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Background: I am a graduate student in a mid-tier U.S. university, and I am struggling. I feel like during my undergrad, I haven't acquired the necessary skills to keep up with the high volume, pace of graduate classes. This is for three reasons:

  1. I got my undergrad degree at a low-tier institution, so the pace was not that high.
  2. I only went to school part time while working part time. I've never taken 4 classes in one semester; I usually took 2, a few times 3, and most often only one of them was a math class.
  3. For years now, I have been losing my passion for math. I still sometimes get a small enjoyment from studying it, and it's my favorite academic subject, but honestly it has just become a chore.

Now I am about to start my second year in graduate school, and I am freaking out. The first year was stressful, but I was able to get by since a lot of the material was review from undergrad. In this second year, the classes now only seem much harder and faster, but they will also be 100% new material. Additionally, I have to do a research project (which I do not feel prepared for), and on top of this, I have to worry about exams in May.

Question: In light of the background, I am looking to improve my skills of studying material at a fast pace and in a high volume. Are there any specific strategies for this?

I have read that one crucial component of learning is to constantly revisit material. However, I'm afraid that this may be impossible for me, at the current rate. In other words, I think that the classes will be going so fast, and cover so much material, that it will take all my time and energy to just keep up with the new material.

user95921
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Tobi
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1 Answers1

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I would suggest you to work on following -$$ Concentration $$ Keep your mind more on the subjects you are studying, and very less on the rest of the worldly matter, and any kind of negativity. $$Motivation $$ You should like what you are learning, or else it is extremely difficult to excel anywhere. $$Belief\;in\;self$$ Work on your self-confidence. If you have succeeded in enrolling into a good institution, you will be able to complete the course and research work for sure. However, rather than just focusing on completing the course somehow, and expecting it to be just a revision of your under graduation, you should be driven by your curiosity to learn more.
$$Reduce\;stress$$ Practice meditation. If you have not done it before, just sit quietly for some time, by yourself, and concentrate on your breath and don't think anything. Then start questioning yourself, what are your fears, why you have negativity, for each reason your mind gives you, ask why .. like root cause analysis .. this way go to the root cause of all negativeness, and do your best to resolve them in your mind. This will improve your concentration and self-confidence and overall mental health.
$$ Find\; some\; good\; company\; and\; a\; good\; guide $$ Try to make friends with other students who are doing good in academics - same year or seniors. They will be able to give you useful tips on improving grasping power and motivation. Having a good guide for the research work, is extremely important.

For easy tips on fast grasping, there are many advice that you can google .. like https://www.magneticmemorymethod.com/how-to-study-fast/

Best of luck for your graduation.

The above suggestion are based on my personal experience. I was a good student in my school, and cleared a tough entrance exam for a premiere institute. After joining my under graduation, it was so overwhelming, that I thought of leaving it initially, and lost all self-confidence. Later I recovered, using above techniques, and did good in my graduation.

Monalisha Bhowmik
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