“The only difference between a mob and a trained army is organization.”
-Calvin Coolidge
If your efforts towards a good grade last semester resembled a mob more than an army, I guess you’re in the right place.And if you’ve sworn on everything that is holy that next semester your preparation will be a lot better, then you are definitely in the right place.
Hopefully all those heartfelt promises won’t be in vain and this article will help you be a bit more proactive towards your college education.
Good order is the foundation of all things. – Edmund Burke
- Sort out your study materials.
I’ve often found that finding the right material to read, that adds context to what is asked in the JNTUH exam is half the battle.You might find your Units scattered over two or three reference books and finding that obscure passage will make all the difference to your comprehension of what’s happening.So find those e-books online and immediately add it to your cloud storage so that you won’t be missing out on anything when you most need it.Or better yet invest in a paperback or two so that you can actively make notes and keep it aside for later use.Break tradition for once and ignore the paper brick.
(Spectrum’s most riveting read-NOT!-The”All-In-One”).
2. Find courses online that complement your JNTU courses
You’ll soon figure out that JNTU courses might not take the subject as deep as you want it to, or maybe the approach is a tad bit to subjective for your taste.Finding the right courses online not only let you understand the subject matter more deeply but also let you flex your programming muscles-puny as they maybe-on assignments, which will have you programming like a champ in no time.
3. Competitive Programming
If you are serious about a career in computer science it’s time to start competitive programming. So rev up your engines and sign up for websites like spoj,hackerank ,hackerearth,code chef etc. Even 15 minutes a day on these platforms will make all the difference in the world in the long run. It will definitely shave off time during your classes conducted on Tesselator. And seeing as most companies search for talent through these websites, you might even land an internship or a job if you’re adept at programming.
4. File those assignments
During the academic year you encounter pesky little creatures that go by the name of “Assignments”. They are elusive little buggers whose deadlines whoosh past us with no reprieve. We’ve got to be smart about them this semester.Make a file for each subject to store them securely after getting it corrected.You will find that they provide a good reference material for revision before the end-semester exams.
5. Cornell Note Taking System
You may notice that some people in class have the natural ability to make perfectly legible notes that also have interesting mind-maps, memory pegs and diagrams that help them retain more information than others.No amount of photocopying their notes will help you as much as it helps them.It is the entire process of taking notes from listening-comprehending-analyzing-writing it down, that aligns everything up properly so that the mind has been left no other option but to retain the information.While this process may seem tedious at first, you’ll find that you will take this up like fish to water within a few days.(Provided you are regular enough to do so…)
The Cornell Note Taking System is one of the better systems, and when paired with mind-maps you will find that you can cut down the time you take to revise and prevent any last minute panic about unseen/unread material.
The Pareto principle, also known as the 80/20 rule, is a theory maintaining that 80 percent of the output from a given situation or system is determined by 20 percent of the input.
If you are organized enough and study smarter you’ll realize that most of the the questions test you on only twenty percent of the entire material that is recommended reading.Finding and mastering that twenty percent might as well take you the entire semester if you don’t have the right tools to search and catalogue.
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