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Studying and Burnout
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The Savior of Christmas

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    Posted: 08 February 2011 at 7:40pm
So, along with 95% of the world, I hate studying.
 
I dont know what the rest of you all did during highschool, but I did less and less work every year and graduated with a 3.8 GPA. I thought I studied for finals.. but I never did "real studying" until I got to college. 
 
So, now I am in my fancypants engineering school. Second year. I have always been a terrible math student and I consistantly get crappy grades in math(Calc). Most of the students here blame the school for giving us too much stuff to do and professors that dont speak english. While I think we have more difficult math than say a Rutgers education major, we're certainly not MIT.
 
Regardless, I think I am studying too much or I am surrounded by people who dont study enough. I have devoted 70% of my free time since Friday night to studying (I didnt have a weekend) and the test is tommorrow, whereas many other students are beginning to study now. I feel burnt out, and I know if I begin studying right now I wont get anything done. Yet I feel completely unprepared and I feel I will bomb this common. Frustruating is an understatement.
 
TL;DR: College math is hard, I hate studying /whine
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I've got an assignment due for tomorrow. I just started it and already I'm on here procrastinating, so I'm probably not the right person to comment. The perils of a part time course that's relatively easy just with a bunch of essays and research needed. 

I've always been a crappy student I just cant get started. Once I get going I'm fine but usually I just sit staring at the work and decide I'd rather do something else.
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I did the same thing in high school.  Now that I am in college, I am doing it again and will graduate somewhere around 3.7.  Hooray state school
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I barely had to do anything in high school and got a 3.96 GPA. College is a bit trickier. I usually do 1-2 days before the test to study, but not constantly. I get distracted.

I found the best thing for me, is if theres a study guide, rewrite the notes that pertain to the study guide, then strictly study that after going through ALL the notes once. Finals are a little rough because there is so much information.

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70% of your free time lost to studying is pretty reasonable.

I'm a Junior in EE. Last semester I was averaging 3 hours of sleep per night, pulling weekly all-nighters, no weekends.  Hard core studying for exams began up to two weeks before the test, while regular studying for exams was never ending.

Don't kid yourself into thinking it will get easier, either. Calc is relatively easy compared to most classes you'll be taking later on, depending on what engineering you're majoring in. When I was a sophomore, my hardest classes were Calc and Circuits. I spent about the same amount of time as you are now studying and I thought that was ridiculous dedication on my part.  Looking back, it was a complete cake walk compared to later courses.

Now, if you feel unprepared, odds are you are. Now, if everyone is feeling unprepared, thats a sign of the class. Many professors curve to reflect this. I've had classes where the average was a 19/40, and most students made it out with B's and C's.

If you want to do well, you can slack off, cheat and squirm your way through, or you can step it up and make it through. Engineering is tough for a reason.
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I'm sitting here finishing off a major project proposal due tomorrow. Then I get to actually do my readings for tomororw, and post my reflection questions online. Then I get to work in the morning, with little time between work and class. Huzzah!
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I'm really trying to keep from burning out, and it's been a balancing act for sure. Last semester I spent 12 hours a day on campus, 4 days a week, working on projects for one class. On top of that I had a math class that I hated, and needed to pass. I had pretty much no free time all semester. Then we have xmas break, and I'm back to school for a new leisurely semester.

By that I mean, the same amount of time, but a worse math class and a useless prof who doesnt actually teach anything.
On Wednesday I spent 18 hours straight on the same research project. Today I've been at it for 7 hours so far, with probably another 5 hours to go before I call it a night.
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Two more months and my last assignment is in, and then it's just exams.

Of course, then real life kicks me in the head, but I'll worry about that when I get there.
"Abortion is not "choice" in America. It is forced and the democrats are behind it, with the goal of eugenics at its foundation."

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I'm only a year and a half in, but I can tell you that my study habits sucked bad my first two semesters. I'm at a 3.6 right now, hoping to be 3.7 with straight A's by the time I get to UTA (or UT Austin).

My biggest step this year was to outline all of the chapters in the book as I read them. It makes the process of absorbing the information 10x easier for me. I have to write it by hand, also. If I try to type my outlines, I dint absorb anything.

Generally, however, I'm a shameless crammer. I've skated by thus far alright, but I'm definately trying to change habits this semester. I now devote around 4-6 hours a week studying (still terribly low), as opposed to last semester's avoid-contact-with-the-book-until-test-day approach.
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If you don't think it's worth it, change your major.  You won't be the first or the last.

Yes, the reality is that if you want straight As you're going to have to work your butt off in engineering.  It's just the nature of the beast.  It won't be any less difficult in any other field that actually provides good pay with an undergraduate education.  The question is what is it worth to you?  Don't pay the price if it isn't.

In line with what Darur said, I've had classes where 50-60% is average.  My girlfriend has had tests where 25% was a B.  You're not the only one struggling, and it will help you to work with your peers.

I'm not interested  in math for math's sake.  I passed all my calculus classes, did well enough that I could move on and not destroy my GPA, and it's not an issue.  There are some engineers who explore engineering through math, and some who only use it as a tool.  I definitely fall into the second category, and you may too.

Not to harp too much on this, but studying with people who know the material, will drastically reduce the time you need to learn anything.  Find a tutor if you can, get an upperclassmen friend who's already taken the class to help you in exchange for beer, whatever gets you through it.  In general, cheating won't.  You will have to apply the math in your engineering classes.  Differential equations and basic calculus need to be your friend, because without them you will have a very difficult time getting through your 300,400, or 500 level courses.

Also, remember that your GPA is not the sole influence on your future.  Graduating below a 3.0 will make your life much more difficult, but there are a variety of other activities that can sometimes fill it, whether it be student organizations, sports teams, a job, etc.  Wrestle with what you want do, then figure out how to get there.


Edited by ParielIsBack - 08 February 2011 at 11:48pm
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I'm a pharmaceutical sciences student and am horrible at studying...
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How does the American GPA system convert in terms of percentage grades?
"Abortion is not "choice" in America. It is forced and the democrats are behind it, with the goal of eugenics at its foundation."

-FreeEnterprise, 21 April 2011.

Yup, he actually said that.
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Originally posted by ParielIsBack ParielIsBack wrote:

If you don't think it's worth it, change your major.  You won't be the first or the last.

Word. I considered transferring to UT as an engineering major because I did well in Calc 1 and 2 and the community college's equivalent of Physics for engineering majors, but I decided it wasn't worth the work I would put in to getting the degree since the entire reason for me getting an undergraduate degree is to get into law school.

I chose a LOLbral Arts degree instead because I felt like getting a degree with a focus in philosophy would help me best prepare for the LSAT and law school.
Quote Also, remember that your GPA is not the sole influence on your future.

This was my other concern. While correct for engineering majors who want to be engineers, that couldn't be further from the truth for prospective law school students. In particular, I know of three people in the engineering program who want to go to law school. All three are wonderfully smart, driven, and know exactly what they want to do in life, but two of them will be attending a lower-ranked law school than they deserve because they chose to major in engineering.

Instead of having a 3.8+ GPA and going somewhere like a top six law school, they have a sub-3.0 and are stuck with hoping their LSAT scores can get them in somewhere worth going (which, with a low 3.something GPA, is next to impossible).

Like Pariel said, if it's not worth it, change your major to something that is worth it.
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Originally posted by Gatyr Gatyr wrote:

This was my other concern. While correct for engineering majors who want to be engineers, that couldn't be further from the truth for prospective law school students.


I don't know a single engineer who wants to go to law school, so I never thought of that.  Engineers who go to law school tend to be patent lawyers, and that field is not particularly large.  Unless that's what someone wanted to do, I don't see the point in doing engineering before law school.  There are a whole lot of majors that will prepare you more effectively for it.

GPA does matter to a pretty significant extent for graduate programs, but like the hiring process they look at your other activities (plus your GREs.)


Edited by ParielIsBack - 09 February 2011 at 7:40am
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Originally posted by ParielIsBack ParielIsBack wrote:

Originally posted by Gatyr Gatyr wrote:

This was my other concern. While correct for engineering majors who want to be engineers, that couldn't be further from the truth for prospective law school students.


I don't know a single engineer who wants to go to law school, so I never thought of that.  Engineers who go to law school tend to be patent lawyers, and that field is not particularly large.  Unless that's what someone wanted to do, I don't see the point in doing engineering before law school.  There are a whole lot of majors that will prepare you more effectively for it.


I'm an engineering undergrad student looking to go to med school.  As far as grades go, I've been told that schools will take the major into account when looking at your GPA.  As in, a 4.0 in a BS is worth more (to them) than a 4.0 in a BA degree for example.

I'm a junior right now, as as far as calculus goes, I use things I learned in all 3 calcs on a daily basis.  We also use stuff from the ODE class and linear algebra frequently, and occasionally stuff from the PDE class.   Try to learn your math well because it will make your life much easier if you have a good understanding of it.


Edited by ArthurBignose - 09 February 2011 at 8:13am


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In the 5 years I was in college I pulled an all-nighter ONCE. And that wasn't even studying, it was preparing a final portfolio for my Methods in Education class, the final step before student teaching. I spent hours organizing sample lesson plans and assessments, interviews, curriculum guidelines, blah, blah, blah into a binder that I don't believe was ever looked at by anyone.

As for studying, I did all that during the day. If I don't sleep I don't focus. And if I'm not focused, I retain nothing. I never understood how people could be in the lounges or library to strange hours of the morning cramming information into their brains, then head off to an exam with a half empty cup of coffee clutched in a death-grip and a glazed and panicky look in their eyes.

I always knew when I hit the point of "Screw it, if I don't know it now, I'm not ever gonna know it." and would go to bed.

Granted, I didn't take calculus or advanced sciences, or anything like that, but some of the state mandated education courses were no picnic either. I'll never forget my "Adolescent Psychology" class, where we had to know almost a different types and sub-types of learning styles, and be able to detail lesson outlines which would accommodate each type, as well as be able to identify who pioneered the research and development of each style of teaching.

The whole semester was spent staring off into space- it might as well have been in Russian for all the psycho-babble. And when it came time to study for the final, I gave it about 4 hours and went to bed. Sleeping on what you DO know always seemed comparable to Staying awake to re-read the stuff you WON'T know at that point.

At any rate, good luck.

Oh, and high school? I think in the 4 years I attended HS, you can total my hours spent studying for ANYTHING and come up with a single digit number. I did what I needed to to get by and little else.
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Originally posted by SSOK SSOK wrote:

So, along with 95% of the world, I hate studying.
 

I dont know what the rest of you all did during highschool, but I did less and less work every year and graduated with a 3.8 GPA. I thought I studied for finals.. but I never did "real studying" until I got to college. 

 

So, now I am in my fancypants engineering school. Second year. I have always been a terrible math student and I consistantly get crappy grades in math(Calc). Most of the students here blame the school for giving us too much stuff to do and professors that dont speak english. While I think we have more difficult math than say a Rutgers education major, we're certainly not MIT.

 

Regardless, I think I am studying too much or I am surrounded by people who dont study enough. I have devoted 70% of my free time since Friday night to studying (I didnt have a weekend) and the test is tommorrow, whereas many other students are beginning to study now. I feel burnt out, and I know if I begin studying right now I wont get anything done. Yet I feel completely unprepared and I feel I will bomb this common. Frustruating is an understatement.

 

TL;DR: College math is hard, I hate studying /whine

NJIT has crap for math professors. My friend who's taking electrical engineering has only told me horror stories of all his math courses.

On a side not, I'm actually studying (2hrs before the exam) CalcII right now and I'm pretty sure I'm going to bomb. Mainly since I never took CalcI and I still don't have the textbook for the class. Go me.
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Cry me a river.
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Originally posted by impulse418 impulse418 wrote:

Cry me a river.


How wonderfully productive.

Thanks so much for your contribution of incalculable worth.


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