Comments on: The Vital Five: A Crash Course for Turning Around Poor Academic Performance http://calnewport.com/blog/2007/08/17/the-vital-five-a-crash-course-for-turning-around-poor-academic-performance/ Decoding Patterns of Success Wed, 16 May 2012 13:44:26 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: MIT failure http://calnewport.com/blog/2007/08/17/the-vital-five-a-crash-course-for-turning-around-poor-academic-performance/#comment-26719 MIT failure Thu, 29 Dec 2011 20:44:05 +0000 http://calnewport.com/blog/?p=38#comment-26719 I'm a freshman at MIT this year, and I did really badly first semester: I failed ALL of my classes, but by barely a point. I know how to do the math I just didn't do psets. I generally meant to, but started far too late, and had only at most a few hours to finish psets for classes like 18.700 and 18.022 and I had never written thesis-driven essays before, coming to MIT from 11th grade, so I also failed my HASS class (getting a D). I'd like some tips please. I've been reading all of the articles on your blog but I'm not quite sure how to frame them together into a coherent system that I can actually follow and make into a habit. The only thing I've realized really is that I need to study the way I learn, which for math is intuitively, but that seems to be too easy to put off. I feel like I have too much time to study effectively, and then I end up leaving things off until the very end, at which point I have almost no time to study or finish psets or essays/readings. What should I do? I’m a freshman at MIT this year, and I did really badly first semester: I failed ALL of my classes, but by barely a point. I know how to do the math I just didn’t do psets. I generally meant to, but started far too late, and had only at most a few hours to finish psets for classes like 18.700 and 18.022 and I had never written thesis-driven essays before, coming to MIT from 11th grade, so I also failed my HASS class (getting a D). I’d like some tips please. I’ve been reading all of the articles on your blog but I’m not quite sure how to frame them together into a coherent system that I can actually follow and make into a habit. The only thing I’ve realized really is that I need to study the way I learn, which for math is intuitively, but that seems to be too easy to put off. I feel like I have too much time to study effectively, and then I end up leaving things off until the very end, at which point I have almost no time to study or finish psets or essays/readings. What should I do?

]]> By: Emperor http://calnewport.com/blog/2007/08/17/the-vital-five-a-crash-course-for-turning-around-poor-academic-performance/#comment-15315 Emperor Sun, 01 Aug 2010 21:11:45 +0000 http://calnewport.com/blog/?p=38#comment-15315 I'm not sure I agree with the first point made. I fared extremely well attending only ~30% classes, but I'm not from the US or Canada, so I can't really judge the effects of such "absenteeism" at universities there. Still, a lot of time lectures resemble something you stress students shouldn't do while studying: rote review. I therefore think it's important to separate the wheat from the chaff and attend only lectures that are going to contribute to knowledge gained in a particular field. I’m not sure I agree with the first point made. I fared extremely well attending only ~30% classes, but I’m not from the US or Canada, so I can’t really judge the effects of such “absenteeism” at universities there. Still, a lot of time lectures resemble something you stress students shouldn’t do while studying: rote review. I therefore think it’s important to separate the wheat from the chaff and attend only lectures that are going to contribute to knowledge gained in a particular field.

]]> By: The Word "Study" is Meaningless | Scholastici.us http://calnewport.com/blog/2007/08/17/the-vital-five-a-crash-course-for-turning-around-poor-academic-performance/#comment-90 The Word "Study" is Meaningless | Scholastici.us Tue, 04 Sep 2007 19:36:16 +0000 http://calnewport.com/blog/?p=38#comment-90 [...] The Vital Five: A Crash Course for Turning Around Poor Academic Performance Tags: gtd, guest blogging, productivity, studyBookmark to: [...]

[...] The Vital Five: A Crash Course for Turning Around Poor Academic Performance Tags: gtd, guest blogging, productivity, studyBookmark to: [...]

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