Here are some techniques to make certain your thoughtful planning stays on track.
- Choose a good time and location to study.
- Bring your checklist and stay on task. If you get stuck on a concept or problem, make a note on your checklist to speak with your TA, then move along. If you do fall behind, try to schedule an extra hour to catch up. But don't panic: your study plan is a guideline, not an absolute.
- Practice. Rework psets and sample problems from the textbook, noting how and why techniques are implemented. If you can't explain the reasoning behind a process, you don't understand it enough to get full credit on a test.
- Note similarities and differences among problems. This helps to cultivate the skill of thinking flexibly. How and why does a solution work? How else could a problem be solved? How does the knowledge you are acquiring relate with other concepts?
- Keep a list of formulae and major concepts. As you study, jot down items that you need to memorize. Review this material when you are caught standing in line or with time to spare between classes.
- Selectively review your texts. Do not reread your textbook; you have already done it once and to do so again would overload you. Review only sections you have highlighted, any notes you made in the margins, formulae, definitions, and chapter summaries. You should be refreshing your memory and clarifying information, not assimilating it in extreme detail.
- Don't over-prepare. Is your study plan too ambitious and unrealistic? Trying to gain a "perfect" understanding of all the material can overwhelm and paralyze you. While it's true that MIT exam questions often challenge you to apply concepts creatively, there is no way to anticipate every possible application of what you are learning. Thinking flexibly is a skill you will develop with practice, not by extreme studying. Construct and follow a reasonable study plan, and remember that instructors are testing what you can be reasonably be expected to know—a finite and manageable amount of work.
- Too little time? Do you not have enough time to cover everything on your moderate and realistic list? Unfortunately, you will have to choose which things to study, and plan not to cover the rest. Only you will be able to judge which information is most critical to you, but remember that some studying is always better than no studying. Don't give up because it's impossible to learn everything. Incremental progress is still progress, so cover what you can well. Quality, not quantity, is the key.
