Breaking and Making Habits by Madeline

Breaking and Making Habits by Madeline - May 2016 Scholarship Essay

As a undergraduate who just wrapped up their freshmen year I learned a lot about what helps me study the best, what study habits no longer work for me that did in college, and what study habits allow me to interpret the information critically and on a deeper level. Finals is all hyped up, there are many stressors around you and many distractions. Being discipline with myself and putting my academics first definetly helped me keep my grades up and not wanting to let myself down by knowing I did not put in full effort.

High school I loved having flash cards and self quizzing myself but what I later realized was that this was not going to allow me to understand the material but simply memorize the word for word criteria needed to get the grade I wanted in the class. I wanted to not only get the desired grade but also to understand what I was learning in my college classes at an intellectual level. The study method that has helped me the most is to first write my notes by hand in class not on a computer. Before the final while studying for the specific course, I then look over my handwritten notes and then rewrite my notes in the same classroom and general seating area in which I learned the material. Being in the same classroom that you learned the material while studying is key. I learned in my psychology class that it is easier to retrieve and interpret information when you are in the same place as it was encoded. Although it may seem like a hassle it is truly worth it and proven to be highly effective. As you rewrite your notes this allows you to refresh yourself on the material and being in the classroom allows you to visualize more of what the teacher explained, examples given, etc.

Finally to stay consistent when taking the final, if given the opportunity I sit the same seat or generic area that I always sit in during class. This allows me to retrieve the information better and more quickly and have a better understanding when taking the test itself.