• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

College Magazine

College Life, Dating, Career & Campus Advice

  • Colleges
    • College Guides
    • College Rankings
    • Campus Life
      • Academics
      • Dating
      • Freshman Year
      • Health
      • Social Change
      • Party
  • Majors
    • All Majors
    • Most Popular Majors
    • Choosing a Major
  • Intern
    • Internship Directory
    • How to Get an Internship
    • How to Write a Resume
    • How to Write a Cover Letter
    • How to Interview
    • How to Network
    • Career 101
    • Find Your Passion Career
  • Money
    • How to Make Money
    • How to Save Money
    • How to Get a Job
    • Credit Cards 101
    • FAFSA
    • Ramen Project
  • Travel
    • Study Abroad
    • College Spring Break
    • How to Travel Cheap
    • Things to Do
  • Shop
    • Writer Course
    • College Magazine Shop
    • Gift Guides
    • College Packing List
  • Find your college or university
  • Colleges
    • College Guides
    • College Rankings
    • Campus Life
      • Academics
      • Dating
      • Freshman Year
      • Health
      • Social Change
      • Party
  • Majors
    • All Majors
    • Most Popular Majors
    • Choosing a Major
  • Intern
    • Internship Directory
    • How to Get an Internship
    • How to Write a Resume
    • How to Write a Cover Letter
    • How to Interview
    • How to Network
    • Career 101
    • Find Your Passion Career
  • Money
    • How to Make Money
    • How to Save Money
    • How to Get a Job
    • Credit Cards 101
    • FAFSA
    • Ramen Project
  • Travel
    • Study Abroad
    • College Spring Break
    • How to Travel Cheap
    • Things to Do
  • Shop
    • Writer Course
    • College Magazine Shop
    • Gift Guides
    • College Packing List
  • Find your college or university
  • About Us
  • Team
  • Write
  • Apply
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sign Up
  • Advertise
  • My Account
  • Cart

You are here: Home / Life / Academics / What a Cheat Sheet Taught Me About Studying

What a Cheat Sheet Taught Me About Studying

July 9, 2015 //  by Maddy Anand

FacebookTweet

There are many stereotypes surrounding communications students, but one fits me far better than all the others: I’m bad at math. I don’t know whether the numbers just overwhelm me or the pure hated for the subject makes me glare at every problem with no hope. However, I passed all my math classes in high school and, after many long and torturous hours of tutoring, did decently on the math portion of the SAT.

After choosing to major in communications, I thought math and I had broken up. However, this wasn’t the case. I had to take two math classes to make the graduation requirement, so I figured I might as well get them over with my freshman year. My very first semester, I enrolled in Statistics 100, the introductory class. Easy, right?

Wrong. I figured if I went to most of the seminars, studied really hard and took all the quizzes and tests, I would pass. After the first two weeks, I realized my quiz scores weren’t good enough to pass the class, so I tried studying longer. My quiz grades didn’t get any better.

At this point, there was so much I could’ve done. I could’ve asked the teacher for extra help, gotten a tutor or asked one of my friends who’s a math major to help me out. I did none of the above.

By the time finals rolled around, it was freezing and attending seminars became less and less appealing. I was also mentally drained from the roller coaster of new experiences and responsibilities. I mean, I’m not complaining because most of the events I had to attend as a sorority pledge were fun. I lived for new experiences like joining clubs and canning for THON funds. Still, my busy semester didn’t leave much time to do practice math problems or find a tutor.

With two weeks before finals, my professor said the only words I understood all semester. “You may bring an eight by eight cheat sheet to the final.”

I rejoiced at the thought of beating the system. If I could write down explanations and formulas in a way I could understand on the cheat sheet, I could pass the final, and hopefully the class as well. Still, this strategy meant teaching and interpreting an entire semesters worth of statistics in just two weeks — not to mention that I still needed to study for all my other finals. I took on the challenge; I figured two weeks of pain was totally worth not having to retake the class.

My cheat sheet at the end of those two weeks had print so small I was debating bringing a magnifying glass to the exam. Nevertheless, I had done it. I fit a semester’s worth of material on a tiny piece of paper. I put it in my folder and didn’t even want to look at it again until the exam.

The day of the exam, I decided to go to the classroom early to take another look at my cheat sheet and memorize where the different topics were to save time during the exam. After I layered up and put on a scarf and gloves, I grabbed my backpack and headed to my classroom.

I got there with plenty of time to spare. After running into one of my really good friends I hadn’t seen in a while, I decided since I was a half hour early, I could stop to chat. We lost track of time while talking and understood everyone else rushing into a classroom to be our cue to get moving. When I got to my desk and reached into my backpack for my materials, it wasn’t there. The folder I put my cheat sheet in was still on top of my coffee table in my apartment, over a 15-minute walk away.

“There goes my grade,” I thought. I even debated if there was even a point in taking the exam. With my mind having gone numb from the shock of not having my cheat sheet, I almost didn’t realize that the person next to me was trying to hand me the stack of exams. During the test, I kept thinking about where the answer to the question would’ve been on my cheat sheet and beating myself up about not immediately putting my cheat sheet in the backpack. I also thought about how if I didn’t catch up with my friend and if I had noticed earlier, I may have had time to run home and grab my folder.

I can’t really explain how I felt as I walked back to my apartment that day; it was a mix of self-hatred, regret and failure. In my head, I replayed that time mid-semester when I should’ve gotten someone to help me. I thought about how I should’ve taken the course later when I knew what a college-level math course required of me. I thought of all the things I should’ve done, but didn’t.

By some miracle, I passed the exam and the class. I swore I would take a totally different approach to my second math course, and I did. From the first day of class, if there was anything I didn’t understand I would raise my hand and ask. I didn’t treat seminars as if they were optional because if I wanted a decent grade, they were absolutely not. And since the class used clickers for quizzes, I never once forgot to check if it was in my backpack before leaving my apartment. By the time finals rolled around, I knew I was ready and I didn’t depend on anything to get me through it except my brain… and a pencil.

FacebookTweet

Filed Under: Academics Life

About Maddy Anand

Maddy is a senior at Penn State studying Journalism and Business. She loves traveling, iced coffee (even at freezing temperatures), and shopping from the comfort of her bed.

You May Also Like

Woman sitting in a chair with a mug

Take a Break and Breathe: 10 Resources to Destress This Semester

Laptop on table

35 Zoom Backgrounds to Use to Become the Life of the Virtual World

cover photo sju si

Top 10 Best Resources Offered at St. John’s University-Staten Island

What Your Favorite Pixar Movie Says About You: College Edition

CM’s Guide to St. John’s University-Staten Island Campus

pensive

Tackling the Beast After 2020: Applying to Graduate School

CM’s Top 10 Best Pharmacy Schools in the Nation

10 Insanely Hard Classes to Avoid at Penn State

It’s Okay If Your Grades Fall Behind During a Pandemic

student typing on laptop

The Key to Surviving an Online Math Class in 2020

guy online

The Transition to Online Classes: A New Struggle or a Desirable Change? 

College Magazine’s Guide to the Engineering Major

smiling graduate

Redefining Success as a Freshman in College

Top 10 Hermione Granger Approved Colleges for Bookworms

20 Notable UConn Alumni Who Changed the World

10 Most-Loved Professors at the University of Florida

red stoplight

Reflections of a Nervous Post-Graduate

https://unsplash.com/photos/Z-ceDRi9fVU

Is There Such a Thing as Being Too Ambitious in College?

10 Invaluable Skills You Get from Learning and Working Virtually

Virtual Learning

Class Etiquette 101: The Unspoken Rules of Zoom

future teacher

CM’s Ultimate Guide to the English Education Major

How to Study for a Test When Your Roommates are Pregaming

online acting classes

The Show Must Go On: 10 Tips for Success in Online Acting Classes

aesthetic books

15 School Supplies English Majors Literature-lly Need This Fall 

Previous Post: « How to Make the Most of Your Gen Eds
Next Post: Learning to Love My Body and Myself »

Primary Sidebar



Trending Posts

50

Stargazing in the Sand: My Trip to Terlingua, Texas

42

How My Childhood Bully Followed Me to College

Brass-colored 21 foil balloons inside a room.
8

10 Spots to Celebrate Your 21st Birthday Near UCLA

Featured Chapter: St. John’s University

Footer

logo

College Magazine is the national daily guide to campus life. Our articles for college students feature university rankings of U.S. colleges, college guides, academic advice, college prep, career advice, student health and collegiate dating tips.

Written by students for students, by a team of journalists from universities nationwide, we’re on the pulse of the college experience.

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Colleges

  • College Guides
  • College Rankings
  • Campus life
  • Academics
  • Dating
  • Freshmen Year
  • Health
  • Party

Majors

  • All College Majors
  • Most Popular Majors
  • Choosing a Major

Intern

  • Internships Directory
  • How to Write a Resume
  • How to Write a Cover Letter
  • How to Interview
  • How to Get an Internship
  • How to Network

Money

  • How to Make Money
  • How to Save Money
  • How to Get a Job
  • Credit Cards 101
  • College Loans

Travel

  • Study Abroad
  • College Spring Break
  • How to Travel Cheap
  • Things to Do

Shop

  • College Packing List
  • Gift Guides
  • About Us
  • Team
  • Write
  • Apply
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sign Up
  • Advertise
  • My Account
  • Cart

Copyright © 2021 College Magazine · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc.