Study Skills

It’s really helpful to study with people. It serves as motivation to study as well as an immediate source of discussion if/when questions arise. Some general tips on group studying:

• Understand that everyone studies differently. Figure out what works best for you instead of assuming that there is only one correct way of studying. Many students try to read the lectures BEFORE class, then jot down a few notes during class. Also, writing things down rather than just reading them tends to help with retention. Most classes post lecture notes on the web or have all the info in the syllabus, so frantically trying to copy everything is usually not helpful. Dr. O’Bryan is one professor you’ll want to take good notes for.
• When learning styles are identified, make sure your group includes people with different learning styles. Therefore, when information is processed throughout the group, different approaches to the material will emerge. This provides each student with a more global view of the material.
• Studying with friends may or may not work. If majority of your time is spent giggling about Gossip Girl instead of giggling about cardiac output, that group may not work for you. Therefore, if you find that your group doesn’t work, then disbanding needs to occur. Note that disbanding a study group does not mean disbanding a friendship.
• Study groups may also change as classes change. Different study techniques work best for different classes.
• Use the faculty! They REALLY DO love meeting with and helping students here.
• Many people will argue that going to lecture is useless. It really depends on the lecturer and the person. Some lecturers are so boring you fall asleep, or they simply regurgitate everything in the syllabus or textbook. Some people learn well from lectures and some people learn better on their own. So, it is up to you.
• Great group study rooms are the McNary rooms on the first floor of the school, the lab rooms on the second and fourth floors, and the rooms on the 7th floor of Evans Building.
• They are sometimes hard to get but sometimes you get lucky (see guidelines in “Libraries and Places to Study”).
• In general, use the syllabi to study for exams and use the texts if further comprehension is necessary. Virtually all the material for exams comes from the syllabi and lecture notes. Most professors will not grab random facts out of textbooks if they weren’t discussed in class.
• Utilize the Courseinfo website. Most professors are pretty good about posting class notes and relevant info on their respective sites.
• Talk to the second years! Many of us want to help, and that’s why so many of us are involved in AMSA, Peer Advising and SCOMSA

Old Exams

While BUSM exams are now closed, many professors still will provide older exam questions to give you a sense of what kinds of question they will ask. Do not worry if some of the old questions do not reflect the exact content your course focused on! Courses do change over time. That being said, old exams really help you get to know each professor’s testing style; many questions are asked in a similar if not identical way. We’d recommend doing at least one old exam not only to become familiar with why the right answer is correct, but perhaps more importantly, why the wrong answers are incorrect.