for more context: i have to take an exam in 6 months or so. this exam covers around 16 college courses (mostly math and computer science related), has around 120 4-choice questions and 4 hour time to answer, so a little over 2 minutes per question. the questions are around half split between problem solving and memorizing.
for a few of the subjects i probably already know most of their content, and a couple i couldn’t understand from the start but the majority of them were ones that i’ve studied at some point but have forgotten now.
so my question is how the hell can i prepare myself as best as i can in the little time i got? what i need are some resources to help me plan my study sessions and how i would go about studying, and also how to take mock exams from myself. any other tip is also appreciated.
Do you exam well? Like are you calm sitting them, do you know how to keep track of time and avoid sunk costing on questions you can’t answer etc?
If no you’ll want to address that.
Otherwise work through textbooks of the appropriate material. Find some and work through, I mean work through. Not speed read and nod along. Write notes and do the practice problems. Do it regularly, to learn how to do a skill you have to regularly practice. You’ll need a schedule that has you setting aside time at least a couple of times a week.
You have to regularly practice things in short sessions to learn well, and once learned repeat less frequently to maintain that knowledge. So you might spend 1 hour on the current topic, and close with 15 minutes of some practice questions on topics you already covered.
Keep notes of what you’ve done, by hand! it activates more brain shit. Talking aloud through problems can help too, or pretending you’re explaining what you just learned to a nearby prop or very patient person. If you’re struggling with a topic in your revision questions do more of it till it’s easy again.
Also I don’t exactly recommend this but amusingly prompting an llm to be an inquisitive listener and trying to explain topics and answer its “questions” might be helpful? NEVER try to learn from one though, they lie really convincingly.
Oh also make it easy to practice. Carry a notebook and textbook on you. Waiting for a train? do a question. Appointment running late? question etc.
Don’t rely on having the perfect conditions. Make sure you have a resilient strategy. If you have one window to study in a week and you can’t do it that week you miss the whole week. That’s bad!
Oh yeah also when marking your own stuff you have to be harsh. Mostly right is entirely wrong, do it again till it’s right etc.
Sucks but you don’t want to accidentally learn bad habits
yep. i mean you can guess on the exam itself since it’s multiple choice if you eliminate some choices statistically it’s the more logical choice but when practicing as you said you gotta mark yourself very harshly.
i exam well (hopefully). have done similar exams in the past and it turned out well.
unfortunately it’s too many topics for me to work through in just 6 months so i gotta cut some losses, also goes for repeating. if you can be more specific i would be glad but otherwise thanks for the advice.
It’s hard to be more specific without more specificity.
But if you can get your hands on a practice exam, or at least practice exams for the topics covered, then by trying those you could identity the areas you most need improvement on.
i meant more specific about the frequency of repeating the material. never got down the timing right for myself and often i find that repeating is so boring and exhausting compared to learning for the first time.
2 or 3 sessions a week. Not longer than 2 hours. Habits are easier to form earlier in the day.
Take the time you have, take 2 weeks off the end, in the remainder of time divide each session according to how far along it is and spend the elapsed time % on revision. Obviously don’t be pathological, one minute of revision is useless. Like at 3 months in 50% new stuff 50% revision.
Don’t revise by just rereading stuff, pick problems to do in samples of topics already selected, or practice exams etc. Old uni profs might send you some practice exams and stuff if asked.