Back to the Grind: How I Study

Back to the grind folks. Those three words have not meant more to me, then they have in the past two weeks. It is that time of the semester. The initial excitement of coming back for yet another semester at Pitt is gone. It is now time for school mode to immense whether you are ready for it or not. I can say honestly I was not prepared for the slue of exams and homework I had coming for me. I have consistently had homework all semester, but just this past week, I have had 3 exams, Chemistry II, Biology II, and Statistics. Studying a week or two before the exam is essential, but can sometimes be super stressful, so I am going to give you a big tip on how to avoid the stress of last-minute procrastination.

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KEEP UP. It is very important that you are keeping up with the information as it is coming to you. You can do this by reading the textbook before class. This helped me a lot before Biology because my professor has an outline of what pages in the book she will cover them in the next lecture. If you do not have direct access to pages straight from the book, I often find most professors are willing to work with you. So, if you would like to read before class then let your professor know and I am sure they will give you the chapter or some pages to read. I found reading before lecture helped me lay a foundation of the information she was going to teach on. I'm sure you are all familiar with the feeling when you are in lecture and your hands just can't keep up with the information on the board AND what the professor is adding to those words. It is a lot, and it is easy to fall behind, but if you read before you will not feel so lost on what the professor is saying.

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I made a mistake when studying for chemistry this time, that I will not make when studying for the second round of exams. It is very important to realize when you make mistakes and fix them for the next time. Each test is simply that, one exam. Everything will be okay if you do not do well, especially first round. Professors tend to make the first exam the hardest to con you into studying harder for the next exam, and it works. Anyways, my professor for Chemistry had so many study tools available, practice exams, practice book problems, and practice online homework. All super accessible and I presume they were all helpful, but I got to it too late. I did not realize all the tools we had at our disposal. I regret not checking Course Webb earlier to really dive into these practice problems, but it is okay. I will know for next time to start practicing the problems earlier to make my chances of succeeding even higher! You all have this chance too, just remember to try your best and breath.

How I wish my desk still looked