Before I start this, I want to say that I should have read this when I was a freshman haha. For "How to become a straight-A student" I only took down notes for Part 1 & 2 because I thought the paper writing was not very relevant for me (as of now).


These are my notes for the 2 books, which I took down only because:

  • I thought they were helpful
  • I knew I wouldn't remember them unless I organized my notes like this
  • I don't wanna re-read the books lol

How to Become a Straight-A Student

Some notes

  • Efficiency = key: Brute force techniques used by most students are incredibly inefficient.
  • A surprising amount of work, relaxation, and socializing can be extracted from a single 12 hr day.
  • You could have top grades and party like a demon if you play your cards right.

General tips

  • Follow & experiment with these tips
    • They might not work out 100%; keep the ones that works and iterate, or replace/discard ones that don't work. Be flexible and find the ones that work for you.
  • Be careful to not "pseudo-work"
    • A common approach that "feels" like studying but actually not accomplishing much. Examples include "study sessions" where you just talk with friends, slacking on the couch while studying, etc.
    • This can lead to long, low intensity, fatigue-saturated hours of pure pain
    • A bigger problem is that students don't even realize that this is a problem since it's what everyone does.
  • Work accomplished = time spent x intensity of focus
  • ALWAYS GO TO CLASS
    • If you don't it's just going to pile up like a snowball and it'll take twice as long studying to make up for what you missed in the end!

Study basics (Building a system)

Manage your time in 5 mins a day

  • Tools
    • A small list - Something you can update throughout the day. Holds stuff to do for today and things to remember.
      • Todos - ex) lecture at 1pm, phone bill, research for paper at 5pm, dinner with friends 7pm.
      • To remember - ex) Study session cancelled, laundry, quiz moved to friday.
    • A master calendar - Used for getting the stuff in the small list & time blocking them.
  • Steps
    • From the small list:
      • Transfer the unfinished tasks in Todos and To remember from yesterday's list to the calendar accordingly.
      • Generate a list of what you have to do today. Ex) class at 1pm, reading assignment work, study session, go to the gym.
    • Get all the things to do in the calendar & time block them on accordingly.
      • Group small tasks together. Ex) 10:30 - 11:00: Buy gift for dad, pay my phone bill, send email to prof.
      • Make it realistic and be pessismistic. End your day at an appropriate hour and give yourself breaks.
      • Things can happen. Make sure you can adapt and be able to make rapid changes.
    • Throughout the day, use the small list to jot down anything you should remember. Repeat.

War on procrastination

  • Progress journal - You can get one to trask everyday's progress, and add explanations if you didn't manage to accomplish all of them. This kinda attacks your ego & allows you to get back on track.
  • Health - Stay hydrated, get snacks, don't skip meals, monitor caffeine intake carefully.
  • Make an event out of the worst tasks - Give some variations & try changing the scenery. Maybe study in a new coffee shop or a bookstore cafe.
  • Build a routine - You can find protected hours that are consistently free, like generally in the morning or early afternoon.
    • Use them to do the same work each week, like maybe Mon/Wed/Fri 9:00-10:00 am mornings can be used for research, and Tue/Thur 1:00-2:30pm can be used for weekly assignment sets.
    • Make them into habits.
  • Choose your hard days - Sometimes life just sucks and maybe there are bunch of deadlines and you just simply have to grind. Plan them in advance & pick 1-2 days to make it a grind day. This helps you to not get off guard few days before the deadline.

Choose when/where/how long

  • Study EARLY
    • Early is always the best time to study. Nighttime is when ppl start to get loose and socialize (TV, campus performances, parties etc are all at night), and your body also winds down.
    • In the mornings, between classes/meetings, you can block small blocks of 30-40 minutes at a time to squeeze tasks (1 problem, 1 reading, etc).
    • And when you're done for the day, feel free to have some fun!! (work hard & play hard lol)
  • Study ALONE
    • Basically to avoid potential pseudo-work
    • Find couple of good spots around/near the campus (library, cafe, etc) so you won't be bored with one place. Always keep your eyes open for the next great hidden study spot.
  • Study for ~1 hr + break
    • Doesn't have to be exactly one hour (can range from person to person from 40 minutes to one hour and half), but find a time range where you can alternate between deep study and small breaks.

Classes and Assignments

Take smart notes

  • Use your laptop.
    • You type waaay faster & in more detail.
    • But if it's for math/science/engineering where it's number heavy you can use pencil/paper.
  • Have one folder for each class
    • Store every piece of paper during lecture, outlines, assignment descriptions, reading, etc should be dated and put in here.
    • Add graded problem sets and papers.
  • Non-technical course
    • Capture the big ideas by taking notes in the question/evidence/conclusion format.
  • Technical course
    • Record as many sample problems and answers as possible! Focus on capturing detailed explanations of problems.
    • Priorities in class:
      • Record the problem statement + answer.
      • Question anything confusing.
      • Record steps of the sample problem.
      • Annotate the steps. (will be super useful later)
  • Read notes right after class ends
    • Right after class, read/absorb them to make corrections and additions before you forget them!
  • Your notes are for you and you alone (They don't have to make sense for anyone else).
  • When prof slows down/wanders off a little, use this time to go back and clean up what you have been throwing down.

Work constantly AND early

  • Work constantly
    • NEVER depend on "day-before" planning - work constantly on assignments in small chunks every day.
    • Ex) If you have a problem set, complete 1-2 at a time per day.
    • If you find time to spare, start getting ahead.
  • Start early to fill in gaps
    • They're the things you don't quite understand so you left one "?" and forgot about it, and now it's in the exam and you don't know anything.
    • Eliminate those "?" as early as possible.

Don't read everything

  • Don't read all, but choose the important ones to read! Use this hierarchy
    • Readings that make an argument > Readins that describe an event/person > Readings that provide contest

Don't work alone in problem sets

  • You can work on problem sets in small pieces while you’re between classes or activities.
  • Collaborate with classmates, work in groups, make a regular schedule for working together on the assignments.
  • Use office hours! - Record solutions formally the 1st time you write them down (can save time)

Quizzes and Exams

Some notes

  • It's easy to start rote reviewing where you just review and re-read the same stuff for hours. But this is super inefficient & it's pain.
  • There are many different ways to study which are far better than pure rote reviewing.
  • If you've followed previous steps (taking smart notes & handling assignments effectively) this should not be hard.
  • Figure out exactly what the test will cover (the range, question types, etc)

Study Guides (Organize the material intelligently)

  • Diving straight into the review is just adding hours of unnecessary work.
  • Non technical course
    • Get the notes (the q/e/c format)
  • Technical course
    • The problem sets are the key!
    • Make mega-problem sets: Get the problem set assignments, and sample problems from lecture notes.
    • Add technical explanation questions: For every major topic in a problem set, jot down a question that asks you to explain the basics of the topic.
  • Create & use flashcards for memorization (Anki)
    • This can be used anytime, like riding the bus
  • Have a separate day just for organizing your study guides
  • Also start reviewing/prepping for the exam ~2 weeks in advance

Actually conquering the material

  • Quiz-and-Recall
    • Review it and try to explain it, unaided, in your own words
    • Close your eyes and articulate the argument from scratch, or get a blank paper and resolve the problem without mistake.
    • Don't just do it in your head! Speak or write.
    • Passively studying is NOT the same!
    • For technical courses: If you can't explain how you got the answer, then you didn't understand it.
  • Use past exams
    • Finish quiz and recall, then try to complete the exam.
  • Memorize over time
    • Memorize for only an hour at a time in a week rather than 7 hours in a day
    • Separate the task of memorizing from your other review. Spread the work out over many days, and never dedicate too much time to any one sitting with your flash cards.

Tips during test

  • Look over entire test first.
  • Figure out how much time you have to spend on each question (leaving a ten-minute cushion at the end).
  • Answer the questions in order of increasing difficulty.
  • Write out a mini-outline before tackling an essay question.
  • Use any and all leftover time to check and recheck your work.

How to Win at College

  • I picked this up because I wanted to make the most out of my degree, and I thought I wasn't.
  • There are a total of 75 tips in this book lol, but I'm just going to summarize what I think are most useful to me & actually try to implement it.

The tips I particularly liked

  • Use Resources!!
    • Befriend a professor!
      • They can be a crucial in maximizing the college experience!
      • Make them a mentor, someone who is aware of your overall academic plan, your life goals, your concerns, and your triumphs.
      • Leads to new possibilities, letters of rec, informal introductions, advice, competitive programs, internships, etc
      • Start with regular attendance at OH
        • Things to talk abt: working on a paper, exam, concepts, homework
        • After forming some rapport, shift convos from class related to advice related
        • keep in touch even after course, give updates once in a while
    • Get Involved with Your Major Department
      • It exists to help you succeed. It hosts talks, events, lectures, seminars, and other activities. Attent them!
      • Get involved! Maybe once a month is enough.
    • Participate in research
      • Strength training for your intellect
    • Apply to 10 scholarships a year
      • Students who actually take time to study are a handful, so just apply
      • Can be outside of school (organizations, companies, etc)
  • Mental health / relationship things
    • Find an escape
      • Smth that is FAR AWAY from anything college related
      • Maybe a long drive to downtown, an off-campus park.. treat it kind of like a medicine
    • Laugh everyday! :)
      • Make a conscious effort to seek out stuff that makes you laugh every day
    • Seek out fun
      • If you don't actively seek fun, it won't actively seek you!
      • Local bars, movies ad odd times, road trips, weekend room parties, etc
  • Build Study Systems
    • You should never begin studying without a systemized plan for what you are going to review, in what format, and how many times.
    • Find your own system.
  • Always be working on a grand project
    • "An average student does well in a science course; a winning student gets involved in original research."
    • Should consist of a group of achievable, nonacademic accomplishments that when combined it moves you closer to an exciting aspiration
  • Sunday ritual
    • Start working on Sundays to get momentum and a good start with a good mood, and it will give you control of the week. It sets the tone of the week that follows.
  • Don't study in your room
    • STDY AT THE LIBRARY!
  • Inflate your ambition
    • Take the most important projects or commitments with which you are involved, and pump up your criteria for success.
  • Start fast, end slow
    • For most ppl it's the opposite. No matter what you're doing (project, research, paper, application, etc), start fast and end slow!

Other random stuffs (kinda obvious)

  • Ask 1 question each lecture
  • Dress nicely for class
  • Decorate your room
  • Write outside of class
  • Do schoolwork everyday
    • You'll have good/bad streaks. Just keep it consistent
  • Exercise
  • Stay in touch with friends/family
  • Get a job in college
  • Seek out phenomenal achievers
    • maybe go talk to them, grab a coffee or smth
  • Don't take friends for granted

End notes

"If, however, you want to succeed because you love the excitement of pushing your potential and exploring your world and new experiences, if you want to succeed because life is short and why not fill it with as much activity as possible, then you will win."


They were very short reads, would recommend.