No Gimmicks by Cesar

No Gimmicks by Cesar - January 2014 Scholarship Essay

As a physical science major, studying plays a major role in my day to day college life. I learned the hard way what ineffective study methods can do to your GPA, financial aid status, and overall enrollment in your university. I was naive enough to believe my high school study methods would allow me to accomplish great things here in the university level but as I said, I learned that is not the case so I quickly had to learn how swim or sink.

The truth of the matter is that there is no secret method to achieving the grades you wish to earn at the end of a quarter/semester. There is no secret potion, no secret technique, no hocus pocus just straight and gritty determination. To paint a better picture, imagine an overweight individual that wants to transform his body into a Brad Pitt type of body. Sure there are weight loss pills and “secret” Hollywood dieting tips that the individual could turn to but in all honesty, these methods would probably not help the individual reach his goals. However, if the individual decided to go on a strict diet consisting of healthy, green, and hearty foods and decided to hit the gym five days a week, than the individuals goal will soon be reached.

The same goes for studying, especially studying within the physical sciences. It’s almost all repetition in order to engrave what you learned into your brain. Imagine your brain as a muscle. The only way you’re going to get the muscle bigger and stronger is through repetition. If you have a homework assignment that you struggled with, do it over and over until solving it becomes almost second nature.

Of course, some students may see this as difficult to swallow because they do not want to spend the time or effort reworking problems when they could be doing other things. No doubt motivation plays a huge role in this method of repetition and because of that, many students cannot do it. I, however, managed to solve this issue with motivation.

If you isolate yourself from everything but your studies than studying becomes a lot easier. Whether you choose to isolate yourself inside the library or outside at a park, make sure you bring your books and homework assignments and just jump into it. Think about it like a video game system, preferably the Xbox 360 because of its, “Jump In.” When you play video games you don’t usually plan out a long, complex plan on how and when you’ll be playing. Instead you just jump into the video games. The same should be occurring with your homework and whatnot when it comes to studying and repetition.

As a science major, I can tell you it is still difficult to make those good grades but these study tips I’m providing make it a whole lot easier than relying on any high school study tips or gimmicks. It’s all in the head, if you have the correct mindset and make studying part of your life than you will see success and accomplish amazing things.