Hachi's posts

It's nice to understand the concepts, but it's more important to know how to apply them to a problem (or exam question). Always do practice problems!! Whether assigned by your professor or you found them in a textbook or online, this is of #1 importance in chem courses.

• Read the question multiple times, and underline key information.
  
• If you're lost, start by writing down the "knowns" and "unknowns". Try drawing a picture.
  
• Attempt every question before asking for help.
  
• If the first way you go about it doesn't work, try looking at it from another angle. Don't work yourself into a corner by narrowing your view on one specific method.
  
• Always write your solutions on paper, and keep it. Even if what you write is wrong or unfinished, it can help you remember for next time how to do it right. When you get the solution (from a professor, a friend, the internet, etc.) use a red pen to correct yourself. Write down all the work that was required to get there.

Definitely get a tutor if you can. Some universities offer free tutoring services too. But if you can't, there's a lot of ways that you can help yourself without spending a dollar.

• Go to your professor's office hours. You can ask them questions about a topic covered in class, or about a practice problem you're struggling with. Even if you don't have a specific question, go anyway. Listening to the questions that other students ask can be equally as helpful.
  
• If your university has Teaching Assistants, ask them for help. If you didn't understand what your professor went over, maybe you need it to be explained in a different way. Some TAs are better than others, don't be afraid to go around and figure out who's best (even if they aren't your assigned TA).
  
• Upperclassmen can give you highly specific tips about how to survive that class or that professor. Ask them for their old exams so you can study off of them. (I'd advise against studying off of their notes tho.) You can meet upperclassmen in your major by joining student organizations/clubs. So if you're a chemistry major, join the chem club. Or if you're interested in x career, join a club for students interested in that career. Even if you join a totally random club like the art club, you can still meet students that can help you.

Self-study is definitely necessary. But having some group study thrown in there is amazingly helpful, and very motivating.

• Try to make some friends in class (or find them through those clubs). It can be intimidating, but try asking the person sitting next to you "hey wanna study together sometime?". The worst they'll say is no... and if that happens, sit next to someone else next time HAHA. I find it less intimidating to ask someone who's sitting alone, because it's likely that they need a friend in the class too.
  
• Don't answer practice problems together. Group study goes bad when your friends do all the work for you. Have your group focus on one question at a time, but have everyone attempt the question on their own first. Then share your answers and help each other to the final solution.
  
• Teach each other the material. Assign a topic to each person in the group and take turns being the teacher. The best way to learn something is to teach it to someone else.