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| Beautiful birds |
Hi! This
is a post I wrote about a year ago for my other blog Young and Unheroic. I’ve
imported it here on Vet Bites as it has some useful info! :)
As the year draws to an end, it’s time to reflect on my first year at university.
What mistakes did I make?
Where did I fail?
By sharing with you where my weaknesses lied, hopefully, it will help you avoid making the same mistakes I made this year.
Here are three ways I went wrong in my first year of vet school, and how we can all learn from these mistakes...
#1: Not regularly reviewing lecture content
On the morning of the exam, when I’m speed-reading lectures that I still haven’t had a proper look through, I silently ask myself why I would leave all this study till too late. Why?!
All too often, I would not plan ahead for those looming end-of-semester exams, and before I know it, week 12 has nastily arrived and it’s too late to start reviewing everything.
I wish I knew that preparing for final exams can start from day one! All you have to do is review!
I wish I knew that preparing for final exams can start from day one! All you have to do is review!
There are many ways to do this.
You can summarise and write your own notes.
You can draw a mind-map.
You can simple re-read all of the material.
My favourite method is to read over a concept, then write paragraphs summarising everything I knew about the topic, then stand up as if I was a teacher and explain it to imaginary students or to myself in the mirror!
You can summarise and write your own notes.
You can draw a mind-map.
You can simple re-read all of the material.
My favourite method is to read over a concept, then write paragraphs summarising everything I knew about the topic, then stand up as if I was a teacher and explain it to imaginary students or to myself in the mirror!
Revise regularly and familiarise yourself with the lecture slides. When final exams roll around, you’ll thank yourself!
#2: Not completing every tutorial worksheet
What a sad mistake I made!
What a sad mistake I made!
Every worksheet that is given to you is probably written by the same people who write the exams!
I would attend a tutorial, do as much as I could and then never look at some of the worksheets again until the end of the semester!
I would attend a tutorial, do as much as I could and then never look at some of the worksheets again until the end of the semester!
After twelve weeks’ worth of worksheets, that’s a mountain of unattempted questions that might still be left blank by the time the exam arrives. And I bet those questions were all over the exam.
For next time, let’s tackle the rest of the worksheet as soon as we get home.
Let’s not be a worksheet abandoner!
#3: Working at a slow pace
Each day, I would write a to-do list and by the day’s end, most of the tasks would be completed and it left me feeling like I’d had the most productive day. HOWEVER, now I have come to realise that I really needed to have tried to fit MORE tasks into my daily schedule. Yes, I was ticking off my to-dos but maybe I hadn’t tasked myself with ENOUGH to-dos in one day.
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| (Kikki. K diary and pen) |
Because even if I worked productively each day, by the end of the semester, I would STILL have
unfinished worksheets,
unlearnt concepts,
unread chapters,
unstudied lecture slides,
unattempted questions,
unwritten notes, and
unreviewed materials. And the end result was an
unhappy me.
It all comes down to this: I was working too slowly.
I may have controlled my distractions and I may have been efficient all day, but judging by how unprepared I felt going into some of the final exams, it clearly means that I should have fit MORE work into my days.
Simply put, I needed to work at a faster pace!
How can we pump through our work instead of labouring over every little task?
Well, I needed to prioritise what is really important versus what is insignificant.
For example, I would spend more time than is necessary on re-listening to small parts of lecture recordings over and over just so I could note down tiny details.
This is slow progress. In the end, this isn’t going to majorly improve my grades, and that time could have been better spent summarising that day’s lecture or reading ahead on the next day’s lecture.
You know, things you would wish you’d done earlier when final exams arrive.
This is slow progress. In the end, this isn’t going to majorly improve my grades, and that time could have been better spent summarising that day’s lecture or reading ahead on the next day’s lecture.
You know, things you would wish you’d done earlier when final exams arrive.
Don’t make the same mistake I did and leave end-of-semester exam study till too late!
I hope these three points helped you in some way!
Remember, you can never really lose if you learn from what went wrong. It doesn’t have to be a simple win or lose situation. You either win or you learn!
Love, Young and Unheroic
All photos by: Young and Unheroic
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