[rollcast]

For me I find lots of practice - actual questions not revision notes - and also enjoying the material you are studying helps alot.

For example I find Stat. work in maths difficult because I'm not interested in the questions and normally make silly mistakes in the solutions.

[lighterthanAyer]

I do think it has a lot to do with memory- to be able to remember information at half the pace compared to most people really helps

Also, it's the ability to see the connections in things, since rote learning doesn't get you the top marks (especially with subjects like philosophy). That being said, I'm more of a humanities person who does ok in Maths so not exactly a super student

[Appeal to reason]

(Original post by nick2012)
Not saying I'm one of those "super students" but when I've always just found that I can remember things after just reading them once or twice, so I've never really had to revise for exams to get the results I've got. I suppose I'm just lucky to have a good memory and to be able to understand things easily.

Diet and exercise? What are these things? Jokes, I don't think that's got anything to do with my grades...

I agree with this. I find that I remember things quite well the first time round (i.e. I don't need to recap it, or practice excessively in order to get it to "stick"), when you couple this with working hard in lesson, it means I need little revision in order to do well in exams.

Memory and working hard from the start is the key if you ask me.

[rambo94]

(Original post by Blutooth)
Clearly you haven't seen a step maths paper.

i cant say i have but one of my parents is an engineer and the other is a secretary, so not exactly the most scientific professions! But i was determined to become a doctor from a young age and i now have an offer to study medicine at UCL. You may disagree with me but this is my experience.

[ummm]

(Original post by Supermassive_muse_fan)
Use logic.


Once you understand how the mechanism works, you can apply it do different circumstances. There is no way you could memorise 5 years worth of medical knowledge. What you do is learn how and why things happen, and then modify that to different variables such as different disease states or normal physiological differences.

Also academia comes easily with being naturally curious and inquisitive. I've always had an interest in learning why things happen.

I'm having a problem with this atm at AS. At GCSE I got into the habit of memorising everything I needed for the exam. But now, with 7 units in the summer, there's just way too much to carry on with that method, and it'll be useless once I hit uni. But if I don't, and if I can't recite it word for word, I feel like I don't know it, and I'll panic. I feel like I HAVE to.

How can I just read with understanding again without feeling the need to memorise it? It' means I have to put in like triple the work than most people, because I also have to keep recapping it to make sure I don't forget it.

Why is my brain so stupid!?

[LordJenkins]

(Original post by Mill)
This thread is an example of something I'm starting to see so much. People who just aren't as intelligent as others making excuses as to why. While it is true that with sufficient education and motivation, anybody can be 'smart' or at least appear intelligent, it is also true that some people are simply more intelligent than others. This is not because they have developed some way to gain an advantage over others. They just are better than the others.

I guess then, the answer to the OP's question is yes, in the vast majority of cases we are just naturally intelligent.

Obviously you didnt read my post. I never set out to "look for reasons why i am not intellient". I simply wanted to know if some peoples sucess is down to certain techniques they have used or created that has helped come on leaps and bounds in studying and passing exams... Or just plain old organisation and motivation.


Some people lol

[dmccririck]

I personally wouldn't consider myself a "super-student" although I know one person who flies through everything without thinking who I would consider a genius (he's going to Cambridge :P) Anyway, I seem to find maths and sciences very easy, and often don't understand why people can't understand a concept, or figure something out. I achieved AAAAC at AS (C in psychology) and I am predicted A*A*A*A. I am looking to study biochemistry at Sheffield, I was given an offer for oxford and imperial, but hated how I was to be taught, and wanted to meet a range of new people from different backgrounds.

I think there are two types of intelligence, raw intelligence and emotional intelligence. Raw intelligence is being able to logically, and creatively apply knowledge to solve problems. Emotional intelligence being able to think your way through minds, feelings, and intentions, and being able to verbalise your thoughts and feelings so anyone can understand (can't explain it very well due to my inability to think emotionally!) A large memory merely increases the capacity and ease to how you mentally digest information.

I think that intelligence is born solely from early conditioning you received from your patents as a child, and that gives you ambition to do well, and subconsciously lets you assume you will do well academically, so you will. (just my opinion, feel free to argue)

I think the reason I do well is due to me seeing patterns in what I'm taught, and when I see patterns, I mentally categorise them so they can quickly and correctly be recalled when needed. The only way to see these patterns is to have a great background knowledge of the subject content, and be thinking of this whilst being taught new stuff, that way your constantly making new connections between different pieces of information, that way, when application of knowledge is needed, you can mentally navigate your way through these connections and patterns and arrive at a logical answer. Doing well academically is a combination of hard work, raw/emotional intelligence, and a large memory.

Time for bed methinks!

[LordJenkins]

(Original post by dmccririck)
I personally wouldn't consider myself a "super-student" although I know one person who flies through everything without thinking who I would consider a genius (he's going to Cambridge :P) Anyway, I seem to find maths and sciences very easy, and often can't understand why people understand a concept, or figure something out. I achieved AAAAC at AS (C in psychology) and I am predicted A*A*A*A. I am looking to study biochemistry at Sheffield, I was given an offer for oxford and imperial, but hated how I was to be taught, and wanted to meet a range of new people from different backgrounds.

I think there are two types of intelligence, raw intelligence and emotional intelligence. Raw intelligence is being able to logically, and creatively apply knowledge to solve problems. Emotional intelligence being able to think your way through minds, feelings, and intentions, and being able to verbalise your thoughts and feelings so anyone can understand (can't explain it very well due to my inability to think emotionally!) A large memory merely increases the capacity and ease to how you mentally digest information.

I think that intelligence is born solely from early conditioning you received from your patents as a child, and that gives you ambition to do well, and subconsciously lets you assume you will do well academically, so you will. (just my opinion, feel free to argue)

I think the reason I do well is due to me seeing patterns in what I'm taught, and when I see patterns, mentally categorising them so they can quickly and correctly be recalled when needed. The only way to see these patterns is to have a great background knowledge of the subject content, and be thinking of this whilst being taught new stuff, that way your constantly making new connections between different pieces of information, that way, when application of knowledge is needed, you can mentally navigate your way through these connections and patterns and arrive at a logical answer. Doing well academically is a combination of hard work, raw/emotional intelligence, and a large memory.

Time for bed methinks!

The perfect answer to my opening post, thank you, oh and good night!

[Blutooth]

(Original post by rambo94)
i cant say i have but one of my parents is an engineer and the other is a secretary, so not exactly the most scientific professions! But i was determined to become a doctor from a young age and i now have an offer to study medicine at UCL. You may disagree with me but this is my experience.

Congratulations on your offer btw!

Through an unfair and unfortunate genetic lottery, some people have mental disabilities. The people who, because of their genetics, have dyslexia can't spell no matter how hard they try. These people have a mental ceiling which they can't rise above. Their mental ceiling is conspicuously clear to those without dyslexia because our mental ceilings are higher. Why should ordinary people be any different, in that there are limits to our cognitive powers which can't be surpassed?

You may be off to Ucl to study medicine, but it's unlikely youl'd be able to become the next Isaac Newton even if you tried. Neither would I or anyone I know for that matter.

[Nolwenn]

Not that I'm a superstudent, but having a great memory saved me in school I never actually studied because my mind was elsewhere. I would just read the material for an exam once and I pretty much knew it by heart and understood it. My grades were fairly good but nowhere near as good as they could have been, I really regret not putting the effort in that the average but hard-working people did.

[manavch]

I do well at school and I don't think the reason is because I have a good memory, I think it is because I really enjoy the subjects I do. But with that said if I don't enjoy a subject I don't do too well in it. For example I don't really need to do much work for economics, maths and sciences to do well in whereas for english and other languages i have to work very hard to get a decent grade just because I don't enjoy them

[captainaesthetic]

I'm sure some people are just generally more intelligent than others.
I did a bit of work, maybe 40% of what I could have put in at GCSE, I came out with 3A*s and 7 As.

However, I have a friend who may not be as inherently gifted, but he put 100% of the effort in and worked really hard, came out with straight A*'s.

In my opinion, hard work > intelligence, but there's only so far you can go with just one.

It's a combination of the two makes for an outstanding individual.

[tamil4]

Wow, i've never read through every post in a thread before! this is interesting! learning loads through this!

just my opinion...

Super student in my opinion is not some who gets all A*s but someone who can balance academics social life etc and still achieve the good grades. I see many people who stay in revising all the time and get top grades but that's not 'super students'.

Me personally, i'm okay at school. definitely not the best student but not the worst either and i know i have it in me to do better but i'm too lazy. the superstudents motivate me though.
i think intelligence is to do with upbringing, motivation and confidence.

upbringing
a lot of what you go through as a kid builds up how you want the future to be.
eg. kid from educated family may see she lives a good life and want to provide the same for her kids. kid from less educated background wants it's kids to be brought up in a different lifestyle so wants to be more educated.
these things create your ambition and how much you work to reach your goal.

motivation
comes from upbringing. it may be from how people around you were that motivates you. it may be seeing people who are where you want to be that motivates. it may even be seeing people who've failed that motivates you to do better.

confidence
i think confidence plays a big part. you may want to improve you're confidence by getting better grades, or you are confident about your exam and study methods which means you don't waste time dealing with too much stress.

BALANCE. important word.

also, procrastinating does not help! it's hard but i'm going through the process of trying to cut down on it.

[SuziieB]

(Original post by LordJenkins)
Hi guys, I have always been facinated by those students who just seem to fly through everything and become doctors etc...

I have never had the courage to ask these students how they do it, like are they just born to excel through maths, science and the rest with no problems, or have they an amazing technique that they wont share with rest of us! :P

But here, I hope to find the answer. When I think of intelligence, i think of these 'super students' as mostly having a big memory, i mean, to be a Doctor, you dont reallt need super intelligence to get your degree, just a big memory and the motivation right? It isnt like the intelligence that we see in the Newtons, and the Steve Jobs's. You are not going off and developing your own knowledge, or like trying to come up the next generation of space shuttles. To be a Doctor, you have the answers in front of you, that being a book or a lecture. You just simply consume someone elses knowledge.

This has always led me to believe that these 'super students' have developed highly effective learning strategies that require ones creativity. Where do these learning stratagies coem from? Well for those students who were wizz kids, maybe the love of books took them straight to that one book that they called their 'learning bible'. Maybe their parents passed on their highly sucessful learning techniques.





I want you to help me, tell me how it is that you find maths, science and the rest so much easier than the majority of us. We all cant be doctors, or businessman. The question is why? Are well all capable? Is it just a lack of technique?

Are those of us who struggle, neglecting our imagination? Instead relying on that evil rote memory when we should be using pictures to remember numbers and other creative techniques for maths to find the joy of numbers, to see the patterns etc...


If there is one thing about school i really resent, it is the total abandoment of nurturing ones imagination.


I want your honest, detailed opinions guys! Do any of you have a system you use? Exercise regime, diet?

Thanks

A lot of people here have pointed out the obvious , and I also believe there are two types of students...'The Geniuses' and the 'Hard-workers'. (I always give this speech to my friends lol) Anyway, believe it or not, there are people who are born with academic ability, some people were just designed to be smart at certain stuff, sometimes sciency stuff, sometimes arts (e.g. english).

The other half are those who work hard, I think most people fall under this category, and just like me, developed their ability. E.g. I love maths like a brother and I can spend four hours straight just practicing maths with aching eyes and a horrible migraine and I wouldn't care cause I still love it. (It's a love-hate relationship).

I haven't always liked maths though...I remember in primary school, it was my worst, I didn't get it, I'll cry all the time cause I was always failing and it was... embarrassing. I sat down, told myself that others can do it, why can't I? And I spent more time everyday practicing maths until now doing A levels and I love it even better than the GCSE.

My friend is a genius, literally would do no revision but will still get top grades in the class and I was always envious of her because what I spent all week trying to understand, she understood immediately and probably even got better grades. Now at A level, she finds it hard because she's not used to working hard to get the top grades, she's realized that last minute revision will f*** you up in the exam hall while I'm enjoying it more and more and it seems that every other core of maths is easier than the last...lol

[Maicccccmannnn]

A standard level of intelligence + good memory + work ethic = success imo

The most successful people aren't necessarily the most intelligent. But they are the hardest workers. I'd say a big proportion of them also have good memories.

[MyselfEtAl]

Personally, I think everyone has the potential. You can all do well if you just find out which revision technique works best for you . Yes, genetics and upbringing has a part to play, but more than anything it's about your determination.

Spoiler:

Show

and the number of past papers you do

[garfeeled]

(Original post by LordJenkins)
Sad? No... What ever works for you, its cool. When you look at a maths problem, how is it that you work through it, and find the solution?



Now what the formula thingy?!

its hard to explain but with numbers i find them easy to understand and remember and link together,

i dont remember the formula but it was ;+:+'+"...= punctuation marks

simple+complex....=sentence marks

and

punctuation+sentence.....= good grade

cant remember it exactly

[nerd434]

To be honest, it's a bit of an exaggerated misconception the whole, ¨ He/She does no work and gets straight A's ¨. There is no way, that every school can have 5 - 10 pupils who put in absolutely NO work at all and come out with perfect grades. The majority of subjects require you to understand and memorise a large volume of information, there is only a few subjects that you could actually pass without previous knowledge on the course (Certain levels of Maths, English etc).

Sure, there may be some students who don't put as much effort in and still get good grades, but if you actually analysed it, I bet the people with the 'straight' A*'s would be the pupils who put the effort in and studied. Whereas those who did no work but are supposedly intelligent would come out with a bunch of A*'s A's and B's, nothing consistent.

I have a boy in my year, who everyone seems to think is some kind of genius because he able to gain top grades in Science subjects (and sometimes Maths), yet when it comes to written exams such as English, History etc he fails badly. The only reason he excels in Science is because he has previous knowledge on the subject from looking into it in his spare time. And I think this can apply to all those so called 'intelligent' kids, the majority of them will have been educated from an early age, had good upbringings and they will most probably be readers.

The bottom line is, there aren't many people who can do no work and come out with perfect grades, good grades yes, but no perfect grades. Everybody needs to put in some form of effort whether it be a few hours a week, or 4-5 hours a day.

[catoswyn]

I read very fast by skimming and scanning this has always helped.

I always learn concepts and context first and go back to fill in with details and examples later thus saving myself time and learning details/quotes/examples etc just before an exam when I can hold a massive amount of these in my short term memory. I never put them in my long term memory and forget them straight after the exam. I keep concepts and ideas in my long term memory. Luckily, given this technique, I have never wanted to be a doctor!!!

I learnt to precis information quickly and accurately

It wouldn't matter how long and hard I worked at a subject like mathematics. I would not be able to get to a high level in it. I have however managed to 'cram learn' necessary mathematics to pass job assessment centre interviews and the like as I am fine at arithmetic, accounting, business finance etc.

I know my own strengths and weaknesses and work to them

I use mnomics and other memory techniques as and when neccesary to record factual information

I don't think I'm particularly abnormal. We all use a range of different ways of doing things that we have learnt work for us, our subject, our brains.... The speed of reading thing means I can cover a lot quickly though which has always been a massive help and I can write very quickly and organise information under pressure too so exams are okay for me.

None of this has anything to do with intelligence though. It just means I was lucky enough to have some skills that fitted the exam system.

[3nTr0pY]

Question everything and don't stop questioning until you get answers. And don't settle for vague, incomplete answers - make sure you understand everything fully and properly.