Monday, March 9, 2009

The value of studying

Looking back, I was a tiny bit freaked out for our last parasitology exam. I didn't start studying until not long before the exam, so I ended up cramming more than I wanted to and not learning things as well as I'd hoped. The story had a happy ending (= an A) but I knew I wanted things to be different for the next time.

So I started studying parasitology again the first day that we learned new material. And I've been studying it pretty much daily ever since. (Note: one thing I've learned about being in vet school is that sometimes you just cannot have a day off. Was your test stressful? Yes. Does that mean you now get a break? Heck no. The studying/exam cycle just keeps going.)

Studying for parasit this time has meant updating my personal study guide three times a week (after every lecture) and studying for 25-40 minutes every morning that I get on the treadmill, 5 or 6 days a week.

And this will seem really obvious, but WOW! Turns out that studying regularly helps a whole lot. We are now two days away from our second (and final!) parasit exam, and a significant number of my classmates are flipping out, just like they (and I) did before the first exam. But I'm feeling pretty good about it. Still need to brush up on hookworms and lungworms, but I mostly know everything. It's sort of fun to be sitting on one side of the cubes studying nutrition, and overhear other students quizzing each other on parasitology, and realize that I know it. Now if only they'd review a little more quietly while I'm trying to study...

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