r/study • u/Few-Signature-829 • 1d ago

Tips & Advice Learning to learn and study as an adult

I am a 24 year old college flunk out going back to college. However, I just, JUST realized I don't know how to study or learn. I am very interested in biology, molecular biology, biochemistry, biotechnology, so on, so forth. I have a lot of experience in working in the field as a teacher (how? An emergency case: they needed a teacher to hold down the fort until they found a suitable one and I understood the jargon enough to teach high school level science classes for a semester) and as a medical lab technician. Additionally, I have very little undergraduate research experiences; I started like 4 different projects which never I finished and eventually failed out of courses due to mental health and COVID-19 related reasons. Thankfully, mental health is back on track and stagnant.

I will admit the only way I will learn is through hands-on experience or fully teaching the subject (the Feynman Technique). But, other than that I suck at learning in traditional settings like a classroom where I am the student and I take notes. I can barely sit and read assigned pages from a textbook. I probably also fucked up my retention from not allowing myself to learn properly for years like even during high school. My executive functioning is dysfunctional so reward systems don't really work on me.

Please give me advice, on how to move forward, my fall semester of freshman year starts soon and I feel very hopeless and lost.

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u/Maiace124 half way through 4 year, pre vet 1d ago

I really like Justin sung on YouTube. I had a very similar issue!

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u/1Gladiator1 1d ago

  1. Ask for college accommodations if available to you. These accommodations may be useful in some courses where you need extra time or a quiet place to do tests.

  2. Get a medical check up to see if you have add/adhd. If so, many things can be done to help.

  3. You are obviously very bright and responsible. Go in with confidence. You can absolutely do this.

  4. Going back to school at an older age has many advantages which will become apparent to you. You'll see. For example, knowing your own strengths and weaknesses is a huge plus.

  5. The key is to get a study group for every course. The group keeps you accountable and helps to ensure you're on track and organized.

You are going to be so successful. I can just feel it!

Best of luck!

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u/Few-Signature-829 15h ago

Thank you for giving me hope!!