Study Advisory: Study 25-35 Hours Per Week
Study to Learn ... Study to Understand ...
The key to success involves developing a deep and lasting understanding of course material rather than just a superficial familiarity. How do you know if you have accomplished this? Above all, don’t fool yourself. Reading the book several times, seeing how someone else worked a problem, recopying class notes to improve legibility … these are not indicators that you have mastered the material or even become slightly familiar with it. You know when you understand something — you get a good feeling inside. It begins with “Aha,” “Oh yeah,” “I see it now,” and culminates in the excitement of wanting to use the new knowledge or to tell someone else what you know. A sense of satisfaction, of accomplishment, of confidence, of an ability to perform, of a “feel” for the subject … these are indicators of successful understanding. Please allow yourself the time and opportunity to experience this in your coursework.
A good rule of thumb is:
Study at least two hours per week for every unit of coursework
With 16 units (16 hours of in-class coursework), this equates to 32 hours of studying per week. And the more you can keep this up on a regular basis during the quarter — spacing your studying, rather than cramming — the more likely you will be to retain, understand, and use the information you've now learned.