May 5 2018

How to Study Like a Harvard Student

Taken from Sophia Chua-Rubenfeld, daughter of the Tiger Mother

Preliminary Steps 1. Choose classes that interest you. That way studying doesn’t feel like slave labor. If you don’t want to learn, then I can’t help you. 2. Make some friends. See steps 12, 13, 23, 24. General Principles 3. Study less, but study better. 4. Avoid Autopilot Brain at all costs. 5. Vague is bad. Vague is a waste of your time. 6. Write it down. 7. Suck it up, buckle down, get it done. Plan of Attack Phase I: Class 8. Show up. Everything will make a lot more sense that way, and you will save yourself a lot of time in the long run. 9. Take notes by hand. I don’t know the science behind it, but doing anything by hand is a way of carving it into your memory. Also, if you get bored you will doodle, which is still a thousand times better than ending up on stumbleupon or something. Phase II: Study Time 10. Get out of the library. The sheer fact of being in a library doesn’t fill you with knowledge. Eight hours of Facebooking in the library is still eight hours of Facebooking. Also, people who bring food and blankets to the library and just stay there during finals week start to smell weird. Go home and bathe. You can quiz yourself while you wash your hair. 11. Do a little every day, but don’t let it be your whole day. “This afternoon, I will read a chapter of something and do half a problem set. Then, I will watch an episode of South Park and go to the gym” ALWAYS BEATS “Starting right now, I am going to read as much as I possibly can…oh wow, now it’s midnight, I’m on page five, and my room reeks of ramen and dysfunction.” 12. Give yourself incentive. There’s nothing worse than a gaping abyss of study time. If you know you’re going out in six hours, you’re more likely to get something done. 13. Allow friends to confiscate your phone when they catch you playing Angry Birds. Oh and if you think you need a break, you probably don’t. Phase III: Assignments 14. Stop highlighting. Underlining is supposed to keep you focused, but it’s actually a one-way ticket to Autopilot Brain. You zone out, look down, and suddenly you have five pages of neon green that you don’t remember reading. Write notes in the margins instead. 15. Do all your own work. You get nothing out of copying a problem set. It’s also shady. 16. Read as much as you can. No way around it. Stop trying to cheat with Sparknotes. 17. Be a smart reader, not a robot (lol). Ask yourself: What is the author trying to prove? What is the logical progression of the argument? You can usually answer these questions by reading the introduction and conclusion of every chapter. Then, pick any two examples/anecdotes and commit them to memory (write them down). They will help you reconstruct the author’s argument later on. 18. Don’t read everything, but understand everything that you read. Better to have a deep understanding of a limited amount of material, than to have a vague understanding of an entire course. Once again: Vague is bad. Vague is a waste of your time. 19. Bullet points. For essays, summarizing, everything. Phase IV: Reading Period (Review Week) 20. Once again: do not move into the library. Eat, sleep, and bathe. 21. If you don’t understand it, it will definitely be on the exam. Solution: textbooks; the internet. 22. Do all the practice problems. This one is totally tiger mom. 23. People are often contemptuous of rote learning. Newsflash: even at great intellectual bastions like Harvard, you will be required to memorize formulas, names and dates. To memorize effectively: stop reading your list over and over again. It doesn’t work. Say it out loud, write it down. Remember how you made friends? Have them quiz you, then return the favor. 24. Again with the friends: ask them to listen while you explain a difficult concept to them. This forces you to articulate your understanding. Remember, vague is bad. 25. Go for the big picture. Try to figure out where a specific concept fits into the course as a whole. This will help you tap into Big Themes – every class has Big Themes – which will streamline what you need to know. You can learn a million facts, but until you understand how they fit together, you’re missing the point. Phase V: Exam Day 26. Crush exam. Get A.

---

i'll be having pharmacology next sem, any tips?

HI! :)

Pharmacology is the heart of pharmacy. You need to have a good memorisation skill but understanding it will be the key. Sad to say, there is no shortcut. You need to take a lot of your time to study it by heart. 

In studying the drugs:

Study the normal mechanism of the body

Study the abnormal mechanism of the body

Compare the normal & abnormal mechanism of the body

Study how the drug works to correct the abnormal mechanism of the body

for example you are studying cardiovascular drugs: 1. study the normal physiology of the heart 2. study what happen when a person has a cardiovascular disease 3. study the difference between a normal heart & a heart with cardiovascular disease 4. study how cardiovascular drugs will correct the condition

Use flashcards, notecards & the likes

Use one side of the card and write the drug & other side with is mechanism of action

Use one side of the card and indicate its pharmacologic category & the other side with the list of drugs under that category

This are very handy & you can bring it anywhere you go. :)

Be creative, Use Mnemonics

In this way, the information will  be easy to remember.

For example,

the non-specific beta blockers are NSTP (Nadolol, Sotalol, Timolol, Propranolol) 

specific beta blockers are BEAM (Bisoprolol, Esmolol, Atenolol, Metoprolol)

beta blockers, mostly but not all the time, ends with -olol

angiotensin II receptor antagonist usually ends with -sartan (Losartan, Candesartan)

HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors usually ends with -statin (Simvastatin, Atorvastatin, Rosuvastatin)

ACE inhibitors usually ends with -pril (Captopril, Lisinopril)

Proton pump inhibitor - ends with -prazole (Pantoprazole, Esomeprazole)

H2 receptor blockers -ends with -tidine (Famotidine, Cimetidine)

Be productive during internships. Use that as an opportunity to be more familiar with the drugs.

The arrangement of medicine either in the community or hospital setting is mostly by their therapeutic category. Observe. Read. Write. Repeat. In this way you will be familiar with the drugs more.

Guide books & Apps

there are a lot of guide books like Pharmacopeia, but due to technology it is easily accessible to everyone today. :) There are several apps that are downloadable for free in the Apps Store & Google Play like…

Epocrates

Micromedex Drug Information

Monthly Prescribing Reference

The course itself is not easy but if you have the determination to study & to learn, nothing will come difficult.  Good luck to you! I know you can do it. :)

---

back to college, back to chemistry

---

heLLO!! this post includes really cool stuff just like u (;

*beauty guru voice* “lets just dive right in” 

time management

Hex Clock: This is literally the COOLEST THING EVER. im not good at describing things either but giving this one a shot. so basically its 21.56PM right now. its shows #215602 (hour, minute, second) and the background is that hex codes coLOR. cool am i right ladies ;)

Timer-Tab: This is extremely useful! It has a countdown thingy and when it ends it pops up a video from YouTube, guess what it is. Guess it. ITS A ANTIQUE CLOCK ALARM!! You can change it too! And the background! Aaand it has a stopwatch too! Quick hack: put fullcreen after the hashtag on the url. ;)

note taking

ZenPen: It gives you two background options and unlimited options to edit your text.

Escriba: Super simple and super easy to use.

educational

UReddit: UReddit hosts courses and lessons created by the public and can help users to learn languages, scientific principles or even PHP programming.

edX: “Best Courses. Top Institutions. Learn anytime, anywhere.” You have to check this site out.

money saving

Mint: Free to use, Mint can help you organize your finances and track your spending

Wise Bread: WiseBread is dedicated to living well on a tight budget – whether you’re a student or just trying to get more for your money. It offers advice on everything from debt management to growing your own fruit and vegetables.

RetailMeNot(us only): I feel your pain if you’re not in the USA.But I don’t if you’re in the UK because there’s a UK version of it;

MyVouchers(uk only): They both offer discounts for retail stores & restaurants.

random

Sleepyti.me: This site tells you the best times to go to bed if you have to be up at a certain hour

KeepMeOut!: Gives you warnings when you’re on a website(social media) when you’re meant to be studying.

MentalFloss: Hits you with that random fact. Did you know?  Michael Jackson wanted to do a Harry Potter musical. J.K. Rowling said no. BOOM!

ToDoist: Your classic to do list. But more clean and on a screen.

other masterposts:

youtube channels about science

online stationery shops

resources: x,x

---

In the wise words of ABBA, “money money money, must be funny in the rich man’s world.” Unfortunately most students are hardly part of the rich man’s world, so here I’ve compiled a list of tips regarding how I personally manage to save and budget my money!

general tips

ask yourself: do you really, really need this, right now? my parents make so much fun of me because i will spend half an hour in a store and end up not buying anything, but this is a really important and effective way to prevent purchases that you could justify, but don’t actually need. i LOVE christmas shopping and gift shopping, but i have to limit myself to one gift per person. do they really need a second gift? even if it seems cute and perfect? no. you want a second or third vest, but do you need it? you have a washing machine and you can wear that vest more than one time before washing it.

keep money in perspective. if you see something that you think is a good price, check yourself by measuring it against a practical essential. for example, you could get that $20 top, OR you could get 9 toothbrushes for the same amount of money. (that’s kind of a lame analogy, but you get what i mean)

do not spend unnecessary money just because it’s a sale! make sure to still ask yourself if you need it. even if it’s a great sale, remember that it’s still money that you’re spending. spend it wisely! it’s better for your purse if you spend nothing because you don’t absolutely need something than if you spend even a little bit on something you don’t need.

BUDGET/TRACK YOUR SPENDINGS. (see below)

budgeting

download money-saving apps. I keep track of my spendings by keeping a binder full of all my receipts, taped to paper and inserted chronologically. And I use spending tracker by MH Riley Ltd (free on the app store), which allows you to log expenses and income, set budgets, and create categories. You can see pie charts for a breakdown of how much you spend on each category as well! I’ve used it for a couple months now and it’s been really useful because I can also see how much I spend in a big spending month (December) vs a normal month. I honestly spend a lot less money than I feel like I do - so it helps me stress a little bit less about money - and when I know that I log every purchase, it helps me save more and be more conscious of what I’m spending (similar to the effect that paying with cash instead of card has).

budget before each month/semester/season. You’ll have a general plan of what’s going to happen in that time frame (trips, classes, weather) and can plan expenses accordingly - estimate how much you’ll spend on whatever you’re planning to do. Leave yourself a cushion (I usually overestimate by a lot on purpose haha) and allow for food/leisure/shopping expenses. It can also help to work backwards, starting with a baseline amount of money you want to spend and either dividing it up by week/month (spend x amount of money per week), or breaking up the sum into categories as previously mentioned.

shopping tips

sign up for rewards at pharmacies. i am a hardcore CVS customer and saver, and i’m not sure about other pharmacies (from my experience, they aren’t nearly as good when you need to save). one time i saved 52% on my purchase! they’re great with giving you extrabucks and with a card, you can often take advantage of a LOT of deals.

clip coupons to your heart’s content! seriously. coupon clipping is nothing to be ashamed of. i am that person that shows up to the counter with a stack of coupons #noshame.

settle for non-brand name products (sometimes). this isn’t a foolproof rule; there are some items where the less expensive version is actually bad compared to the more expensive brand names, but usually the cheap brand of food is okay/tolerable too, and can be significantly less expensive, and if you go with the generic brands, the savings stack up. 

shop online. look out for in-store deals. old navy is my all time FAVORITE to online shop. they have excellent deals, esp around the holidays. stores have sales relatively frequently; if they don’t have any sales going on (other than their sale rack, which is always a good place to check first), go back again later.

go straight to the sale section. this is pretty obvious.

look at unit prices. the best deal is really based on the unit price. i get that sometimes you just want the least expensive item, but if it’s something like a baking essential and you want to get the best quantity for the price, check the unit price first.

if you are small enough, check the kid’s section. kid’s clothes and shoes are generally less expensive. an adult small is usually equivalent to a girl’s L or XL, and a boy’s M or L. an adult size 6 shoe is usually a girl’s size 3. they make some wicked cute sweaters and t shirts and shoes for kids, and you can save up to 50%! especially on small things like flip flops, plain t shirts, etc.

tell stores when your birthday is if they ask! i know a few stores do ask for your birthday (vera bradley is the one that jumps to mind first), and if they do, TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT! i got a legitimate coupon from vera bradley for the month of november out of it and was able to get a wallet at a great discount!

‘checks and balances’: college student style

shop with cash. when you pay with cash and not a card, you see how much you’re spending. i get paid in cash when i babysit, and that’s usually my spending money for the week. if i’m out of cash and i’m going shopping, i’ll withdraw like $40-60. when i have the physical money in my hand it’s easier to reality check and budget than if i swipe a card, even if i have a number in my head already.

take your time. okay, this isn’t always an option, but impulse buys are what often get people - those little things at the line in forever 21, or the candies by the cash registers at k mart. take time to deliberate over whatever it is that you’re buying.

saving on practicalities

rent textbooks. i know there are a lot of websites out there where you can supposedly download books. i haven’t looked at any of them (here’s a masterpost by @blogresources that includes a section about free textbooks), but i know i prefer having a physical book. you can rent most textbooks (i can’t make guarantees, but from what i’ve seen/heard) on amazon for a fraction of the price, and they will give it to you for the entire semester. for example, i need a textbook, and i could buy it for $143 or rent it for $22.

don’t buy fancy stationery. use that as a major splurge, but honestly, you can get by just fine with $1 notebooks from the pharmacy and pens and pencils that will do the job. i have found plenty of pens that cost less than $3 that i love.

carpool / bike / walk / take PT when possible. it depends where you live; i know that sg has an amazing PT system. it takes longer to get places, but costs like $3 from one side of the island to the other. if you live in boston and places are available via the T, take advantage of that, and so on with all the cities out there. if you can reasonably bike to somewhere, do it. walking is always best. but don’t let yourself get hypothermia! if it’s cold, take a taxi or car. gas prices stack up big time, and it doesn’t really make sense to have a car in college anyway! 

don’t eat out. don’t go to starbucks. these are small things that chew up a LOT of money each month. i limit myself to eating out once every 1-2 months, and set a $10 limit when i do so. starbucks/dunkin donuts = splurge. bring water/drinks and snacks with you, especially if you know that you’re going out and will likely get hungry!

disclaimers

REMEMBER TO TREAT YOURSELF SOMETIMES. set a budget each month and if you come out under the budget, it’s okay to treat yourself! don’t use up all the deficit if you can, but treat yourself to something nice that you don’t explicitly need but that you’ll use.

make allowances for social events! if you are hanging out with a friend, going to the movies, going out to eat, etc, be mindful of your money but don’t turn down an invitation just because you don’t want to spend the money. going to a movie once every 1-2 months is okay! you can find someplace inexpensive to eat, or agree to eat before going and just get ice cream (less expensive) after.

moderation is key. this all sounds really restrictive, but do remember that moderation is okay here. you shouldn’t sacrifice your comfort and health just to save some money. everything will be okay in the end, and stressing about money isn’t good for anyone.

please message me if you have any other specific questions!

---

This website is helpful, especially if you’re new to academic writing! You can select what section of your study you’re writing about and then it provides you with example phrases for different parts of that section. I find this super useful when I feel like I’m repeating myself or I know what results I want to describe but I don’t know how to say it. Here’s an example below:

---

04.29.20—It has indeed been a hot minute.

---

GOOD STUDYING VS BAD STUDYING

GOOD STUDYING

Use recall. When you look at a passage and try to study it,  look away and recall the main ideas. Try recalling concepts when you are walking to class or in a different room from where you originally learned it. An ability to recall—to generate the ideas from inside yourself—is one of the key indicators of good learning.

Test yourself. On everything. All the time. Flashcards are your best friend. Use quizlet if you don’t want to hand-make flashcards. Get somebody to test you on your notes.

Space your repetition. Spread out your learning in any subject a little every day, just like an athlete. Don’t sit and study one subject for 2 hours, do half an hour every day.

Take breaks. It is common to be unable to solve problems or figure out concepts in math or science the first time you encounter them. This is why a little study every day is much better than a lot of studying all at once. When you get frustrated, take a break so that another part of your mind can take over and work in the background. You need breaks in order for your brain to retain the information. Try the Pomodoro method if you have trouble timing breaks!

Use simple analogies. Whenever you are struggling with a concept, think to yourself, How can I explain this so that a ten-year-old could understand it? Using an analogy really helps. Say it out loud, like you’re teaching it, whether it’s to an imaginary class or your sister who couldn’t care less.  The additional effort of teaching out loud allows you to more deeply encode.

Focus. Turn off your phone / iPad / any distractions and clear your desk of everything you do not need. Use apps like Forest if you can’t stay off them!

Do the hardest thing earliest in the day, when you’re wide awake and less likely to push it aside.

BAD STUDYING

Avoid these techniques—they can waste your time even while they fool you into thinking you’re learning!

Passive rereading—sitting passively and running your eyes back over a page. This is a waste of time, frankly, and doesn’t do anything to help information pass into your brain without recall.

Over-highlighting. Colouring a passage of text in highlighter isn’t helpful at all. It’s good for flagging up key points to trigger concepts and information, but make sure what you highlight goes in.

Waiting until the last minute to study. DON’T CRAM!!!

Doing what you know. This isn’t studying! This is like learning how to juggle but only throwing one ball. 

Neglecting the textbook. Would you dive into a pool before you knew how to swim? The textbook is your swimming instructor—it guides you toward the answers. 

Not asking your teachers for help. They are used to lost students coming in for guidance—it’s their job to help you. 

Not getting enough sleep. Your brain practices and repeats whatever you put in mind before you go to sleep, as well as retaining information and repairing itself. Prolonged fatigue allows toxins to build up in the brain that disrupts the neural connections you need to think quickly and well. 

---

Where do you recommend getting textbooks from? (renting, buying, online etc)

well textbook companies are evil and sometimes you have no choice but to buy a textbook new, but for other times where that’s not the case i’d recommend you check out slugbooks! ^_^ they compare a bunch of different sites selling the textbook you need so you can find it at the cheapest price :) it’s like the kayak of academia lol!

---

Free Online Language Courses

Here is a masterpost of MOOCs (massive open online courses) that are available, archived, or starting soon. I think they will help those that like to learn with a teacher or with videos.  You can always check the audit course or no certificate option so that you can learn for free.

American Sign Language

ASL University

Arabic

Arabic for Global Exchange (in the drop down menu)

Arabic Without Walls

Intro to Arabic

Madinah Arabic

Moroccan Arabic

Catalan Sign Language

Intro to Catalan Sign Language

Chinese

Beginner

Basic Chinese

Basic Chinese I. II, III, IV , V

Basic Mandarin Chinese I & II

Beginner’s Chinese

Chinese for Beginners

Chinese Characters

Chinese for HSK 1

First Year Chinese I &  II

HSK Level 1

Mandarin Chinese I

Mandarin Chinese for Business

More Chinese for Beginners

Start Talking Mandarin Chinese

UT Gateway to Chinese

Chino Básico (Taught in Spanish)

Intermediate

Chinese Stories

Intermediate Business Chinese

Intermediate Chinese Grammar

Dutch

Introduction to Dutch

English

Online Courses here

Resources Here

Faroese

Faroese Course

Finnish

A Taste of Finnish

Basic Finnish

Finnish for Immigrants

Finnish for Medical Professionals

French

Beginner

AP French Language and Culture

Basic French Skills

Beginner’s French: Food & Drink

Diploma in French

Elementary French I & II

Français Interactif

French in Action

French for Beginners

French Language Studies I, II, III

French:Ouverture

Intermediate & Advanced

French: Le Quatorze Juillet

Passe Partout 

La Cité des Sciences et de Industrie

Frisian

Introduction to Frisian (Taught in English)

Introduction to Frisian (Taught in Dutch)

German

Beginner

Beginner’s German: Food & Drink

Conversational German I, II, III, IV

Deutsch im Blick

Diploma in German

Rundblick-Beginner’s German

Advanced

German:Regionen Traditionen und Geschichte

Landschaftliche Vielfalt

Hebrew

Biblical Hebrew

Know the Hebrew Alphabet

Teach Me Hebrew

Hindi

A Door into Hindi

Business Hindi

Virtual Hindi

Icelandic

Icelandic 1-5

Indonesian

Learn Indonesian

Irish

Introduction to Irish

Italian

Beginner

Beginner’s Italian: Food & Drink

Beginner’s Italian I

Introduction to Italian

Italian for Beginners 1 , 2, 3 , 4 , 5, 6 

Intermediate & Advaned

Intermediate Italian I

Advanced Italian I

La Commedia di Dante

Japanese

Genki

Japanese JOSHU

Japanese Pronunciation

Sing and Learn Japanese

Tufs JpLang

Kazakh

A1-B2 Kazakh (Taught in Russian)

Korean

Beginner

First Step Korean

How to Study Korean

Learn to Speak Korean

Pathway to Spoken Korean

Intermediate

Intermediate Korean

Nepali

Beginner’s Conversation and Grammar

Norwegian

Introduction to Norwegian

Norwegian on the Web

Portuguese

Curso de Português para Estrangeiros 

Pluralidades em Português Brasileiro

Russian

Beginner

Easy Accelerated Learning for Russian

Advanced

Reading Master and Margarita

Russian as an Instrument of Communication

Siberia: Russian for Foreigners

Spanish

Beginner

AP Spanish Language & Culture

Basic Spanish for English Speakers

Beginner’s Spanish:Food & Drink

Fastbreak Spanish

Introduction to Spanish

Restaurants and Dining Out

Spanish for Beginners

Spanish for Beginners 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Spanish Vocabulary

Intermediate

Spanish:Ciudades con Historia

Spanish:Espacios Públicos

Advanced

Corrección, Estilo y Variaciones 

Leer a Macondo

Spanish:Con Mis Propias Manos

Spanish: Perspectivas Porteñas

Swedish

Intro to Swedish

Swedish Made Easy 1, 2, & 3

Ukrainian

Read Ukrainian

Ukrainian Language for Beginners

Welsh

Beginner’s Welsh

Discovering Wales

Multiple Languages

Ancient Languages

More Language Learning Resources & Websites!

Last updated: March 1, 2017

---