Ib_kid Posted October 22, 2016 Report Share Posted October 22, 2016 Hey guys, I really really need some advice here. I have 7 days before my exams begin and only found out about this forum today. I'm taking Indonesian SL, Maths SL, English SL, Econ HL, Chemistry HL, Art HL(which i've already completed) and have been predicted on getting a 5,3,4,4,3,5 respectively. In the beginning, I was trying really hard however, I lost motivation as each time I try I can't seem to get it right. Furthermore, from what i've noticed(from previous tests), i've only seem to do well if I focus all attention on one subject and ignore the others. This recent month, I have been studying all day, however, I still feel like i'm only going to achieve those grades. I can study hard but haven't seem to be able to study smart. I genuinely don't know what to do, please if you have any advice that might improve my grades please help. Thank you guys. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBGeek Posted October 22, 2016 Report Share Posted October 22, 2016 Ok, if you have only 7 days left, then you really need to prioritise. Think about what college/uni program you are interested in going to, and what courses your program would like to see you excel in. Focus on those subjects. To study smart, you need to be hitting the main points of each subject. Go through the syllabus and get the main points down first, and then go back and learn the less - important details. I know this is generic information, but it could really help. I think the most important advice would be to keep your stress levels in check. If you spend most of your energy stressing, then you reduce your ability to study effectively. Eat good food, drink water, keep your mind sharp. It will help you. I hope all goes well. Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mushroom Posted October 22, 2016 Report Share Posted October 22, 2016 Definitely do not begin any thoughts with that of panic. Calm yourself firstly, and when you're feeling a bit better, begin to organize a schedule where you prioritize what you think is a) most important to you and any university program you want to apply to and b) needs the most improving. Definitely think about getting a lot done, but don't skip parts that really need your attention as that may not be the smartest move. One thing I've noticed with studying is often, people study what they're more familiar with and forget about what they actually don't know and thereby do badly in that part of a test. Don't do that - study what you don't know until you feel you know it, then move onto another area that needs improvement. Just keep moving forward like that in your studies and you should be fine. You should be fine, so don't worry too much! Best of luck! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kw0573 Posted October 22, 2016 Report Share Posted October 22, 2016 (edited) 1 hour ago, mushroom said: One thing I've noticed with studying is often, people study what they're more familiar with and forget about what they actually don't know and thereby do badly in that part of a test. Don't do that - study what you don't know until you feel you know it, then move onto another area that needs improvement. With that in mind, I wouldn't suggest to study a topic/subject completely but it should be necessary to only be generally comfortable with IB and homework questions. With just a few days left, each day you want to study a handful of topics, not just a single subject a day. For example as you are doing IB questions, don't fret too much about challenging questions that come occasionally, but worry about questions that shows up often and easy to study for. Maybe in electrochemistry/redox for example, worry more about in voltaic/electrolytic cells the direction of electron/current/charge flow and which side is redox/anode/catode, instead of balancing super difficult redox reactions, the latter is not something you can quickly master. In Math and Chemistry, there are some math formulae that you should revisit at least once to be confident in just simply plugging in numbers in those straightforward questions. At least know what each variable mean and where the formula is in the data booklet. So what I'm saying is that you should go against your habit of studying for only 1 subject intensively, and that you rotate studying for courses each day, maybe dedicate 60-90 minutes to each subject and take quick breaks in between. EDIT: What I means, at least until 2 days before your first exam, you should study each subject about equally (maybe less time in Indonesian and Arts since they are your highest predicted grades), then right before your exam, you want to switch between just 2-3 subjects, and to NEVER just do a single subject for more than 90-120 minutes. Even study the less urgent subjects for say 25% of time is better than not looking it over. Edited October 22, 2016 by kw0573 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ib_kid Posted January 7, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2017 (edited) On 23/10/2016 at 5:55 AM, mushroom said: Definitely do not begin any thoughts with that of panic. Calm yourself firstly, and when you're feeling a bit better, begin to organize a schedule where you prioritize what you think is a) most important to you and any university program you want to apply to and b) needs the most improving. Definitely think about getting a lot done, but don't skip parts that really need your attention as that may not be the smartest move. One thing I've noticed with studying is often, people study what they're more familiar with and forget about what they actually don't know and thereby do badly in that part of a test. Don't do that - study what you don't know until you feel you know it, then move onto another area that needs improvement. Just keep moving forward like that in your studies and you should be fine. You should be fine, so don't worry too much! Best of luck! On 23/10/2016 at 7:20 AM, kw0573 said: With that in mind, I wouldn't suggest to study a topic/subject completely but it should be necessary to only be generally comfortable with IB and homework questions. With just a few days left, each day you want to study a handful of topics, not just a single subject a day. For example as you are doing IB questions, don't fret too much about challenging questions that come occasionally, but worry about questions that shows up often and easy to study for. Maybe in electrochemistry/redox for example, worry more about in voltaic/electrolytic cells the direction of electron/current/charge flow and which side is redox/anode/catode, instead of balancing super difficult redox reactions, the latter is not something you can quickly master. In Math and Chemistry, there are some math formulae that you should revisit at least once to be confident in just simply plugging in numbers in those straightforward questions. At least know what each variable mean and where the formula is in the data booklet. So what I'm saying is that you should go against your habit of studying for only 1 subject intensively, and that you rotate studying for courses each day, maybe dedicate 60-90 minutes to each subject and take quick breaks in between. EDIT: What I means, at least until 2 days before your first exam, you should study each subject about equally (maybe less time in Indonesian and Arts since they are your highest predicted grades), then right before your exam, you want to switch between just 2-3 subjects, and to NEVER just do a single subject for more than 90-120 minutes. Even study the less urgent subjects for say 25% of time is better than not looking it over. On 22/10/2016 at 11:23 PM, IBGeek said: Ok, if you have only 7 days left, then you really need to prioritise. Think about what college/uni program you are interested in going to, and what courses your program would like to see you excel in. Focus on those subjects. To study smart, you need to be hitting the main points of each subject. Go through the syllabus and get the main points down first, and then go back and learn the less - important details. I know this is generic information, but it could really help. I think the most important advice would be to keep your stress levels in check. If you spend most of your energy stressing, then you reduce your ability to study effectively. Eat good food, drink water, keep your mind sharp. It will help you. I hope all goes well. Hi everyone, so terribly sorry for the late reply. I took everyone's advice and just received my ib results about 2 days ago and i received a total of 36 points far from what I expected . Thank you guys so much for your help, it really helped! Edited January 7, 2017 by Ib_kid 5 Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBGeek Posted January 8, 2017 Report Share Posted January 8, 2017 20 hours ago, Ib_kid said: Hi everyone, so terribly sorry for the late reply. I took everyone's advice and just received my ib results about 2 days ago and i received a total of 36 points far from what I expected . Thank you guys so much for your help, it really helped! 3 Congratulations! I'm glad everything worked out for you. I wish you much success in your future! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ib_kid Posted January 20, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2017 On 08/01/2017 at 9:55 PM, IBGeek said: Congratulations! I'm glad everything worked out for you. I wish you much success in your future! Thank you :)) you too! Reply Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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