r/stanford • u/Wide-Influence3052 • 5d ago
So fucked for Math 51 midterm
As a chronic procrastinator who has not gotten out of the habit from high school, I am beyond fucked for my math 51 midterm on Thursday. In HS, I could simply cram the night before and do fine on every test. I realize I only understand about 4 out of the 8 lectures (did not pay attention in other 4 and lecturer is kinda bad). Have barely read textbook.
What are the best ways to cram? Tips and tricks for the class + where to study? I will prepare better for the next midterm I promise.
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u/rigrg 5d ago edited 5d ago
This is a generic advice that might sound cliche or “not really important right now”, but reach out to as many people as possible on Ed (not sure if you still use it) to form a study group. Make a text/whatsapp group, do a poll and ask people when they’re free to study together. Then meet in front of a whiteboard and discuss.
This is the single most useful thing I found while my time there. This advice is not just for this class.. but for all heavy classes. For every class, right on the first day, reach out to see if anyone is interested in a study group. Make sure not to limit to 2-3 people, reach out until you have a group of 10ish people because many of them will say yes to try it out and won’t really commit to the full extent. It’ll slowly whittle down to 3-4 people. You want to find a core group so that your schedule, level of commitment and vibe matches.
Working with people, solving problems together, clearing doubts, going to office hours is in my opinion much better than any cramming guides, especially if you’re considering a STEM major down the line.
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u/justaparabola 5d ago
The section worksheets and practice exams will be the best use of your time I think! And asking questions about those in office hours
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u/Entire-Car-8824 4d ago
You can set up a study plan with the help of AI. You need to be careful, since it’s does hallucinate at times, but it’s a lot more affordable than getting a tutor. You can ask if for example problems and solutions, hints along the way etc. Content of intro math classes is so standard this should be a good start. I’ve learned a lot of advanced stuff from it and would recommend - but again, with caution
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u/Entire-Car-8824 4d ago
You can set up a study plan with the help of AI. You need to be careful, since it’s does hallucinate at times, but it’s a lot more affordable than getting a tutor. You can ask if for example problems and solutions, hints along the way etc. Content of intro math classes is so standard this should be a good start. I’ve learned a lot of advanced stuff from it and would recommend - but again, with caution
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u/Tissuetearer 6h ago
Feed it all to AI and have AI ask you practice questions until you know the material
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u/KrACkEn24 2h ago
Takes me back. It’s okay. There are resources, and I know you’re past the midterm date, but it’s one little test you probably won’t remember (unless it’s your first, in which case you may). My first math 51 midterm was the first test I ever failed.
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u/redmarimba28 5d ago
Your message sounds exactly like me in HS. Went to a school in the Midwest. Did well cramming the night before every test. Math 51 was my first exam. Scored 50% (2 standard deviations below average). Asked my resident counselor whether to drop. He recommended I push through.
Stayed at Stanford for fall break studying for the final. I did around 10 practice exams. Ended up scoring 2 standard deviations above the average to secure an okay grade.
More importantly, learned how to properly learn without cramming. Ended up doing a STEM PhD at Stanford.
What worked best for me was 1) making an ongoing study guide and 2) doing 2-4 practice tests using it.
At this point, just writing down all the topics and doing at least a practice problem for each topic from a previous exam is what I would recommend.