Slightly Discouraged

nandosport · May 11, 2014

1. As soon as you have access to the syllabi for your courses, print them. Read them. Take a mental note of all course grading scales and the assignments/exams that carry the most weight. If you have a smart phone, here's the time to be smart and use the calendar app to keep track of all major due dates and tests. Store the printed syllabi in a special folder for future reference.

2. Go to the library! You'll meet a lot of people in that place who are just as motivated, if not more motivated, to succeed as you. Also, the library has these things called individual study rooms/cubicles. The concept is to carry your study materials into a tiny room with you, chain yourself to the room until you learn something from spending all of that quality time with your books and notes, and then come out of the room smarter than you were before you walked in. I know. Brutal. The good thing is you can take study breaks and leave your things in the cubicle bc you'll have a key to lock the door. If you can study non-stop for six hours, go ahead. If you need a 15 minute break every 25-45 minutes, that's fine too. Now there are usually time limits on how long you can use a study room (6hrs is the max at my university), but you'll have enough time to make progress.

3. Study groups can save your GPA (when used correctly). Identify 1-3 other people in your classes who you believe are strong students. There are probably a bunch of them in your class. These are the people that you want to be in your study group; however, learning styles and attitudes should be considered before committing to a group. If you study with someone and you don't feel like you used your time wisely or that you learned anything at all, stop. Do not continue with unproductive study groups. They're useless. And this is important to note: Never show up to a study group unprepared (...unless everyone has agreed to be unprepared). Study on your own before you start group studying. I'm not telling you to eat the book before you study with other people, but please be a little more than vaguely familiar with the information.

4. Make a study schedule with 1-4 things to get done per night (reviewing notes, brainstorming for a paper, reading the first 10pgs of a chapter, etc.). Know what subjects you want to focus on each night. I make a rough draft study schedule on the first day of class, so I will have something to keep me on task. I try not to put two hard sciences in the same night. One night would be dedicated to microbiology and stats, and the next night I would study physiology and abnormal psych. Remember, honesty is key. Don't lie to yourself in your study schedule. If you're not the one to study loads of material on a Friday night, then don't put that on your study schedule. Also, tackle the most daunting assignments/readings first. That way, studying will get easier as your day goes on. Some classes will not be as time-consuming as others. For the light courses, I'd study for an hour right after class and not worry about it too much. You just want to get the information in your brain.

That's all I have for now. Good luck!

pmabraham, BSN, RN · May 11, 2014

Good day, INFP from an INFJ:

I've found https://allnurses.com/pre-nursing-student/how-get-any-846733.html to be extremely helpful for every class.

INFP, have you ever heard to words, "self fulfilling prophecy?" If not, please look it up. Your current methodology appears to be in that direction; and only you can make the change of direction. You stated, "I'm still too much of the slacker." That's only something you can correct. I'm not sure what advice to give only that until you apply yourself 100%, then more, then more, then more until you think you'll break... break, then get back up on your feet, and do it all over again... and then maybe months later (which seems like forever at the time), you get a breakthrough to realize that you are NOW on the right track. Attitude is almost everything, and the rest is application/hard work. Cliche, but true.

Good journey.

INFP · May 11, 2014

1. As soon as you have access to the syllabi for your courses, print them. Read them. Take a mental note of all course grading scales and the assignments/exams that carry the most weight. If you have a smart phone, here's the time to be smart and use the calendar app to keep track of all major due dates and tests. Store the printed syllabi in a special folder for future reference.
2. Go to the library! You'll meet a lot of people in that place who are just as motivated, if not more motivated, to succeed as you. Also, the library has these things called individual study rooms/cubicles. The concept is to carry your study materials into a tiny room with you, chain yourself to the room until you learn something from spending all of that quality time with your books and notes, and then come out of the room smarter than you were before you walked in. I know. Brutal. The good thing is you can take study breaks and leave your things in the cubicle bc you'll have a key to lock the door. If you can study non-stop for six hours, go ahead. If you need a 15 minute break every 25-45 minutes, that's fine too. Now there are usually time limits on how long you can use a study room (6hrs is the max at my university), but you'll have enough time to make progress.
3. Study groups can save your GPA (when used correctly). Identify 1-3 other people in your classes who you believe are strong students. There are probably a bunch of them in your class. These are the people that you want to be in your study group; however, learning styles and attitudes should be considered before committing to a group. If you study with someone and you don't feel like you used your time wisely or that you learned anything at all, stop. Do not continue with unproductive study groups. They're useless. And this is important to note: Never show up to a study group unprepared (...unless everyone has agreed to be unprepared). Study on your own before you start group studying. I'm not telling you to eat the book before you study with other people, but please be a little more than vaguely familiar with the information.
4. Make a study schedule with 1-4 things to get done per night (reviewing notes, brainstorming for a paper, reading the first 10pgs of a chapter, etc.). Know what subjects you want to focus on each night. I make a rough draft study schedule on the first day of class, so I will have something to keep me on task. I try not to put two hard sciences in the same night. One night would be dedicated to microbiology and stats, and the next night I would study physiology and abnormal psych. Remember, honesty is key. Don't lie to yourself in your study schedule. If you're not the one to study loads of material on a Friday night, then don't put that on your study schedule. Also, tackle the most daunting assignments/readings first. That way, studying will get easier as your day goes on. Some classes will not be as time-consuming as others. For the light courses, I'd study for an hour right after class and not worry about it too much. You just want to get the information in your brain.
That's all I have for now. Good luck!

Thank you very much! What interested me the most was when you mentioned the individual study rooms/cubicles. I've always seen them around my library, but I never knew their purpose until your post. I'm definitely going to start using them.

Your post gave me a good outline of how I should manage my courses. If I can find a way to form or join a study group, I'll definitely try. I'll start that once I begin General Biology I this summer.

Good day, INFP from an INFJ:
I've found https://allnurses.com/pre-nursing-student/how-get-any-846733.html to be extremely helpful for every class.
INFP, have you ever heard to words, "self fulfilling prophecy?" If not, please look it up. Your current methodology appears to be in that direction; and only you can make the change of direction. You stated, "I'm still too much of the slacker." That's only something you can correct. I'm not sure what advice to give only that until you apply yourself 100%, then more, then more, then more until you think you'll break... break, then get back up on your feet, and do it all over again... and then maybe months later (which seems like forever at the time), you get a breakthrough to realize that you are NOW on the right track. Attitude is almost everything, and the rest is application/hard work. Cliche, but true.
Good journey.

The link you gave me is very in-depth and helpful; thank you for that. I've bookmarked it along with my thread so I can use the information given on that article (and the advice given here) to help me out during my pre-nursing years.

I've never heard of self-fulfilling prophecy, but I did look it up for a brief moment before my mind went to mush (I had just woke up when reading the Wikipedia article about it). I'm going to read about it some more, but from just the few sentence I've read, it does appear as something I would be heading towards.

In fact, your entire paragraph from then on is something I find highly relatable. Once I get the right attitude as of how I'm going to go about my prerequisites, I'm sure the application/hard work will be a cakewalk. Well, not exactly; but at least I will have the right mindset in order to pass the rest of my courses with high(er) grades!

Thank you both for your posts! :up:

TLizS · May 12, 2014

the essentials for me

-an old fashioned paper planner.....hand written.....something about writing it down and putting it on paper for me to be reminded of constantly keeps me on track...I also add everything into my phone calendar (I like google calendar because I can add it all on the computer much faster but it syncs to my phone/computer/kindle) that way I have an idea of what I need to get done at a glance....but my main planner is a binder planner with every assignment/event/etc. I have 2 busy children/school/a husband/a business too sooo I really have to keep myself organized to not lose my mind

-study without distractions.....I have to stay off the internet (or make sure I ONLY open a browser window for whatever I am working on or else I get super distracted. I lock myself in my bedroom and cram....

-use your reviews if provided by your professor. I always did the reviews the first time I read the chapters (before lecture) then after lecture I would go back and reread.

-reward yourself......if I had a week full of exams I would promise myself if I studied hard and made whatever grades I was needing/knew I SHOULD be making.....I would treat myself to a mani/pedi or something else afterwards. It was motivating for me to know that there was a nice treat waiting after a stressful time

-find a method that works for you......for me I cram.....I try to fit in as much as I can in a 2-4 hour stretch so that I can spend longer stretches doing everything else I need to get done. IF smaller bursts work for you then don't cram....allot your time so that you can study for 45 mins here......an hour here.....etc.....You have to figure out how you absorb material the best.....

It's all about making yourself do what you need to do....I have a hard time getting started...once i'm "in the zone" I'm good but I can make a million excuses and procrastinate like a champ