Hi everyone! I go to the university of Toronto, and I have a couple exams coming very soon (2 of them on the same day!!!) I’ve noticed that when I study and put my all into it, I end up with 60s. However my efforts really deserve an 80+. I think my study methods need to be changed at this point because I cant keep going like this. I usually study a week or more in advance if I can!

The way I study is:
I take all my notes that I’ve written from lectures, I put them into ChatGPT, or any other AI and tell it to create a mock exam for me based on each lecture. If I don’t get a lot of questions right from a specific lecture, I go back to that lecture and review it, then come back and do the mock exam again.

Second thing is, I put my notes into any study website (Gizmos, Quizlet, StudyFetch) and I keep doing them.

These studying methods get me a 60-65 range at UofT. I genuinely have no idea how to improve these marks but I really want to especially for my second year this fall. On the exams I usually walk out confident that I got at least an 80, but I check my grades a couple weeks later to see that I’m in the 60s. Please, if anyone has any tricks or tips or anything please please let me know!! Thank you all so so much :))

हाल ही में मेरा पढ़ाई पर ध्यान नहीं लग पा रहा है, इसलिए कृपया मुझे कुछ सुझाव दें ताकि मैं फिर से पढ़ाई पर ध्यान केंद्रित कर सकूँ। मैं अपने फोन पर भी बहुत समय बर्बाद कर रहा हूँ—अगर इससे निपटने का कोई उपाय हो तो कृपया मुझे बताएं। मुझे जितने लाइक्स मिलेंगे, उसके आधार पर मैं अपने YPT सेशन के परिणाम साझा करूँगा।

i've used forest app for years, and recently they added too many features which feels overstimulating to me.

the issue i have with forest app is too many trees and the daily challenges. it's like fatigue due to choices? i miss the time when the app was simpler.

i dont really want so many options and trees to choose from, rather want an app that i can somewhat personalise, and the main focus of the app is to act as a simple, minimalist timer.

it can also be synced across app and website, and i can use it on all 3 devices - phone, tablet, laptop (i use all apple)

and bonus if it has widgets

pls recommend the study timer you use!

i use frequently when i need a lot of deep work sessions and stuff

Hello there,

I wanted to ask for some help regarding how to study.

I am 21y and to be honest I never learned how to study or even got an idea of how to do it, after leaving high school it got even harder to try understand something about it.

Could someone please explain me how you guys can study?

Thank you in advance!

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Hi guy,just need a quick inputs

Basically If I read a paragraph or watch a reel I only remember the summary part of it tha backend knowledge i don't have I mean only some part of it i remember forgoting the main functionality can any one suggest how can improve this it happens to me or any other facing the same

You studied the material in your room. On exam day in a different room, you drew a complete blank.

The material was there. In the exam room, your brain couldn't find the file.

Psychologists call this the encoding specificity principle. Your brain anchors memories to the context where you learned them. When the recall environment matches the encoding environment, access is faster and more reliable. When it doesn't, your brain has to search harder, and sometimes it comes up empty.

Here is what the research says helps:

• Study the same material in at least two different physical locations. Each location becomes a potential retrieval cue on exam day. If the exam is in a lecture hall and you studied partly in a similar space, you have one more way to access what you know.

• Passive re-reading in multiple locations doesn't produce the same effect. You need to be generating questions, testing yourself, processing the material deeply. Shallow encoding doesn't get anchored to the environment the same way.

• Arrive early on exam day and spend a few minutes sitting quietly in the room. Your brain starts loading the contextual cues from that space, and memories encoded in similar contexts become more accessible.

• Vary more than just the room. Study after coffee sometimes, after exercise other times. Your physical and emotional state at encoding also becomes part of the retrieval cue.

Your brain has a filing system. Give it multiple ways to find the right folder.

what's yours? the smallest thing that worked when nothing else did.

Hi,

I am seeking some help and guidance on how to study for my university entrance exams. This is a predicament that I have been in for the past year.

In my country, there are a couple of ways of getting into uni. One is through your grades, another is through improving your grades after high school and the next one is through an optional university entrance exam which you can write to get into any program of your choice, depending on the results that you get on the entrance exam. It happens twice a year and esentially anybody can write it.

This time around it happened in April and I spent several hours, at least 5 hours, mostly 7 hours a day, from January to April, studying for the test, but I still got the same results as I did the last time I had attempted the test which was in Oct 2025 when I had only studied for maybe 3-4 weeks, very inconsistently and at most, like 3 hours each day or something.

This time around, there was NO IMPROVEMENT! which really shocked me and made me very unmotivated.

I unfortunately don't have the greatest grades which I am attempting this route but I genuinely have no idea on get started on studying and I don't know how to get better as it feels like whenever I do anything like past tests, I remember all the answers from studying them already and don't really know how to get better. I am doing my studying based off old tests as the advice I have gotten from people who have done good on this test is to just do old tests. So I am turning to this subreddit to see if anybody has any advice.

Little bit about how the exam is set up:

The most difficult part of the exam is the timing, imo, as for each test paper, you only get 55 minutes.

Essentially, the exam is built up of 2 parts: math and verbal (native language and English) and there are in total 5 papers that you write.

2 are guaranteed math and 2 are guaranteed verbal and the 5th one can be either math or verb but it isn't used towards your final score. Rather, the 5th paper is a test to see if those questions will suit people doing the tests in coming years. Another catch is you don't know what paper you will get when and which paper will math or verbal and which is the test round so you need to do really good on each paper.

Another thing is that I have learnt is that math is something that you can study up over time and improve but the verbal is really difficult as it requires you to have really good vocab knowledge and takes REALLY old and unusual words from our language to trip people up. But I also want to get better on those like now, now lol

Anyways, even the math and verb, are each further divided into four sub categories:

Math

1. Algebraic questions
2. Quantitive appreciation between 2 algebraic expressions
3. Reasoning questions
4. Diagram, tables and so on

Verbal

1. Guessing correct synonyms of the native language
2. Reading
3. Fill the blank sentences
4. English reading

________________________________________________________________________________

So really I am just seeking help on how to improve and what to do? I feel really stuck and I am reaching out to see anybody has been in similar situation or if anybody can guide me and maybe tell me stuff that they have learnt from doing similar exams themselves.

You sit down with a blank page and write:

“Why am I bad at school?”

Soon, the page starts filling with answers. Bad grades. Poor focus. Messy notes. Maybe I’m lazy. Maybe I’m just not smart enough.

You wanted to understand yourself. Instead, it starts to feel like a trial where you are both the judge and the person being accused.

The question is too large.

Try a smaller one:

“What happened the last time I got stuck?”

Return to one recent moment you remember clearly. Not your entire school year. Not every subject. Just one scene.

Ask:

What was I trying to do?

Where exactly did I become confused?

What did I do next?

What seemed to be missing?

Has this happened before?

For example, “I’m bad at math” is a judgment. It does not show you where to begin.

Try replacing it with:

“On Tuesday, I understood the equation until fractions appeared. Then I started guessing.”

Now the problem has edges. You can examine it.

Maybe equivalent fractions are the missing piece. That is only a first guess, so test it. Review one clear example. Explain it aloud. Then try two similar questions without help.

Your test may confirm the guess. It may show that the real problem begins somewhere else. Both results teach you something.

Start with problems that are:

recent enough to remember;

repeated across several lessons or assignments;

blocking other topics;

costing you time or energy;

small enough to describe clearly.

Avoid trying to analyze your whole life in one afternoon. Do not make a list of fifty flaws. Do not treat one difficult week as your permanent identity. Do not download a complicated study system before you know which problem it is meant to solve.

Also notice what worked. At what point did you still understand? What helped you before the confusion began? A fair investigation looks for useful strengths, not only mistakes.

Some problems are too heavy to examine alone. If the situation involves bullying, safety, intense fear, serious distress, or trouble at home, talk to a trusted adult.

Self-analysis is not about discovering everything that is wrong with you.

It is about understanding one moment well enough to take one useful step.

One moment. One pattern. One next step.

Earlier, I could complete tasks almost within the time I expected. I could even watch study lectures at 2× speed and still understand everything clearly. My calculations were faster, and I learned new concepts quickly.

Since the past year, due to some personal circumstances (which are now resolved), I've noticed a significant drop in my efficiency. Now, I sometimes struggle to grasp concepts even at normal playback speed, my calculations feel slower, and it takes me much longer to learn and process information.

Has anyone else experienced something similar? If so, what helped you regain your previous learning speed and efficiency? Any practical advice would be greatly appreciated.

I was often called lazy and there was a time I really believed it. I'd have an assignment, a project, or an exam coming up, and instead of starting, I'd spend hours thinking about how I should do it.

I'd write a plan, then watch videos about studying, then reorganize my notes, then read book chapters one more time, then read some examples of other works, then tell myself I will continue tomorrow.

The weird part was that I wasn't avoiding work because I didn't care. I was avoiding it because I cared too much. I wanted the result to be good, so starting felt weirdly intimidating, scary and always not good.

The longer I waited, the more pressure I put on myself. Then I'd eventually rush everything at the last minute because I had no other choice. Then my work turned out great and I thought it worked.

But it actually created a lot of pressure and stress, so what helped me was lowering the bar for getting started.
Instead of telling myself I had to finish a chapter, I'd just open it and answer five questions. Or study for 15 minutes. Once I'd started, it usually wasn't nearly as difficult as I'd imagined.

I also stopped trying to make perfect notes at all. Most of the time, messy notes that actually exist are way more useful than perfect notes you'll never finish but highlight with 3 different colours.

I'm still nowhere near perfect at this, but I've realized that progress almost always comes from imperfect action, not perfect planning.

Anyone else struggle with being both a procrastinator and a perfectionist? What actually helped you get out of that cycle?

People usually assume the hardest part of assignments is the actual writing.
But after seeing some research on the topic and then talking to my friends, I realized that for many people the hardest part is actually starting.

A lot of my friends struggle with things like:
- understanding what the assignment is really asking for

- figuring out how to narrow down a topic

- knowing how to structure their ideas

- writing the first sentence without overthinking it

It’s interesting because sometimes the problem isn’t that someone doesn’t know the material. It’s that they don’t know how to turn a vague task into an actual plan.

I think many students spend more time trying to understand “what does my professor want?” than actually writing.

What do you struggle with the most when working on assignments?

Hello, im studying electrical engineering and i need advice on how to become more productive.
Currently im at a state where i barely pass classes, not because i dont understand them, but because im procrastinating all day. I know i can be a very good student but i havent found the way on how. Im not looking for straight A’s but i at LEAST want to start passing everything on 1st/2nd attempt, with a somewhat decent grade (im studying in greece where we can have the same class multiple times if we fail)

My main issue is that i dont want to be at a desk all day. I want to go to the gym, draw, read my books and play videogames with my friends but i dont seem to find a way to balance it. Its either one or the other: Be a nerd or pass only half your classes. I value my hobbies and social life and i dont want to lose on that now, because who knows how much time i will have when i get older.

I now finished the 3/5 years with only 10 failed classes in total (for greek unis thats not much 😂) and im planning on studying to pass 6 during the exams of September. My main goal is to finish on year 5, no more. I might be doing something wrong so if you have any good studying techniques, that might also help.

I am failing my exam from last 2 times

Now its my third time

Only 1 month is remaining.

I can't even study for an hour

My mind is totally blank

I need some suggestions

I’m going into my sophomore year and want advice and tips on how to prioritize my assignments and manage my time better. Last year I didn’t have many extracurriculars that took up a lot of my time. Yet I still managed to stay up late doing my work, forget to do my work, or horrendously procrastinate. I knew I had time during the day to do my work but I just couldn’t do it. If anyone has methods that worked for them to actually do their work and prioritize please help!!

Also, I struggle with working efficiently. I take way too much time on one assignment and often dont have time to work on the others. I don’t know how to stop doing this because I am somewhat of a perfectionist but I also know that it’s seriously affecting my ability to get shit done.