To GTers of cohort 2025:

After the opening ceremony and orientation, everyone also officially ushered in the journey in GTIIT. We believe that while you are looking forward to your future study and life, you might also have some questions and worries. To help you better overcome these difficulties in the four years of university, we have interviewed eight outstanding seniors from various majors. In the form of a series of tweets, they will share valuable study skills and tips from their own experiences.

Q: What challenges did you experience after entering GT? How did you overcome them in the end?

Linlong Li: We had homeroom teachers in high school, but we didn't have class-based management here, which means it takes time to adapt to self-discipline, and the preparatory semester is an excellent opportunity to learn to be self-disciplined. I highly recommend the freshmen to do well in listening and speaking English first. What I do is I go to two tutorials at the same time -- I can adjust my schedule to my own needs, and I can have different tutors. In addition, it is also important to cultivate the ability of self-study. My method is to set up study groups to discuss the parts we do not understand and go together to the professor's office to ask for help.

Yanglin Zhang: In our school, all the classes are taught in English, and different teachers have different accents. Fresh students are likely to feel challenged to understand at the beginning of the class. The teachers would write down detailed notes on the board in the preparatory courses, and we could understand what the teacher was talking about through the notes. If there are some points that you don't get it,  ask the teacher after class. The teacher will explain with the most straightforward words possible at the beginning. Last but not least, we should pay attention to the weekly Office Hours and cultivate the relationship with professors. I went from asking professors questions to interacting with them, being proactive, and even starting to greet and chat with professors on campus. It takes time to see these changes.

Qia Lin: Speaking in class is a challenge. I used to get anxious and hesitant when the professor asked me a question. But I remembered that my professor kept encouraging us by saying “Don’t be shy.” I made the first step and found the rest was much easier.

Xuequan Sun: I found that most of my classmates were doing quite well during the discussion in the preparatory course. Some of them got adapted very quickly due to their excellent academic and English foundation so I decided to face the reality and try my best to catch up with them.

Q: How did you get used to the English teaching environment? How did you make yourself understand the course and the textbook, and even bravely speaking in the classes?

Linlong Li: At the very beginning, I think the most important thing is to get used to the technical vocabulary of the major. You should get familiar with them. For example, we say "speed" to explain how fast it is in high school, but instead, we only use "velocity" in physics. The second thing is to speak more. Don't be afraid, and it will be easier once you make the first step.

Jiajie Gao: Practice your listening and push yourself to listen carefully. You can learn to get used to teachers’ accents by listening to the keywords and frequent words.

Huihong Li: My first method is to download translation apps. The second is to search for online classes. Use Chrome, Panoto and listen at a 0.5 X speed.

Xuequan Sun: Utilize spare time to talk to teachers. Go to office hours as much as possible.

Rongjing Tang: The solution to being afraid to speak up is to sit in the front row. Because I sit in the first row, there is smaller distance between the teacher and me, and I don't need to have eye contact with my classmates, which reduces the difficulty of the challenge. It doesn't matter if you dare not speak loudly, because the teacher can easily hear you in such a distance.

Q: How did you find your own study skill? Do you have some efficient learning methods worth sharing?

Linlong Li: Don’t make your plan too tight or make your goal too high. It would help if you customise your own learning schedule based on your course schedule and time arrangement. In addition, don’t procrastinate. The course schedule should be focused, do not set up to review too many subjects in one night; Leave yourself some time to have breaks.

Yanglin Zhang: Be sure to go to class, don't stay up late at night to ensure a good sleep. Don't try to beat deadline, don't procrastinate, and avoid snowballing. One of the tips to avoid procrastination is to study with a partner and be motivated. Don't neglect the importance of notes just because maybe most of the points are already in the textbook: highlight PowerPoint or notes to serve as review materials and daily reinforcement. Finally, I recommend that you try to derive the formula on your blank paper before going to class. Otherwise, you will not be able to follow since Math is a subject with high continuity.

Jiajie Gao：I followed the study skills from high school, and did not stop to adjust and summarize new ones. Try and find what works for you. For example, in the organic chemistry course, the PowerPoint skipped very quickly, so I started to combine the preview and review to help me better learn the contents in the second week. Go over the PPT before the class. When doing after-class review, focus on the content that you don't understand in class. For a course that requires high comprehension ability, the key is to study after class by focusing on understanding and resolving the confusing partsyou’re your review based on the class schedule. Generally, please don't leave it to tomorrow, and it should never be later than this week at most. The sooner you review what you have learned, the better. In addition, I also find supplementary study materials through the following ways: asking a professor for relevant materials; using Google and YouTube videos to strengthen my comprehension.

Huihong Li: I did not get good grades before, and even was invited to talk with the teachers. But I did not give up and kept studying. I gained a reward for my hard work in the second semester. If your English is not fluent and not good at shorthand notes, take photos and organize them after class. Your notes don't need to be pretty but must be structured. Finish the homework after organizing and reviewing the notes after class. I set up a study group with my classmates and helped each other to achieve full marks on assignments. Grades of the assignments are crucial. To get good final grades, you must get a full score for your assignments. I am never absent from classes. A good study plan is the most important thing.

Qia Lin: I suggest making plans before the exam, typically 2 to 3weeks in advance. If you have some subjects you did not learn well during the semester, divide your time and leave a big percentage of time to them. When encountering questions that you don’t understand, discuss with your classmates first. And turn to your professor right away if the problem is still unsolved. Still, I highly suggest reviewing every week to reduce the stress of review weeks.

Xuequan Sun: I major in BFE, and there are many new words, so I usually spend some time on preview, focusing on the translation of new words. Highlight important points in a fast-paced class. Reduce rote memorization as much as possible and read more diagrams. After class, I review by organizing notes and copying key words. Review the content before you do your homework and finish it on time.

Rongjing Tang: I still use my study skills from high school to help me stay focused. Some teacher tends to write notes on the board, and the written content must be the key points; if they prefer to present using PowerPoint, you could download the PowerPoint and use the iPad to take notes. Summarize your notes after class. In terms of homework, you can ask your classmates some small questions, which will give you a better idea. For more complicated questions, you can send emails or use Office Hours to ask teachers. I would suggest you develop the habit of finishing your work early before the deadline during the preparatory course. You could finish my homework first and then allocate your time freely so you will not feel anxious.

Q: Do you play online games? Do games influence your study? Have you found the balance between games and study?

Jiajie Gao: I think I can control myself when playing games, and there are lots of things I think that are more interesting than games, and also the burden in the study has already taken up lots of my time so I do not lose myself in games.

Xuequan Sun: Playing games makes me relaxed. I might play games when I don’t have much schoolwork.

Q: What study skills are particularly noteworthy for your major?

Linlong Li: First of all, I think the review before the homework is critical. For supplementary materials, I don’t recommend Chinese textbooks unless professors recommend them. When encountering problems that I don’t understand, my solution is to gather a study group for discussion or turn to tutors for help directly. What is worth saying here is that I strongly recommend a particular learning skill for Biology: image memorization. Take metabolism as an example: drawing a diagram to connect points makes them less abstract.

Yanglin Zhang: If you are majoring in mathematics, you must take notes in class as they play a crucial role in this major.  Please do not refer to the notebook while working on the homework until some questions come up that you don’t know how to answer.

Jiajie Gao: If you are in Material Science and Engineering, focus more on comprehending the knowledge. Emphasis often lies in mechanism, features of material changing, and the whole process. When in class and preparing for exams, comprehension also matters most.

Huihong Li: Work out a mind map to better remember vocabulary and key points. Recommended apps: Mubu.

Qia Lin：Do read the textbooks. I did not read the textbook when I was a freshman. But later, I found that the textbooks help me see the structure of the course.

Xuequan Sun: The first two years are the accumulation of basic knowledge. I recommend you summarize the content. Complex subjects such as metabolism and immunology have much content, so you could not relax most of the time because cramming at the end of the term may not work. You can read books recommended by your teacher or look for videos online. Have a diagram so you can understand the concepts or ideas. When doing experiments in a group, we must be careful and patient, and do not be afraid of trial and error, and carefully record every step. If you find mistakes, you can look for the records one by one.

Rongjing Tang: The teachers in Chemical Engineering like writing on the board, which makes me feel very lucky. Therefore, it is helpful to listen to the teacher's derivation carefully and understand the process without too much memorization.

In addition to the sharing of the seniors, our professors also have some words to say to the freshmen. Check out the video!

Here comes to the end of the sharing of study skills and tips. If you want to know more, look forward to the next post: Life tips for new GTers.