6 ms·

How I Ace Midterms at a Top CS School by Studying 1-3 Hours (and Skipping Class)

29 points by ocean_moist 2y ago

killingtime74 2y ago
I mean the guy states that the concepts aren't new to him. If you start from there then most people wouldn't need to study very much. I'm sure as a graduate I could go back, not study and score well. If you've never heard of it before then it's going to take a lot more effort to understand.
forthwall 2y ago
I feel like point of lectures and classes, if you have a good professor/lecturer, is to be able to have the opportunity to understand how someone else understands a concept and is able to convey it to you. I personally think I did learn alot from passionate lecturers and professors, so I'd try to give some courses a chance, especially in upper levels when class sizes are smaller and curriculum is more specific (vs a intro to programming class, sure skip it if you know how for loops work) The strategy itself is pretty nifty though, I feel like lecture notes with no person speaking behind it are very dry and content light, so claude being able to read it and probably look at external references to populate a study guide is pretty smart.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
asdf6969 2y ago
[flagged]
- dang 2y ago
  Whoa—you can't post racial/national putdowns to HN. I realize you might not have meant it that way, but given a large audience like HN, a comment like this is guaranteed to land that way with some readers, and some of those readers will be activated enough to comment angrily, then we fall into flamewar hell. So if you could please not post like this, we'd be grateful. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- hahnchen 2y ago
  ?
- ocean_moist 2y ago
  Better word is “bay area”.
chettriyuvraj 2y ago
[dead]
almostgotcaught 2y ago
it's Purdue... it's a good school no doubt but this guy acts like he's acing things at MIT or Stanford... c'mon.
- rowanG077 2y ago
  I don't think the curriculum is that different. I remember some studies that the hard part is getting in not actually the courses themselves mostly. There were some exceptions, Cambridge maths irc.
- ocean_moist 2y ago
  Title just sounds better that way. The best part about Purdue is that I can use “top CS school” and “random state school” depending on which sounds better.
- markisus 2y ago
  Is the curriculum that different? The fundamentals are the same no matter where you go.
commandersaki 2y ago
I was in a situation where my CS degree was not challenging, so I decided taking graduate classes, and then branching out to courses offered by the Maths department both undergrad and graduate classes. I took many proof heavy courses in both departments, and I don't think you can get away with passing courses without putting in the effort of doing homework, attending lectures, and getting deeply involved with the courses. I feel this guy is just wasting his money.
- seanmcdirmid 2y ago
  I realized too late that my top CS program wasn’t challenging enough. If I did it again, I would have taken some grad classes and lean heavily in to upper division math classes, or maybe go for a physics minor, but I was so interested in coasting during my early 20s. Many classmates did that and got much more out of their undergrad (one classmate double majored in math and became a professor at UIUC after grad school).
  - commandersaki 2y ago
    One of my favourite memories branching out was taking an intro to abstract algebra course where the professor was in his 90s and a WW2 vet which left a lifelong impression. Was such a fantastic course and essential to honing my proof writing skills.
rinvi 2y ago
I'm doing the same kind of thing for my college classes no matter the subject. But mine is a little different. Instead I do: 1. Feed lecture slides, labs, homework into ChatGPT and have it generate flashcards. 2. Write these flashcards into Anki and study them using Anki. 3. Run through some practice problems I had originally intended for this system to be used long-term, but I get irresponsible and study the day of the exam. It really depends on the material, but for the most part, it takes around 5–7 hours of studying and preparation to feel completely confident about the exam. Often times, I wake up super early on the exam day to give me some time. This is not ideal of course and is just a product of my bad habits. It's definitely doable to ace exams with only 2–3 of studying, but usually I need to pad it with another 2–3 hours of preparation like creating high quality flash cards and stuff. I believe most people can adopt this system and perform very well, but at the same time it's a very radical departure from traditional study practices and even then I'm not even using this system in the way it's actually intended (not the day of cramming-style method). This system is not something I made up, but rather backed from a collective community effort that has produced amazing techniques, guides, research, etc.: https://isaak.net/mandarinmethods/ https://isaak.net/mandarinmethods/ - in depth guide detailing best practices with Anki regarding language learning (THE BEST) https://cademcniven.com/posts/20211119/ https://cademcniven.com/posts/20211119/ - recommended number of cards per day to study based on some grassroots research https://github.com/open-spaced-repetition/fsrs4anki https://github.com/open-spaced-repetition/fsrs4anki - the most modern spaced repetition algorithm which uses machine learning to optimize for each individual's learning capabilities (THE BEST) https://www.reddit.com/r/Anki/comments/18jvyun/some_posts_and_articles_about_fsrs/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Anki/comments/18jvyun/some_posts_an... - meta resource on fsrs https://www.justinmath.com/individualized-spaced-repetition-in-hierarchical-knowledge-structures/ https://www.justinmath.com/individualized-spaced-repetition-... - a reading which i've incorporated into the way i create flash cards pertaining to more problem-solving type of learning as opposed to pure memorization like facts about history https://thehardway.guide/ https://thehardway.guide/ - a damn good book teaching about actionable and pragmatic advice about language learning that i've applied to all of my college courses
- mnky9800n 2y ago
  I never really understood the point of anki outside of vocabulary learning. I would be happy to have it explained to me. Even when learning a language, I found anki to be a bit useless since often times the grammar was as important to learn (e.g., any language with genders and cases). Like I guess I don't see how anki would help me be the scientist I am today, how it might help me learn new topics that I am interested in to pursue new research directions. I am not against anki, I simply don't see how it would benefit me although if you could explain it to me I am all ears.
kritr 2y ago
Chiming in with a Purdue alum perspective. If you can get away with this, keep doing so, but definitely recommend putting some time into the 59000 / 69000 classes taught at the grad level. Advisors let you swap elective classes in your track for the higher level ones, and they’re far more interesting (especially for the AI/ML track). Also connects you with more professors that would be research oriented (if that was something you were interested in). The program also had an exchange with ETH/KTH which unfortunately I couldn’t take advantage of due to COVID.
brador 2y ago
Actual secret trick: learn next years course this year. It takes 6-12 months for neurons to mature in a human brain. Remember how easy last years math was the next year?
karmakaze 2y ago
Step -1: > I’m a decent test-taker and code a lot, so most concepts aren’t new. I rarely attend lectures and do the bare minimum homework required to pass. My broad curiosity gives me wide, shallow knowledge. Interestingly, I enjoy taking tests, especially multiple-choice. This also worked for me. I did however go to the classes I liked and replaced steps 1-6 with cramming for several hours the night before.
nateb2022 2y ago
> I just don’t care enough about school to spend anymore time than what I give. It sounds like you're wasting your time. If you're spending the money to get a degree, at least choose one that's worthwhile in that the professors you're paying to hear, the labs you're paying to access, and the environment you're paying to be a part of are all actually helping you to learn something. > For me, this is because I feel like, particularly in computer science, I have all the necessary skills and knowledge to do what I want. Go out and do it! Found that startup. Build that MVP. Apply to those jobs! A lot of the life experience you'll pick up while doing that will help you to realize what a treasure a good education can be. And to want that, since it sounds like you're experiencing an absence of that right now. Your education shouldn't be just a certificate that you know how to develop software. Use it as an opportunity to dive deeply into something you've always been curious about. To absorb knowledge from people who know more than you do. As you grow older you will realize that time is something that you have less and less of. Both literally and metaphorically. As a student you are in the rare position where you are able to pursue 100% learning about whatever you like. Once you launch your career, the time you can spend on this shrinks by a LOT and you will miss this opportunity if you don't fully take advantage of it.

29 points by ocean_moist 2y ago

I mean the guy states that the concepts aren't new to him. If you start from there then most people wouldn't need to study very much. I'm sure as a graduate I could go back, not study and score well. If you've never heard of it before then it's going to take a lot more effort to understand.

forthwall 2y ago

I feel like point of lectures and classes, if you have a good professor/lecturer, is to be able to have the opportunity to understand how someone else understands a concept and is able to convey it to you. I personally think I did learn alot from passionate lecturers and professors, so I'd try to give some courses a chance, especially in upper levels when class sizes are smaller and curriculum is more specific (vs a intro to programming class, sure skip it if you know how for loops work) The strategy itself is pretty nifty though, I feel like lecture notes with no person speaking behind it are very dry and content light, so claude being able to read it and probably look at external references to populate a study guide is pretty smart.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

asdf6969 2y ago

[flagged]

dang 2y ago
Whoa—you can't post racial/national putdowns to HN. I realize you might not have meant it that way, but given a large audience like HN, a comment like this is guaranteed to land that way with some readers, and some of those readers will be activated enough to comment angrily, then we fall into flamewar hell. So if you could please not post like this, we'd be grateful. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
hahnchen 2y ago
?
ocean_moist 2y ago
Better word is “bay area”.

chettriyuvraj 2y ago

[dead]

almostgotcaught 2y ago

it's Purdue... it's a good school no doubt but this guy acts like he's acing things at MIT or Stanford... c'mon.

rowanG077 2y ago
I don't think the curriculum is that different. I remember some studies that the hard part is getting in not actually the courses themselves mostly. There were some exceptions, Cambridge maths irc.
ocean_moist 2y ago
Title just sounds better that way. The best part about Purdue is that I can use “top CS school” and “random state school” depending on which sounds better.
markisus 2y ago
Is the curriculum that different? The fundamentals are the same no matter where you go.

commandersaki 2y ago

I was in a situation where my CS degree was not challenging, so I decided taking graduate classes, and then branching out to courses offered by the Maths department both undergrad and graduate classes. I took many proof heavy courses in both departments, and I don't think you can get away with passing courses without putting in the effort of doing homework, attending lectures, and getting deeply involved with the courses. I feel this guy is just wasting his money.

seanmcdirmid 2y ago
I realized too late that my top CS program wasn’t challenging enough. If I did it again, I would have taken some grad classes and lean heavily in to upper division math classes, or maybe go for a physics minor, but I was so interested in coasting during my early 20s. Many classmates did that and got much more out of their undergrad (one classmate double majored in math and became a professor at UIUC after grad school).
- commandersaki 2y ago
  One of my favourite memories branching out was taking an intro to abstract algebra course where the professor was in his 90s and a WW2 vet which left a lifelong impression. Was such a fantastic course and essential to honing my proof writing skills.

rinvi 2y ago

I'm doing the same kind of thing for my college classes no matter the subject. But mine is a little different. Instead I do: 1. Feed lecture slides, labs, homework into ChatGPT and have it generate flashcards. 2. Write these flashcards into Anki and study them using Anki. 3. Run through some practice problems I had originally intended for this system to be used long-term, but I get irresponsible and study the day of the exam. It really depends on the material, but for the most part, it takes around 5–7 hours of studying and preparation to feel completely confident about the exam. Often times, I wake up super early on the exam day to give me some time. This is not ideal of course and is just a product of my bad habits. It's definitely doable to ace exams with only 2–3 of studying, but usually I need to pad it with another 2–3 hours of preparation like creating high quality flash cards and stuff. I believe most people can adopt this system and perform very well, but at the same time it's a very radical departure from traditional study practices and even then I'm not even using this system in the way it's actually intended (not the day of cramming-style method). This system is not something I made up, but rather backed from a collective community effort that has produced amazing techniques, guides, research, etc.: https://isaak.net/mandarinmethods/ https://isaak.net/mandarinmethods/ - in depth guide detailing best practices with Anki regarding language learning (THE BEST) https://cademcniven.com/posts/20211119/ https://cademcniven.com/posts/20211119/ - recommended number of cards per day to study based on some grassroots research https://github.com/open-spaced-repetition/fsrs4anki https://github.com/open-spaced-repetition/fsrs4anki - the most modern spaced repetition algorithm which uses machine learning to optimize for each individual's learning capabilities (THE BEST) https://www.reddit.com/r/Anki/comments/18jvyun/some_posts_and_articles_about_fsrs/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Anki/comments/18jvyun/some_posts_an... - meta resource on fsrs https://www.justinmath.com/individualized-spaced-repetition-in-hierarchical-knowledge-structures/ https://www.justinmath.com/individualized-spaced-repetition-... - a reading which i've incorporated into the way i create flash cards pertaining to more problem-solving type of learning as opposed to pure memorization like facts about history https://thehardway.guide/ https://thehardway.guide/ - a damn good book teaching about actionable and pragmatic advice about language learning that i've applied to all of my college courses

mnky9800n 2y ago
I never really understood the point of anki outside of vocabulary learning. I would be happy to have it explained to me. Even when learning a language, I found anki to be a bit useless since often times the grammar was as important to learn (e.g., any language with genders and cases). Like I guess I don't see how anki would help me be the scientist I am today, how it might help me learn new topics that I am interested in to pursue new research directions. I am not against anki, I simply don't see how it would benefit me although if you could explain it to me I am all ears.

kritr 2y ago

Chiming in with a Purdue alum perspective. If you can get away with this, keep doing so, but definitely recommend putting some time into the 59000 / 69000 classes taught at the grad level. Advisors let you swap elective classes in your track for the higher level ones, and they’re far more interesting (especially for the AI/ML track). Also connects you with more professors that would be research oriented (if that was something you were interested in). The program also had an exchange with ETH/KTH which unfortunately I couldn’t take advantage of due to COVID.

brador 2y ago

Actual secret trick: learn next years course this year. It takes 6-12 months for neurons to mature in a human brain. Remember how easy last years math was the next year?

karmakaze 2y ago

Step -1: > I’m a decent test-taker and code a lot, so most concepts aren’t new. I rarely attend lectures and do the bare minimum homework required to pass. My broad curiosity gives me wide, shallow knowledge. Interestingly, I enjoy taking tests, especially multiple-choice. This also worked for me. I did however go to the classes I liked and replaced steps 1-6 with cramming for several hours the night before.

nateb2022 2y ago

> I just don’t care enough about school to spend anymore time than what I give. It sounds like you're wasting your time. If you're spending the money to get a degree, at least choose one that's worthwhile in that the professors you're paying to hear, the labs you're paying to access, and the environment you're paying to be a part of are all actually helping you to learn something. > For me, this is because I feel like, particularly in computer science, I have all the necessary skills and knowledge to do what I want. Go out and do it! Found that startup. Build that MVP. Apply to those jobs! A lot of the life experience you'll pick up while doing that will help you to realize what a treasure a good education can be. And to want that, since it sounds like you're experiencing an absence of that right now. Your education shouldn't be just a certificate that you know how to develop software. Use it as an opportunity to dive deeply into something you've always been curious about. To absorb knowledge from people who know more than you do. As you grow older you will realize that time is something that you have less and less of. Both literally and metaphorically. As a student you are in the rare position where you are able to pursue 100% learning about whatever you like. Once you launch your career, the time you can spend on this shrinks by a LOT and you will miss this opportunity if you don't fully take advantage of it.