| | | Study Groups |
I think this is the best way to prepare for the quals. The group should consist of 3 or 4 people having similar areas of interest. Try to recruit a 2nd year student, especially one who has taken the quals to join your group. This will prove to be invaluable because they will have ideas about how to study and what worked and didn't work for them.
You may think that you are a person who studies well alone and don't need to work with other people. HOWEVER, the study group can prove to be:
Stress relief: It's very comforting to know that you are not going through this alone. There are other people feeling the same way you are!!
Material Review: A true test of your understanding of the material is being able to explain it to another student.
Practice: Typically, most people have taken few oral examinations. It is ESSENTIAL to be able to express your thoughts clearly at the board in a somtimes hostile and pressure-filled situation.
When to Study: Form the study group at the beginning of the fall quarter and meet at least once a week doing sample problems and reviewing the fundamentals. When classes become more demanding with exams and projects, you may want to reduce the number of meetings to once a week. Use Christmas vacation to really focus and obtain a lot of practice doing sample problems. During this time, meet at least twice a week. At this point, the study group session should just be doing problems.
Collect old quals questions: Ask around. Many students have collections of old questions. BE AWARE that many questions and answers being passed around are not correct. Last year's quals questions are usually sold through the Pulse Copy Center located in Tressider Union. Concentrate on collecting questions given by professors who are in your top twenty preferences. Many professors will ask a particular type of question each year and solving a number of problems from a given professor helps you understand his/her tendencies.
Group Review Sessions: Guided by your overall study plan, you will want to make the most of your study group meetings. One effective way to run a study is to spend the first half of the allotted time reviewing material and the second half in practicing exam questions.
Have each person prepare material on a specific topic for presentation to the group. As each person presents his or her material, questions will arise that will force the group to really examine the topic in more detail. It is a great way to learn and solidify material. As mentioned earlier, it is a good idea to concentrate on areas in which you expect to get more than one professor.
Test Each Other: For the pracitice exam sessions, each student should prepare at least two questions to ask during the study session. Use real quals questions as much as possible during the practice exams. However be sure to save some of the more recent questions for the week or two before exam week so you can sharpen your skills.
MAKE THE EXAMINATION SESSIONS REALISTIC: Use a stopwatch. Have the study group examiners be in various moods: antagonistic, helpful and friendly, no input, during problem sessions. While most of the professors will try and put you at ease, it is good to practice in all types of situations. Solve the problems at the board - that is what you will need to do in the test. Some professors do use paper and pencil as well.
Practice thinking out loud - when you are in the real test, a long silence may be interpreted as being stuck. It is ESSENTIAL to think through the problem out loud. However this doesn't mean you have to start talking as soon as you see the question. You can take a few seconds to think about it and make an educated answer instead of talking nonsense. When a student gets stuck, let him/her work through the problem themselves without help. Having practice sessions that simulate the exam conditions will really help build your presentation skills and boost your confidence in performing under pressure.
To give you a better idea of the study groups that have worked for some students, we have provided some quotes from the 1998 Quals Survey below.
| | | Study Groups |