I received the reading list for my Doctoral Comprehensive Exams this weekend. I have 45 days to prepare for the exams and around 55 papers and two text books to read through…
i.e. about 2000 pages of information that I need to transform into knowledge and apply during my 5 hour written exam, a 1 hour viva-voce and a week long case analysis component.
So I’m trying to discipline myself and read about 70 pages a day! gulp … this way, I should have 10 days for revision and for any contingencies that might arise.
This wouldn’t have been such a big deal if it were the only thing that I was doing, but add the work hours and the coursework that I’m finishing at the same time, I’m gonna need all the prayers and the luck.
I’ve never been this scared of exams in my entire life .
I’ve also almost always been a sucker for doing things last minute, but this time, I can’t even do that.
If anyone has any words of wisdom to share, please do…
Wow, that sounds soo much like what I'm going thru right now.
-700+ drugs with mode of action,adverse effects,pharmacokinetics etc.
-100+ micro organisms with mode of transmission, pathology and treatment.
-50+ toxic substances and their detrimental effects on tissues/organs.
-and much more.....
With less than 2 weeks to review and feed into memory.
Ofcourse I had 8 months but with clinical wards, it doesnt all retain by exam time. The worst is the viva voce when everything just goes blank!
Good luck Umar, and those reading, please remember us in ur prayers.
hmmmmm maamla itna ghambeer nai jitna lag rha hae Umar
see, if u organise urself and divide ur work its totally doable! inshallah
remember O levels, A levels, how much ppl cram? i crammed big time atleast even more than this, im sure u did too
u can totally do it!
imagine, zara se dino kee mehnat kee baat hae and if u r able to do it then aagay poori zindagi u will reap the froots inshallah and once u get into it u wil actually enjoy the studying!!!
and workhours? cant u take a chutti from work?
hmmm…k, GOOD LUCK!!! and dont worry u just need to get down to the work take it part by part and before u know it this whole thing will be over and u’ll be opening a thread here telling us u passed inshallah :k:
If anyone knows about a good speed reading course, I want to go on it,
tips: photocopy pages on to A3 and stick em on walls all across your house, spend a few seconds looking at it, apparently brain theory says it will go in without u thinking about it.
record some pages onto tape and playback.
and apparently your reading speeds up if you bite a pencil while reading with your finger following the words-something about forces your muscles to stay still
and will do dua u pass :)
:o and here I am crying for over 1000 anatomical terms of paleontology that I can't even pronounce.. I think mine is nothing compared to what Umer and x-commi must be going through..
Always remember that you worked hard and were determined to get to this stage and now you deserve the best, n Inshallah you will be able to do that as my mom keeps telling me, "mehat karay insan tu kiya ho nahin sakta." :-)
Its one of those things that doesn't matter what anyone says the final responsibility is your own. Take a deep breath and dive in. I'm sure you will come out on top (hain, that was kinda contradictory!)
Good luck Umer. You've got this far by your efforts and capabilities. You've already travelled a long road. What looks difficult might not be as difficult as it seems now. You certainly have what it takes to surmount this hill. It's not a mountain anymore for you've already climbed it. I am nobody to say this but read do rakat nafil to start your finishing efforts to your dreams and pray to Allah to give you the perseverence and dedication required to cross the finish line with success.
You already have what it takes and, insha-Allah, you will get through this to your satisfaction.
Haha Umer yaar…
I tried to resist the temptation yesterday and it sorta worked but I still kept checking scores etc. and I did post in KK off and on – but it’s a good start.
Now only if I could get serious about my exams… only another 20 days to go now gulp
mein ne bhee karni hae GRE/GMAT k lyay, lekin khuch khaas nai ja rai, maybe coz its so far away, my exam date (coz app deadlines r in dec)
i was thinking of something, dont know if u will be up for it if it will suit ur studying style/schedule..
i dont know any other students preparing for exams, u're the only one so i thought i'll ask u
u want to do a combined study sort of thing, like write here ur schedule and all that u plan on finishing in the next 20 days, in detail
and i'll write mine
and then every day we'll come in and make sure we're both on track and if we're not aik doosray k kaan khenchayn ge :D and we have to motivate each other to get our work done on a daily basis
what do think? lemi know :) and if dont suit u thats perfectly cool too :D but if we do it then we're gona be really SERIOUS abt it!!!
p.s. i'm seeing u on GS more than ever before these days :D
:k:
