[Laidbackab]

Hi school has started back and one thing I always have trouble with is studying while also working and trying to have a social life also going to the gym. What do you all think would be a good amount of time to study for tests. Im in college also.

[kaliope]

i am not one to think that you set aside x amount of hours studying for a test. i feel you study until you feel comfortable knowing the material however long that takes, whether it is three or fifteen hours. my strategy is making a study guide of everything that may be on the test. then i take that study guide with me everywhere and read it over and over and over again until it is in my head and i can recite it. i may read the key work and write out what it means. what ever it takes so that i know that information. i do this for at least two weeks before the test. every day. two times over each time i pick up the study guide. it takes like ten fifteen minutes each time and i might do it 3-4 times per day. maybe more. if i can i will put together a study group and work with others on it. that is usually enough to get me an a on a test.

[kim_johnson]

Depends a bit on what you are studying... The usual rule of thumb is to study for 3 hours per hour of lecture. In other words, spend 3 hours doing the reading / trying to understand the content of / doing the problems for every 1 hour of lecture.

Do you have course outlines? Do they have suggested amounts of study on them?

If you do 4 courses in a semester each course should require about 15 hours total to make up a full time workload of 60 hours per week...

With respect to juggling demands...

It depends...

I have a LOT of empathy for people who need to work while studying. That is a game changer, for sure.

Things like the gym... Social life... Opinions vary. One extreme is to put them on the back burner until... You make consultant. Or something. Professor. Ha. Get tenure. Another option is to pick again... Pick something with lower GPA requirements... How low? As low as you need to go in order to get to do the combination of things that you want to do with your life...

[kim_johnson]

Okay... More seriously... I know for sure I can't train as hard as I'd like to at the gym while simultaneously studying as hard as I'd like. So during term time I ease back on the gym. See the gym as being about renewal and rejuvenation rather than about breaking me down to get me growing back stronger. I find it interferes least if I go at one of the ends of the day. Typically... Go just before closing / sleep. Only go 3x per week.

With respect to social life... Do you enjoy what you are studying at all? One idea is to try and find a group of people who are studying what you are studying. Then you can study together / help each other. That can be more productive than studying alone (at times). And then instead of the gym (perhaps) have a friendly game of frisbee, or whatever... Before getting back to study.

One of the best social groups I've ever had (most supportive) was friends I met when we were all working really hard on a really demanding program of study. The stress brought us together and we became really collaborative (rather than attacking / demeaning) about it all. Some of the best memories of my life...

[kim_johnson]

Sorry, math isn't my strong point. 40 hours is a full time week. So 10 hours per class. Say you have... 3 or 4 hours of lectures per week per class. And, 1 or 2 hours of tutorial / lab per week. That leaves you 4-6 hours of study time per class. Which isn't quite enough for 3 hours of study per hour of lecture... Which sounds... About right, to me.

[Blue_Bird]

I was wondering this too, I start college tomorrow and will be taking 2 three credit classes online

[Rose76]

Don't plan on studying for tests. (even though you will.) Study each day to master the current chapter in your course. Put in whatever time it takes to keep up with the reading, review the class notes and do the assignments. Study to keep up and the tests will take care of themselves.

[foxwillow]

I go online and I just try to go over my reading assignments/links and such again before taking the tests.

you could try an hour a night, a diffrent night, a diffrent topic.

so monday an hour of history, tuesday and hour of geography, and so and so until the end of the week.

and so you don't get tired (and you still get your social life), you could pick an early time that works for you. if you get out at half 4, for instance, you may want to try 5 until 6.

i always found when i was at school that the earlier i did the studying, the more time i had free later (and the more i could consontrate on it)

[Kowareta]

It's always good to study ten minutes a night for each subject. Just take the time to briefly review past notes and get a chance to look at the new stuff again, since the more times you see it the more it will "stick." The night before a test study half hour, take a break, then another half hour, repeating as often as needed. It's always best not to cram before a test, since you will only confuse yourself further. One thing that helps is as your studying (days before the test), keep a list of things you struggle to remember, that way you aren't wasting your time on what you already know. That's for High School, that is. I have no clue about college, since I'm still in high school.