Cambridge bionatsci study advice/help

I am a first year at Cambridge doing bionatsci and I am seriously struggling. I have no idea how to study at university. My whole thing for A-level was to make sure I have notes and flashcards for every single spec point, I didn't really do extracurriculars and just studied all the time. Now that I am already here my study motivation has gone down.I just really need tips on how to study here or if someone could help me out with some revision resources. Wheni spoke to other students in years abve they all say enjoy your first term just keep up with lectures and supervision work but I am doing that now and feel so stupid constantly because I don't remember the terminology, I go to supervisions dazed and confused and i really just want to go home at this point it's a lot for me. for context I do all the biology options and I just need some help is all.

You may want to speak with your tutor or DoS about things, as they might be able to offer you some advice or recommendations.

In general one thing to note is (for any uni) you need to get out of the mindset of learning to the exam/specification that you had at A-level. You need to focus on learning the content being presented for itself. University exams are not marked on the basis of rigid specifications where you just need to have memorised the exam rubric and make sure you hit all the assessment objectives to do well, and you need to move away from that to a more holistic learning mechanism.

Additionally, while I'm not at either Oxford nor Cambridge so don't have first hand experience of the supervision/tutorial system, for similar formats at other unis I've studied at for e.g. seminars, tutorials and so on (small group teaching), it's essential that you specifically prepare for these beforehand. You can turn up to lectures with your head empty and a blank piece of paper, but for seminars/tutorials/etc you do need to make a point of specifically preparing for them - know what you are going to be talking about, look at whatever piece of work is being reviewed, make some notes on areas you are unsure of/want to flag (and make a point of doing some more digging in those areas first as you might find the answer yourself), etc.

My experience of the small group teaching stuff at the unis I've studied at is really you get out of them what you put into them!

@Reality Check may be able to give some more specific recommendations about Cambridge bio natsci though

Thanks @artful_lounger for the tag

I presume you're doing Cells, PoO, E&B and Maths (assuming they're still the IA options)? It is a bit of a baptism of fire, and you're expected to pretty much hit the ground running. Your strategy for A levels is pretty typical of a successful student, but as you've discovered, you need much more to do well at IA natsci!

You need to arrange to speak with your DoS pronto about this - he or she may be able to arrange some more supervision or other targeted help for you. Whatever you do, don't just sit on this problem hoping that it will somehow go away and you'll muddle through: the chances are it won't. Get some help before the end of term (you've got a couple of weeks left), and get some good pointers about what work you need to do over Christmas to get back on track. If you leave it, and flounder around during Christmas without much direction, you'd going to be pretty ****ed by the time Lent Term rolls around. You DoS is there to help you, so make the most of him or her!

Practically speaking, it's obviously important to keep up with supervision essays/problem sheets and attend all lectures and classes. If you're doing Cells, then it's really important to both attend and really understand all the practicals: when I did Cells, it was the practical paper which people tended to score the worst in. I'm also going to tag in @Theloniouss as a current student for their input.

Thanks @artful_lounger for the tag

I presume you're doing Cells, PoO, E&B and Maths (assuming they're still the IA options)? It is a bit of a baptism of fire, and you're expected to pretty much hit the ground running. Your strategy for A levels is pretty typical of a successful student, but as you've discovered, you need much more to do well at IA natsci!

You need to arrange to speak with your DoS pronto about this - he or she may be able to arrange some more supervision or other targeted help for you. Whatever you do, don't just sit on this problem hoping that it will somehow go away and you'll muddle through: the chances are it won't. Get some help before the end of term (you've got a couple of weeks left), and get some good pointers about what work you need to do over Christmas to get back on track. If you leave it, and flounder around during Christmas without much direction, you'd going to be pretty ****ed by the time Lent Term rolls around. You DoS is there to help you, so make the most of him or her!

Practically speaking, it's obviously important to keep up with supervision essays/problem sheets and attend all lectures and classes. If you're doing Cells, then it's really important to both attend and really understand all the practicals: when I did Cells, it was the practical paper which people tended to score the worst in. I'm also going to tag in @Theloniouss as a current student for their input.

I've just finished first year bionatsci and I was the same when I got here, and I think I have a fairly good idea of how to get around it. The two things you need to work on are how you're learning the content and how to stop working. (at A level these are fairly simple - learn the content from the spec, stop working when you know everything).

You first have to accept that you can't learn everything anymore. Focus on specific content each week (i.e. the example sheets for Math Bio and your supervision work for the others) and make sure you've got the general idea for everything else but don't worry too much about specifics. If you're struggling with anything, don't just stare at the notes trying to figure it out - read a textbook, find some papers on the topic (in first year, Wikipedia is still very helpful). If you still don't understand a topic or point (and this will happen), try to figure out what's not adding up and email your supervisor about it, for discussion in your supervision. Once a lecture series and the associated supervisions/practicals are over, forget about it until the vacation even if you're still not sure.

I would recommend (at first) keeping a fairly strict timetable of when to work and when not to work, and adjusting it so that you can figure out how much work is appropriate - you want to learn most of the content without being exhausted because getting burned out is a vicious cycle. Make sure you're taking time out to relax - take up rowing (absolute classic), a society, or any other hobby that takes your mind off the subject and that you enjoy.

Make sure to speak to your DoS and/or tutor when you have problems like this, they're there to help you and they're (usually) very good at it. If you have any questions about specific topics (I've only just done them so hopefully I understand them pretty well) or problems in general, please do PM me and I'll do my best to help

(I hope this made sense and was helpful, I have just finished a practical write-up that's taken me the past 5 hours and my brain is utterly fried)

Yes it did make a lot of sense, thank you very much! It is difficult to let go of the control over everything that i had at A-levels. I will probably take you up on the offer of PM-ing you as long as you don't mind.

@Theloniouss Sorry for asking about it here but I'm new on TSR so can't send PMs yet. I only have 3A*s (bio, maths, fm) and 1A (chem) for my predicted grades and was wondering if this will affect my chances of getting into bio natsci at cambridge? does this mean that i should probably not apply to popular colleges such as trinity or st johns? i've heard that as long as i do well in the admissions test i should still have a chance of getting in but im not sure if that's true? also for interviews, do you just work through problems with the interviewers or do they ask about your personal statement?
Sorry for having so many questions, any advice at all would be very appreciated. thank you so much in advance.

3A*s and an A is perfectly strong - your chances of getting in won't be affected by the college you apply to, but applying to more competitive colleges will increase your chances of being pooled. If you do well in the admissions assessment you'll have a good chance of getting an interview (and you'll probably get one anyway), but from there your offer will depend on your interview more than anything. Interviews vary significantly by interviewer and they could ask about your PS but most won't.