What studying hacks have you used to thrive in difficult subjects while studying engineering?

There are no "secret sauce" recipes for the studying styles that work best. However, there are some key items to keep yourself focused. These key elements are; eat right, exercise, make sure you get enough rest; and also be kind to yourself. You will make it through.

I am an extrovert and one who likes to talk out problems. The library was often too social for me with non-engineering friends who had less work to do and more time on their hands. Engineering has many smaller assignments every week while others majors often only had a few assignments, midterm, and final. My engineering program was only four years and I carried 18-21 credits a semester.

Having a study partner or group study helped in college. I had different study partners for different subjects and most often it was in dorm rooms. Math was with my roommate, a math major. Chemistry was a more regular group effort and I led that one. Other topics were with other engineers one-on-one for specific homework assignments or tests who I thought were better at the subject than I was. For lab reports, we often sat around together just to socialize while sharing what we were writing at the same time. There were no computers and we had to rewrite them over if you made a mistake.

For electromagnetic devices, hand drafting, writing for non-engineering classes, and other more solo studying, I used a room away from others to work out the concepts on my own. I had a job in the engineering building lab and had a key to the room. Back then there were no cell phones so having a phone to coordinate an escort across the campus at night was very helpful in an urban city. My roommate had a boyfriend and that was a bit of a problem for studying in my room.

College is different than middle school and high school, in that you most likely will not be taking classes in one big block every day (like from 730am-3pm). Your schedule will most likely be completely different every day of the week depending on when you have certain lectures, labs, and other groups / clubs. I often had classes right in the morning and then not again until 3:30-6pm in the late afternoon. What that means is that it is very important to learn good time management skills. Keep track of what assignments you have due when and think about how long you think it’ll take you to complete these items. Learn to use all those little breaks you have to get stuff done. For example, if you have a 90 minute break between classes, it may be tempting to go back to your dorm to nap. However, that could be a great time to knock out some homework! Also using a calendar (paper and/or electronic – I use both!) and time blocking can be really useful to get in the habit of. I still time block and color code my calendars today, and I’m in my 30s. It is so helpful for me to keep on top of my to-do’s and not feel overwhelmed.

​​I found that I did well in study groups if it was hard material. Find some people in your class and try to get a study group going so you can work together to learn after class. I found that I learned different thought processes and ways to solve problems when working with a small group.

Study groups! Creating a study group with positive people was key to my success. The study group spent more hours than I could count together and we helped each other and encouraged each other. I studied Industrial Engineering and at the time I was in college there were more women than men. I formed a group with 5 other women. We had most of our classes together and studied together. There were a couple of guys who also joined our group from time to time as well.

Some subject areas come naturally to people and I find that this was aligned to subject areas that I enjoyed, like Maths. Luckily, we used Math quite a bit in engineering studies. However, some other areas or topics of study required a lot more work to get through. What I did was I found things that I liked about those topics and mentally prepared myself by focusing on the aspects that I would enjoy. I always could find some aspect that made me see those studies less like work or something I had to do, and more like something I want to do. This made all the difference for me.

Changing up the environment and study habit was what helped me...for example, taking a walk while listening to a podcast or lecture, exercising on a stationary bike while reading my text book, going to a coffee shop sometimes to get a change of environment.

I don’t know if this is helpful, but I always highlighted, underlined & annotated required reading (which may be pdfs, on the screen now), and took lots of notes in every lecture (which may be using a stylus onto a pdf of the lectures slides these days). Before each exam, I then went through those pages of reading & notes, & then my graded homeworks (and any prior exams + labs), and summarized key information in about 10 to 20 pages of nice summary notes. I then collapsed that rather complete set of notes into a few pages of key items to remember for the exam. I would read these notes while on the recumbent bike or Stairmaster at the gym. It was a great way to cement and retain key material. Finally, I collapsed all the most difficult info for me to keep track of into a single page of notes that I would read while walking to the exam. I find it’s very important to write information down, in order to create the neural connections that will allow me to retain it and use it on exams, and later in life. Summarizing and creating your own notes is far better than simply reading someone else’s notes (i.e., lecture slides or the book). Those summary sheets for quizzes and early exams are also priceless in preparation for final exams.

Another thing I did that helped me avoid ever getting a B in college (and high school, I guess) was to become friends with some of the smartest students in each class. I was able to reach out to them with my toughest questions (in addition to visiting faculty & their TAs during office hours), even late at night. I learned so much through those top-notch classmates. And created some long-lasting friendships.

When it comes to studying engineering in college - please remember that community matters. There will be some difficult courses and things that you'll have to learn and create, and having the help of your classmates and professors matters most. I suggest that you prepare to be hands-on in building relationships with your professors and classmates so that they can depend on you for support and vice versa. Don't be afraid to set up office hours with your professors if you aren't grasping a concept and don't be afraid to create study groups with your classmates to aid in your learning. I learned best from my peers in college. We would gather in the library in group rooms to go over individual or group project assignments then help each other where each of us may be stuck. Remember once you graduate from college then you land an engineering job, those same classmates could potentially be your work team members (but even if they aren't), I highly advise that you work on team and relationship building because this is an invaluable skill set that you'll need to excel in your career.

Your guess would be correct. College is nothing like middle school and high school. There are no second chances or extra credit in a typical college class. Yet like middle school and high school, you will have subjects that you find easy and those that will be difficult.

As a rule of thumb, you should allocate 2-3 hours of study time for every hour you attend class. Thus 12 hours of class time per week would be 24 to 36 hours of study time. If you have a class which you know you will struggle with you may want to increase study time for that class.

Study suggestions, read ahead of instruction or familiarize yourself with the text books. Having an overview of information can prompt questions and clarifications during classroom time. Don't be afraid to ask that question – it leads to discussion and enhanced learning in the classroom.

If you do get behind in a class, look for summary information in the text books, challenge questions or review sections. This may help you get back on track easily. Otherwise schedule additional time in your study schedule. What is important is that you don't give up. In the worst case scenario, move on to the current discussion material and get back on track with the class room. Beware of the continual trying to catch up. This can easily become frustrating and a snowball effect, just skip forward to where you need to be.

Review and re-write your classroom notes, ASAP. Taking some time to review and make your classroom notes more legible and organized. During this operation, additional information will be remembered and portions of interest can be explored more readily.

Organize a study team. Meet individuals in your class and attack a difficult subject from a team angle. Different perspectives may help you understand material in a manner which the instructor may not present. In addition, it builds a network of individuals of similar education interest which may provide future help in other classes.

Take practice tests! Be sure to actually do your homework and ask your professors and teaching assistants for their help if you don't understand the question / how to get to an answer. By actively problem solving, you'll be more prepared for your exams. Take good notes in class, and review while doing your homework. Be an active student versus passive, and you'll find the courses to be a lot easier!

My study habits really varied by class and what kind of foundation I had going into that class. Sometimes my previous study habits worked and no adjustment was needed. Other times I needed to seek out a study group from the class or work with other students on the homework to ensure understanding. I also had to be a bit more proactive, so that I could look at the homework and figure out if I needed help from the professor and/or teaching assistants prior to office hours and then could come with questions to get help. When it came to studying for exams, sometimes I had to work through practice problems, in addition to reviewing notes and homework to ensure understanding. If teachers gave out copies of old exams and/or study packets, I always found that helpful as well. Overall though, I made microadjustments on an as-needed basis to ensure I was learning and understanding the information.

In high school, I typically was able to complete homework assignments independently. One thing I found in college was that it became more critical to study and work on homework with other classmates. I was not used to asking for help, but once I did, I learned so much more. This habit will go far past college as working as a team with others will continue to serve you well in your career!

Everyone comes from a different background, from different high schools when entering college. Bring all the good habits you have learned from HS. When studying engineering, different courses require you to learn different types of information, so be aware and adjust studying accordingly. If the class requires a lot of memorization, perhaps flashcards are the best approach. If the class requires manipulating equations, perhaps just doing many problems is the best approach. If a lot of problem solving and understanding new phenomenology is what is required, try studying in groups and bringing questions to the professors office hours. Sometimes classes may require a combination of techniques. The biggest help I found was starting well ahead of time, and early in the class to ensure I understood the fundamentals of the subject. Last hack - sleep well the night before so your brain is well rested. Perhaps light exercise before the exam to get your blood flowing, and eat a good meal before the exam. You've got this!

Yes, in my opinion, college is different from middle and high school because it is less of a structured environment. There will be so many other things to get involved in, along with academics, which ultimately can lead to lots of distractions. Learning early on what you need to do to update or improve your study habits is a key part of time management. My first suggestion is to try to understand or think about how you learn (or the type of learner you are)…what I mean by this is, do you learn best with pictures, illustrations, or flashcards? Or maybe you prefer to read things out loud with music playing in the background. Figure out what works best in helping you to retain information, as there will be a lot of information to remember. Next, think about your environment – can you go to the library and be amongst a lot of people in a study room or do you need peace and quiet? All things to understand about yourself as you make your next transition. Time of day is something else to think about since the time of your classes will be what you plan them to be. When do you study best? I am a night owl, so my friends and I would go to the school library late at night to study and work on problems when we were in college. Lastly, back to my initial comment, time management will be very essential as you have more freedom in college to take a variety of different courses at different times and different days of the week, including the weekend. Plan study time into your schedule and don’t forget to plan time for fun!

I have a few different tips for studying hard subjects that I’ve used in both undergrad and grad school:

1. Start your assignments early, way before they are due. Compared to high school, it can be much easier to procrastinate in college. And some assignments may look short but actually take longer than you expect. The longer you have to complete an assignment, the less stressed you will be and the more you will retain from it (which will help with tests too!).

2. Start going to office hours before you need help. This will help you build a relationship with the professors and TAs so that you will feel more comfortable reaching out if you do start to struggle a bit later on. Plus, this is a great way to meet really interesting people who might have research opportunities for students.

3. Find a study group for each of your classes. It’s great to know people who are working on the same problem sets or lab assignments. If you get stuck, you can reach out, and you can feel good helping others. Plus, working in a space with other people can be motivating to get the work done too. Eventually you may get to choose group projects, and you might find that study group members would be good project group members too. Don’t be afraid to be the one who reaches out first! Everyone is nervous when it comes to meeting new people.

4. Help others! Explaining things to others who are struggling with a topic is a great way to really learn information and retain it. This also helps you uncover things that you still need to work on too. I found that I learned the most when I was a TA for a class and had to be able to break down and explain complicated concepts at a fundamental level.

	1. Start immediately. As soon as your schedule allows, after a lesson is taught, go and review/study it as soon as possible for 2 reasons. 1 - You get a chance to review it yourself while the lesson is fresh and 2 - if you have questions, you have time to visit the professor or their TA for help. Yes, sometimes it's good to let a lesson digest before you dive it but I think that's AFTER you've taken this first step. 
	2. Get to know your professor/TA and definitely form a study group. When you're able to explain something to someone else is when you find out whether you truly understand a subject or not. 
	3. Follow this strategy (or a variation of it) especially if you have a study group: First watch the expert (professor), then you try it - let them watch you (participating in class); next you try it alone (step 1 far above); lastly,  teach someone else (explain it to someone in your study group).
I hope this helps! Happy Studying!

Hi!

Personally, there are few things that helped me get through some difficult courses:

- Set aside time to study everyday. Don't wait to cram on the weekends or before the test. Set a schedule for yourself at whatever time works best for you [mine was early in the morning]

- Join a study group. I can't tell you how beneficial these have been for me. In my group, we often had a rule that everyone needed to contribute so that the session was balanced in the workload.

- Take advantage of session with the course TA and professor led office hours. Always try to work through the problems/questions as much as you can before the session. I've found that this helped me get the most out the limited time in office hours. When time permitted, I would just attend OH to listen in because a lot of times you learn new approaches or questions you didn't even think about.

- Make sure you have a healthy diet and are getting enough rest. Take breaks and disconnect from studying for a bit. Hang out with friends/family, exercise, meditate, read or whatever helps you relax. You need to take care of both your mind & body.