words

Hi guys,
I feel horrible for such a long absence, but as I just finished my final exams I will have much more free time! This blog post will describe 3 main strategies per each course I've taken this semester. My grades have drastically increased since the first semester, so I feel ready to share some tips with you :)


Chemistry:
1. videos
This is what made a 15% difference in my grade. I looked up Khan Academy, Organic Chemistry tutor and other channels for help. The huge advantage of YouTube videos is that you can speed them up, slow them down, and re-listen. Also, individuals who make those YouTube videos usually realize that you are there for clarification, and they explain the concepts very thoroughly.

2. re-write notes
Re-writing notes helps me with a mindful understanding of the material. Even though I take notes in class, they are usually messy which won't help to review.
3. practice
Practice is a vital part of everything, so I'm gonna mention it once under "Chemistry" in order to avoid repeating myself so much...Everything comes in question form, so it's only natural to prepare via practice. I highly recommend doing a practice test before you begin reviewing after you finish reviewing, and at least one a day before an actual evaluation. The point is, you can't slack off. Practice tests should really define your review period; which is ideally, not less that 5 days (6-8 hours each day of intensive review).

Biology:
1. thorough notes
Depending on a professor, he/she might ask either conceptual questions or detail-based questions. In my case, I had lots of details on my test. There's really no way to predict how they will ask the questions (because often, the professors like to test both: concepts and details), so I advise you to take extensive notes and tackle them with an assortment of understanding and memorization techniques.
2. frequent revision and pre-read
Since biology courses often have a huge load of info, to better remember it, you must revise it frequently. By frequently, I mean after every lecture. As for the pre-readings, it'll help you focus your attention better during lecture, and you will absorb the material faster.
3. practice

Math:
1. organized notes
Taking notes during lecture isn't actually enough. You should review your lectures and make a study guide consisting of definitions, formulas, and concepts. Don't include all examples into your study guide, because it will make it very messy, but be sure to include 1 or 2 most difficult questions.
2. practice
3. videos

Medical Terminology:
1. practice
2. flashcards
Working with flashcards is essential to do well in this course. I was making both: paper and digital flashcards because with digital I can review on the go and they don't get lost or ripped; however, with tangible ones, I was able to rearrange them how I wanted when I studied them. For example, I could put the 20 flashcards I absolutely don't know aside, and only focus on memorizing those. I found it hard to perform the same functions with digital flashcards.
3. exposure

Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behavior (Neurophysiology):
1. thorough, visual notes
This course was definitely my favorite course this year, and that's because it was so nicely structured...To keep up with all the diagrams, anatomy, and the concepts, I had to take thorough, visual notes.

2. frequent revision
3. attention
The questions we had are always tricky. One must consider every word while reading the question, and be able to pick the MOST correct answer. That obviously requires attention to details and a solid understading of the topic.  

How to Choose a Major

Hey guys,

I have a few weeks to choose my specialty for next year, and in fact, I have already chosen one! But more on that in my next blog ;) 

1. Intuition

- Certain studies show that when it comes to deciding which house to buy, what university to go to, and (following the same principle), which program to choose, you should trust your intuition and not rational thought. However, don’t dismiss the pros and cons list as well!

2. Rationality/Know What You Don't Want

- You should make a pros and cons list just to see if there are any MAJOR drawbacks to a program. For example, if I were to go to Chemistry, I know that I’d have to take physics, math, and more chem. That is a big no-no for me, so I’m not even considering it. 

- Making a list will also help you see the advantages of the programs, which may solidify your choice. Lastly, you should see how the programs compare. For example, in both programs of my choice, Life Sciences and Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, there are external placements, and I used this criterion to condense my choice to those 2 programs. 

3. 1st Year Knowledge

- I hated the online lectures that we had in my classes, so I’ll be cautious not to take (or avoid) the courses that have them. I also want to be in a rather small program to be able to develop connections with profs and other faculty members.

4. What do you want

- What do you mostly want for your program? Lab work? Essays? Co-op? Research, go explore the workforce, or go to a professional school after undergrad? If you aren't quite sure about what you would like to do in future, choose a more generalized program to explore your options! 

5. Dig up at least 5 DIFFERENT sources of information

- One or two profs are not the best source of information. And it's not even about bias, but rather, they don't know how the program is to their graduate and undergraduate students. So, but sure to ask a few people, to make your understanding of things better.

6. Have good questions

- It's crucial that you don't go and ask "what was your favorite course?" or such, because this information is very subjective. A better thing to do would be to look at the course list, and maybe gather some information on the average GPA of the course to make any personal inferences. 

- try to as objective questions, to which there is a somewhat short answer, because you must get the facts about the program down, not people's stories. Of course, don't completely disregard the stories, too.

- Here are some of mine, personalized questions:

1. Are there a lot or if any courses which have modules?

2. Is there an opportunity to directly interact with patients during my external placement, or would it primarily be the lab work?

3. What are the major drawback of the program in the opinion of yours and your classmates?

4. What courses offer an application for Teaching Assistance?

5. What is the grade breakdown for a certain/ the majority of courses?

6. What are the class sizes?

etc.

So, I hope you got the gist of it! 

Enoy your day! :) 

My First Semester Mistakes

Hey guys,

It's very important to recognize your mistakes in order to start dealing with them. In this blog post, I will list a few things that went wrong during the first semester, which limited my fullest potential. Maybe, it's going to help you recognize your mistakes as well! So, be mindful!

1. Not Asking Questions
I still made sure I would write or mark down all the questions I had during class or homework, but I miserably failed double checking on the answer. This led to either misunderstandings or an insufficient understanding of a concept, so some of my quiz grades suffered.

2. Insufficient Time Management
My insufficient time management came from something I will discuss a bit later, the underestimation of difficulty. So, because there is a lot of resources, I didn't quite understand what I should start from, and to be sure that I cover all of the material, I tried to do EVERYTHING. The problem was that I either didn't finish some of it, or I didn't have time to thoroughly go through all of the questions I had at the end.

3. Insufficient Group Studying
Groups, as I figured, can either help you or make you waste your time. You must come having the majority of work done, and you should have your questions ready for discussion. However, together in a group, there is a higher chance to come up with shortcuts and clearer explanations to the concepts.

4. Underestimation of Difficulty
This was my problem for a long time. Overconfidence. Just because there is a lot of revision from grade 12 in a science program, I got an illusion that I completely understand the material. I had no idea, however, that 99% of all test questions are based on application and inquiry. <1% are raw knowledge questions.


Summing all of this up, I wish I knew to base the majority of my studying of off the practice tests. Next, I'll write a blog post about how to divide up the study resources and techniques for maximum efficiency.

not my pic