Peer Advise: Study Tips That Got Me Through My 1st Year of Grad School!

Grad school can feel very overwhelming, especially with the amount of new material you need to learn each week. But! Once you find your groove, grad school can become a little more manageable! Below are some study methods that helped me!

Organize Everything 

• Before diving into studying, organize the lecture into smaller topics that are easier to digest. As a result, you become less overwhelmed and more motivated to tackle the topic 

• Some Techniques: 

  • Mind Maps/Flow Charts 

  • Compare/Contrast Tables 

  • Drawings

  • Mnemonics 

     

Blurting 

• Big Active Recall Method! This technique helps you identify the areas that are a little harder to remember, so you can review them a bit more to strengthen your understanding!

• How to do it: 

  1. Study a topic briefly.

  2. Close your notes. 

  3. Write down as much as you can remember without peeking at your notes again. 

  4. Open your notes back up, and write down the information you missed! 

• Tip: I like to write the missing information in a different color, so I know exactly what I forget. 

   

Feyman Technique 

• This method requires you to reach a topic to another person. Teaching a topic can help you identify the areas that are a little harder that others! If you can teach it, you understand it! 

• How to do it:

  1. Choose a topic. 

  2. Teach it in simple terms to a friend, sibling, or even in the mirror! 

  3. Find the areas that are tricky for you to explain. 

  4. Review these areas and try it again!

      

Testing Yourself 

• My personal favorite! Testing yourself can help you retrieve information as if you're taking the exam!

• Some techniques: 

  • Practice Tests

    • You can make your own practice questions or study in a group and ask each other questions! 

  • Practice Quizzes 

    • Doing a short 5-10 questions quiz daily or weekly on past topics can help you recall information and review throughout the week! 

  • Flashcards

    • I like turning my flashcards into questions-and-answer pairs, 

    • For example, instead of having the front be "Corneal layers." I'll write, "What are the layers of the cornea, and their order from anterior to posterior?"

  • Tip: Try to make the practice tests around the same number of questions as your actual exam and do them timed! This can help you prep for exam day!

     

Hopefully, you will some of these tips helpful during your grad school journey! Good Luck, you're going to do amazing!