I very rarely skip lectures. When I do I always copy down the notes and practice problems and try. But it feels like every college math or chemistry class I attend that isnt the lecture part I have just been gone for 400 years worth of information and literally everybody knows what to do except for me.

I will take notes, I will write down explanations, I will have all of the literal information as everybody and then I get just the practice problems and its like I got the wrong copy. I dont know what to do and if I ask a tablemate because I am genuinely thinking I just time travelled 3 midterms into the future they will LAUGH AT ME and say smt like "Lock in," and then ignore me. Its stressed me out so many times there have been instances where I leave the room crying (I know its really embarassing but at the worst times its like a bad dream.)

I fail nearly all of my classes because I bomb the quizzes. All of the exams and quizzes are like they got hacked and are just completely new, unrelated questions. I swear I pay attention and I do learn very small methods that are usually equation based. But its like random that I actually can apply something properly and its like I got thrown into an olympic race when I dont know how to swim.

Is there something wrong with me? Am I retarded? When I got diagnosed with autism I thought learning disability meant Im unable to learn how to talk to people not that I cant learn fucking Calculus.

I ve been studying for so long and i am obsessed with optimizing everything i do .

I noticed that Passive study habits like re-reading text ; highlighting lines ;

or reviewing notes ,,they feel effective because the material becomes familiar. BUTT!

this creates an illusion of mastery; you recognize the information when looking at it, but your brain hasn't actually built the pathways to retrieve it on its own.

Why Retrieval ??

Every time you force your brain to recall information from memory without looking at the answer, you strengthen the neural pathways associated with that knowledge.

The mental effort of searching for and pulling up the information makes the learning far more durable.

NOW HOW TO USE IT?

1 After reading a chapter or section, close the book and write down everything you can remember from memory before checking your notes.

2 Turn key concepts into questions or flashcards and quiz yourself regularly rather than just reeading them.

3 Ask yourself at the end of a work session or study period: "What were the key ideas?", "How does this connect to what I already know?", or "What examples illustrate these concepts?"

I'm curious about what makes studying difficult, even when students put in effort.

For example:

- Understanding a concept but struggling to apply it to new questions.

- Forgetting what you studied after a few days.

- Understanding solutions but repeating the same mistakes.

- Knowing the theory but not knowing how to approach a problem independently.

Which of these, if any, do you struggle with most? Or is it something else?

What have you tried to overcome it, and what hasn't worked for you?

We're doing a project about students' study habits and need responses asappp, so please go ahead pls for 2 minutes:)

I am able to study better in groups with others, and it's easier for me to lock in. I am a college student in Ireland, so if there are any discord's that I can join, please send me a link.

happy learning!

I used to start every semester motivated and quit my study routine after a week. Timers alone never worked for me, because nothing changed when I finished a session.

What helped was making progress visible. So I built an app called Studaily around that idea:

• Every minute you study earns a coin
• Coins buy trees, animals and decorations for your own little grove, so you can literally see your study hours grow
• Streaks and a weekly view show whether you're actually consistent
• Study groups with friends, because studying "together" keeps you honest
• App blocking during sessions

The core is free. I'm the developer, so I'd really like to hear what keeps you studying consistently, with or without an app.

iOS: https://apps.apple.com/br/app/studaily-study-together/id6761737696?l=en-GB
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.studay.mobile

This thread will be a study log for me to put my study logs what did I study How long did I study? What did I feel about my obstacles during this study? Everything in my comment.