You know the saying, "You just got to try your best."
I would say that you got to be the best.
Is being top 20% of your class good enough for you? No
If you want something you got to get after it
and then you will start producing good results
and then you will build confidence along the way.
Let's just cut to the chase.
Here are 10 study techniques that I swear by as a medical student
they helped me get into medicine
and I use these on a day-to-day basis.
Half of them focus on the actual study techniques
and the other half focus on the study mentality
which is just as important.
Let's start with the first one.
First, you got to study from the testable core materials outwards.
So let's say the box represents all the information that is presented to you
and the star in the middle is the testable material.
Someone who doesn't know how to study will go from top to bottom
covering every single little detail
and when the exam time comes
they haven't covered like 20 to 30% of what is testable.
Whereas someone who knows how to study will start from the middle,
you know, study from the core materials
that are testable and then study outwards
and when the exam time comes
although they haven't studied everything
they studied what is important and what is testable.
I know that you want to be the best student as possible.
I want to be the best doctor as possible.
So when studying, we have this tendency to try to learn everything
but we have to make this mindset shift
from focusing on those long-term goals to short-term goals.
And those short-term goals when you're taking courses
is to pass and get good grades in every midterm
and every exam that are presented before you
and then those long-term goals will take care of themselves.
So how do you know what's testable or not.
There are three ways of figuring that out.
First is to look for practice tests or previous tests.
Sometimes the lecturers give you, you know
a couple of questions at the end of their lecture to go over on,
pay attention to those.
I also looked online and undergrad
to figure out if there were any practice tests lying around.
I asked seniors
if they have taken the course and if they had any pre practice material.
I asked my friend who was also taking the course.
You know, you got to use your resources
to figure out if there are any additional study materials so you can use.
You have to think like an examiner, not a learner.
So when you're going over the material
always imagine in your mind,
how can I test it in a multiple-choice format?
How can I test this in a short answer format?
And then try to learn that way.
Number 2 in the list is to write good concise notes
and then plan out your timing for all your midterms and all your exams
and then constantly evaluate as you're studying so that you're not falling behind.
So for example, let's say you're taking 5 courses
and before a midterm you have to go over 10 lectures per course.
And then each lecture has 50 slides.
That totals up to 2,500 slides that you have to go over before a midterm.
So you have to write a good concise note that summarizes everything
that makes it manageable for you to go over the materials
before you write the midterms, so that you're not overloaded.
Try to write notes as concise as possible
containing keywords and important information.
You know that if you don't remember something from your note
you have the PowerPoint slides that you can always fall back on.
Number 3 on the list is to use active recall in learning.
I made a video on this previously that you can watch
but let me expand on that further here.
Let me start off by giving you examples of students who don't know how to study.
So when presented with an information
like mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell.
What they do is without thinking, they're just write.
Nothing is coming into their brains.
So what I do when I'm going over my notes
is I read the information, I write only the keywords
And then as opposed to looking at my notes, I look at that keyword.
For example, what is mitochondria?
And then I try to think mitochondria is the powerhouse, powerhouse of the cell.
Why is the powerhouse of the cell?
And then I try to supplement information from the lecture.
It's the power of the cell because it produces ATP.
So I'm using all of my senses.
I'm writing down which is my, you know, tactile motion.
I'm saying things out which is verbal. I'm looking at my notes previously.
I'm using my visual cues
and as I'm saying it, I'm listening, so I'm using also my auditory senses.
And most often when you're actively recalling
you cannot remember all the information
and that is okay,
because studies have shown that just by attempting to recall
you're creating the connection between the information and your memory.
And number 4 I cannot emphasize this enough
Reviewing is just as important as learning new information.
So if I have 20 lectures to go over before midterm for example
as supposed to going 1 to 20 and then going back to 1 to 20.
What I do is, I go to 1 to 5
and then I review 1 to 5 quickly and then move on to 6 to 10.
And then once I'm done 6 to 10
even more quickly I go over 1 to 5
and then I look over 6 to 10
and then I go into 11 to 15.
Obviously, you have to time this correctly before a midterm
so that you actually cover everything.
Number 5 is more of a mentality thing
You have to study harder for your midterms than your final exams.
You're going to obviously study hard for your final exam
but you have to study harder for your midterms
because that sets the tone for the entire course.
Let's say you got a bad mark on a midterm
then the entire course is just a catch-up game.
You're worrying the whole time probably 2 to 3 months
worrying about whether you're going to get a good enough final mark
so that you can make up for getting a bad mark on your midterms.
Number 6 is having a strong mindset throughout the school year.
I'm going to come across as a little harsh here
but you know the saying, "You just got to try your best".
I would say, that you got to be the best.
Is your best really the top 1% of your class?
Is your best to top 5% of your class?
If the program that you want to get into in the end
has less than 10% acceptance rate
is being top 20% of your class good enough for you?
No.
And so, if you want something you got to get after it
and then you will start producing good results
and then you will build confidence along the way.
Number 7 is putting the work in and out working everyone
which is kind of counter intuitive to put it in this video
because this is a study technique video
but compared to someone who knows all these study techniques
but doesn't work hard,
someone who doesn't know any of these techniques
and is just putting the hours in studying
and getting the information into their brain
is always going to beat that person with better study techniques.
I wasn't the brightest person in my class
so what I did was I just literally outworked everyone.
How do I know that? I walked into a library before everyone else
and I walked out of the library after everyone else.
I spent my time
studying on Friday nights, Saturday nights when everyone was going out partying.
And there was, you know, one other student
that was leaving the library at the same time, late night
and he is now a cardiac surgery resident at the U of A so,
things like that happen
so you just have to outwork everyone if you really want to be successful.
Number 8 is getting a serious study partner and friend
who wants it as bad as you.
If you think it's going to be hard to find them,
well, if you start studying late nights at a library all the time,
you tend to come across these guys.
It's hard coming in early in the morning and leaving late at night,
coming in on weekends
but in undergrad, I had a group of friends who I really studied with
and we didn't really disturb each other.
We.. when it was time to study we studied.
We didn't interrupt each other.
And when it was...
when the business was taken care of we went out and had fun.
Number 9 is staying consistent and staying on top of everything.
Especially in medicine where there's like a million things going on.
If I start to lose track of things, I get super stressed.
So I have to be on top of every email,
I have to be on top of every...
you know, assessment, and all the work that I have to do.
In undergrad you're dealing with 5 courses
plus your extracurriculars and everything going on,
so you have to stay on top of things so that you don't fall behind and get stressed.
Let me give you an example of consistency and why it is so important.
You have student A and student B.
You know, student A is working Friday night, Saturday, Sunday 12 hours each.
Student B decides to work on Friday but takes Saturday and Sunday off.
Then that student B has fallen behind student A by 24 hours.
So no matter how hard he tries,
you know, the next on Monday studying 14 hours as opposed to 12 hours
on Tuesday starting 16 hours.
That guy is always playing catch up to student A
and when you're on a curve in university and undergrad
you're just going to not be able to compete against student A.
Number 10 is effectively controlling your anxiety and your worry
when you're going through school.
There are two types of warriors.
One is someone who doesn't study and is worried about not studying.
The solution to that is simple, you just got to study.
Number 2, The second type of warrior is
someone who worries despite having done all their studies.
And when you're in that position
then you need to write down what you're worried about.
So, on a notebook, on an iPad or whatever.
You're, you're worrying because you're not seeing what you're worried about.
So divide a line halfway in the middle
write down what you can control and what you cannot control.
And something like what you can control is
waking up early, going to the library, and studying for X amount of hours
and staying focused when you're studying.
What you cannot control is
the actual grades that I'm going to get from this course.
So if I'm worried, Oh, am I going to get a B,
am I going to get a B+, am I going to do an A-, A+
you cannot control that.
Just focus on what you can control
and you just have to give up on what you cannot control.