Highlight only the essential stuff. Marking everything is not really very effective when studying (I don’t think you’ll remember everything you’ve highlighted since there’s so many of them). If you really can’t help it, try and come up with a system. Assign different colors to different things (e.g. yellow for definitions, orange for explanations, green for examples etc). Makes for a nice, colorful book.

But of course one must be wise in doing this. Try borrowing from people who take notes like crazy. Those notes with two colors (red-black/red-blue) or with highlights are usually easier to read since the more important stuff are highlighted.

This is specially useful for research work for seminars or thesis proposals. There are a lot of journals with online sources. Some give out free copies of the articles so you don’t really have to look for them in the Rizal Library (which is really lacking in science sources). They are in PDF format and can be read using Adobe Acrobat Reader. This software is free and can be downloaded from most freeware sites (I think). The websites of some of the faculty can be used as jumpstarts for your research (and even this website.)

This is in relation with #3. The Rizal Library is not really the best place to do literature searches. Our neighbor down the road has one of the most extensive collection of journals and science books that may be useful for your research.

This is for those people who can’t seem to stay up reading three chapters of organic chemistry, philosophy, history—you know what I mean. A cup of coffee may help you with this little problem (unless of course your immune to the effects of caffeine).

My recommended dosage is one cup in the morning and another one before you do any heavy reading. If you’re really sleepy, get yourself brewed coffee (double strength may be necessary after an all-nighter). If you just need to get by, instant coffee would do. Do not take more than is necessary. Too much coffee is harmful to your health.

The course is physically taxing. There will be times where you won’t have time to eat anything because you’re cramming for that paper or that long test. You may not get all the nutrients that you need for the day. So pop one multivitamin in the morning.

There are also some vitamins that enhance brain activity. I don’t know if they’re effective but heck if you’re flunking that one subject…

Not only does it keep you awake but you also get to jot down important tips and stuff to remember from the teacher. Also there are a lot of teachers who pattern their exams from examples given in class.

There are some teachers who recycle their tests. Get copies of the old test questionnaire and study up on them (it would be better if you get the answer key as well). Maybe you’ll get lucky and the entire test is recycled. Unfortunately there are also some teachers who have an extensive test bank and so it’ll take a lot of effort (and money) to get copies of everything.

Set aside time for everything. Give more time for those subjects you’re having a hard time with. If you’re on the OC side, schedule your day (or your week). Work around those hours that you really have to spend for something other than studying (like watching Ally McBeal or Dawson’s Creek).

Teachers are friendly folks and are willing to help you out when your having problems with their class (well most of the time). They’re the best persons to consult with all your questions regarding the subject matter because they’re the ones teaching the class. You may be able to get ideas for extra reading or exercises.

Sometimes the prescribed textbook is not sufficient for studying a certain topic. Ask your teacher about other possible textbooks. You can either photocopy them, borrow them from the lib, or if it’s cheap enough maybe you can buy a copy (Chemistry books are a good investment.)

Most books have these with answer keys at the back. Answer as many as you can so that you’ll get use to all types of problems. Teachers sometimes use these problems for test questions.

The mortality rate of chemistry majors is pretty high (19/33!). Let’s try keeping the numbers that we have by helping those who are having a hard time. And if you’re the one having a hard time, ask help from your peers. Most upper classpeople are willing to tutor (so long as they’re not busy with their own subjects). You can also ask help from the class genius (there may be more than one per class).

(illustrations by Nico Puno of Chalk Magazine)