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JustNoOne wrote on 2011-09-25 23:32
Well I can't think of an appropriate title since like... it's quite hard to explain and sum it up >.>
Basically University has made my life hectic, exams are hard and ****, and there's very little time to study. There's so much work piled up and even at this very moment while i'm typing up this post I have a heckload of work to finish by this Friday. I only get roughly 3 hours everyday to study on weekdays and gladly I have the whole weekend to study for my midterms and exams but being up into a situation where I only have 3 months to learn 6 subjects while trying to obtain a high GPA in my first years is hectic, and it doesn't help that I have to balance life, family, and all these other variables that can occur at any given moment.
Even when I do find time to rest and relax to do some exercises to study and practice for an exam, i get way distracted too easily with League of Legends, procrastinations and it doesn't help that the material is hard, so it deters me from staying ontop of the books. All these factors currently have made me sweat and stressed out currently and I don't think I can handle it anymore, it's just way to much crammed into such little time. It also doesn't help that all my university work is online on the Internet so I get distracted way too easily.
University basically has made me open up my life, either you can be really smart and have no social life or you can just fail University and waste 6 grand for nothing. You can't have a balance and you have to decide your fate, nothing can be compromised and it's either you fold or go all in, and once you make your decision there's very little you can do to reverse your steps.
Thoughts?
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chaolin wrote on 2011-09-25 23:39
Lol. I don't know what you expected but if you're trying to get decent grades at any decent university, it's not going to be a cake walk. If you are normal, chances are you're not going to find balance in your life. Sorry but accept that now because if you're struggling now, it's not going to get any easier once you pick up more courses per semester. Stuff is going to have to give if you still want to play video games/have a social life/keep in touch with family. That or you're going to have to be mega-efficient at your studies, up to you.
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JustNoOne wrote on 2011-09-25 23:45
well i did know the university is a giant commitment and I do acknowledge that dedication required to be successful in university, but there are some things that just can't be compromised with university, for example i suffer from a chronic illness and the only way to combat it is with exercise and good sleep. I cannot give this up for university or my life will be a complete hellhole.
I guess I'm just ranting about how I view life now that university has opened my eyes to the harsh truth about life and well... life is a monster, and i don't know how people handle it and how especially how other juggle university + other things.
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Strawberry wrote on 2011-09-25 23:49
[SPOILER="Spoiler"]Life isn't a cakewalk either. It begins to get tough, and if you don't got the motives and work and study most of the time, it's most likely that you'll struggle to keep that balance. I
If you feel stressed, it's more likely that you won't find that balance at all if you stay stressed. It's good to blow off some steam by playing video games and such, but it's also very important to not waste that time, effort and money used to get into the university, depending on which university you chose to go to.
The first years may seem hectic and all, but if you can adjust to it, it'll just be fine. And also, procrastination during university is one of the biggest things you shouldn't do.
Studying doesn't need to take 3 hours or so, by the way. If 6 subjects is too much information to retain in your head, you can retain it a different way by studying differently. Studying isn't really looking at something over and over hoping you memorize it, if that's what you've been doing and finding the exams so hard. You can study in nearly half the time and have free time, too, once you get the hang of it.
-When you read something, it's more likely you'll lose some of that information easily, but you retain like 10~20% of that info, the rest goes down the drain.
-By writing it down, you end up getting 30~60% of the information retained, more if you practice.
-And by teaching someone else, you can easily tell what you have memorized and learned, retaining the info by 80%~100%. It also helps you narrow down what you don't get very well, hands down. And by teaching someone, maybe they will understand it too, and teach you how to do what you're still iffy at.
That's just my thoughts on study habits and all. :>
But from the way you get distracted, I think you should just quit for a while on League of Legends, even if it unloads all your stress. But at the end of the gameplay you remember you have an exam the very next day, and then get stressed again. Not so helpful, is it?[/SPOILER]
Endrant.
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Komachi wrote on 2011-09-25 23:51
Welcome to University.
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chaolin wrote on 2011-09-25 23:54
Quote from JustNoOne;599802:
well i did know the university is a giant commitment and I do acknowledge that dedication required to be successful in university, but there are some things that just can't be compromised with university, for example i suffer from a chronic illness and the only way to combat it is with exercise and good sleep. I cannot give this up for university or my life will be a complete hellhole.
I guess I'm just ranting about how I view life now that university has opened my eyes to the harsh truth about life and well... life is a monster, and i don't know how people handle it and how especially how other juggle university + other things.
Thanks for making me feel like a ****... Wish you would've mentioned that. Now let me rephrase my response a little.
It is shocking at first but you'll acclimate eventually. Like I said, the trick is to be efficient with your studying while maintaining a quality of life that keeps you sane. A good example of this would be eating lunch. Would you prefer to eat it quickly (>10 mins) and use the gained time to study or read your course material while eating your meal or just set aside time in the day to eat with friends who you could then go and study with? If yes to the last one, you'll have to compromise by eating dinner quickly or not playing LOL. For video games, try and limit yourself to 4 hours a week and as a general rule, take a single day of the week off. No good comes from rl grinding (trust me on this one).
In summary, analyze your day and distinguish what you NEED to remain a functional, happy, efficient student. Make those things a priority and be ready to give up everything else on the list for studying. Take a day off in the 7 day week or you will hate your life after three months. Hope this helps and I wish you best of luck in your academic endeavors!
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BobYoMeowMeow wrote on 2011-09-25 23:55
owo
to be honest
if you care about high GPA, you have to gas it up
A are limited
http://calnewport.com/blog/
good blog on learning study habits
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JustNoOne wrote on 2011-09-26 00:00
well thanks guys ^^
Also I don't talk about my chronic illness because I don't want people to feel bad for me or worse, themselves, so I try to refrain from stating it unless asked or if it's a reasonable situation to bring up the topic. Lol not even my parents know it.
and again thank you ^^
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Chillax wrote on 2011-09-26 00:06
Quote from BobYoMeowMeow;599814:
owo
to be honest
if you care about high GPA, you have to gas it up
A are limited
Only if the class is curved, which not all are.
Attend office hours and form study groups with people that know the material. Biggest piece of advice I could give to you.
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Strawberry wrote on 2011-09-26 00:07
Quote from JustNoOne;599818:
well thanks guys ^^
Also I don't talk about my chronic illness because I don't want people to feel bad for me or worse, themselves, so I try to refrain from stating it unless asked or if it's a reasonable situation to bring up the topic. Lol not even my parents know it.
and again thank you ^^
It's fine to talk about your illness and such, if it helps us answer your questions you have. It makes it easier for us to pull up answers from our heads with the data we have given to us from your post.
Maybe if your parents knew of it, would they care enough to support you through your endeavours?
Also, remember that there are more people than in your circle of friends that may be willing to help you, if you need help. All you gotta do, is just ask them.
It's thoughtful of you to think that way, but sometimes it just helps to bring it up. :>
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chaolin wrote on 2011-09-26 00:10
Quote from JustNoOne;599818:
well thanks guys ^^
Also I don't talk about my chronic illness because I don't want people to feel bad for me or worse, themselves, so I try to refrain from stating it unless asked or if it's a reasonable situation to bring up the topic. Lol not even my parents know it.
and again thank you ^^
Np.
Btw, this book is useless if you're a science major so don't waste your money on it. I was so pissed to find how useless the suggestions were when applied to anything other than an essay assignment.
[Image: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/519MW9Op4EL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg]
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Ninjam wrote on 2011-09-26 00:29
I know how it feels sort of, except im just in a community college. Really, its a step up from highschool but its not as hard as what you're describing.
What i found was set a specific day where you have the entire day to yourself. Sunday or saturday typicaly. On every other day, do all of the homework that was assigned to you the day before. If you get a big assignment thats due in 1-2 weeks, then do it in 4 or 3 parts, spread over the time you have.
Split your work up in ways that makes it seem less like a ton of work and more like manageable segments. I would be doing my homework right now, but my school site is down for some reason. If it wasn't i would be working hard to catch up because i have been slacking off for the first few weeks. I am now almost compleatly caught up because i decided to put much more effort into it than i was.
It may be difficult now, but the reward is worth it. It helps if you have selected classes that you enjoy and want to do the work in. For example, my theater and visual basic classes are both fun, interesting classes that i want to learn the material.