<p>There’s a book every college student should read about studying. It’s called What Smart Students Know by Adam Robinson, written by one of the founders of the test prep service Princeton Review. I have never seen a better explanation of the steps you need to follow to really <em>learn</em> the material, and if you’ve learned it well you will have no trouble with grades.</p>
<p>Its easy to fall into the rut of doing schoolwork almost mechanically while writing up a lab, reading a chapter and answering the questions, solving problem-sets, etc. After you complete each homework assignment or chapter the next 5 minutes you spend is actually the MOST important. Ask yourself what you’ve just learned. Put it in your own words, as if you were summarizing it to a friend who hadn’t done the work yet. And when you have some free time (walking to class, etc) imagine explaining something you’ve learned in class to a friend who missed the class.</p>
<p>Another tool I found useful were the “problem-solver” type books available for many subjects. These have thousands of problems with the steps to get to the solution. Find the chapter on what you’re studying and spend some time practicing until you can get the right answer; when you see a similar problem on a midterm/final you’ll want to laugh out loud because it’s going to be so easy! </p>
<p>There are lots of websites with study skills info; a good starting point is [University</a> of St. Thomas : Academic Support Center](<a href=“http://www.stthomas.edu/academicsupport/studyLinks/default.html]University”>http://www.stthomas.edu/academicsupport/studyLinks/default.html) and I also like the idea behind the post at <a href=“How to Ace Calculus: The Art of Doing Well in Technical Courses - Cal Newport”>How to Ace Calculus: The Art of Doing Well in Technical Courses - Cal Newport;
<p>Lastly, ask yourself if part of the problem is simply not spending enough time studying. Many people at UCLA cruised thru HS because they were among the smartest kids in their school. If the teacher taught and graded to their level then most kids would have flunked. But now at UCLA all the smart kids are with you and so the habits that may have been enough in HS don’t cut it anymore. A good rule of thumb, especially for more technical classes, is to spend 3 hours outside of class for every hour in class.</p>