College student seeking advice: What to take to stay up during exam times ?

[kamil]

Hey,

Most of you have been through some type of schooling or another so you definitely can relate to what I am going through. Even though it is summer I have decided to take many accelerated college courses that only span for 5 weeks!! You cover everything that you would normally do in a semester but you do it in a very very short span.

I have been eating very healthy but I do drink many RED BULLS (energy drink) in order to help me stay up and concentrate. I am looking for a substitue as my "pee" is a bright "highliter" yellow - which cannot be good for me.

What did you do during the hard times when you were in school ?
(I just ordered some maximum strength caffeine pills called NODOZ)

It is virtually impossible for me to sit here for 7-14 hours a day studying without taking some type a booster to get me going. For some reason I cannot drink coffee as it makes my eyes water so that is out of the question.

I am trying to get though my dual major in accounting and finance as soon as possible so I usually overload with classes and keep my GPA above a 3.6 so it gets very hectic.

Thanks in advance,

Lets go Rutgers

[GermanStar]

Hard to beat methamphetamine if you want to stay up and cram...

[omegabenz]

nodoz can be addicting (my friend had this problem)

I usually drink coke because I dont do well with coffee.

Have you tried sobe drinks, they have a chemical thats 4 x more potent than caffeine?

I usually try to rest, then study.

Make sure you have great lighting -sun is best, you wont sleep if there is good lighting

I found that I never learned jack scit staying up too late, one method that I think really did work was playing tapes of lectures 24/7.

[kamil]

Originally Posted by MedMech

I found that I never learned jack scit staying up too late, one method that I think really did work was playing tapes of lectures 24/7.

I do record all the lectures unless a professor is not letting me tape them. I then plug it through the USB cord and play it on the computer while I have spare time.

[koop]

I don't know if they still make it but Jolt Cola did the trick. Their slogan was "all the cafine and twice the sugar"

Mountain Dew has the most cafine of any soft drink IIRC.

[MTI]

Starbuck's After Coffee peppermints are strong enough to keep you awake when drowsy. I always recommed that folks keep them handy in the car, but they aren't a substitute for not sleeping.

[Botnst]

Illegal use of certain legal, prescription mild stimulants work best of all, but they are addicting and/or habituating and/or you can go to jail. Don't. Almost all other stimulants are caffeine based. there are some marginally legal natural stimulants that you can find on line. I'm not telling you what or where since I no longer approve of that method. But do the research and you should be okay.

The absolute best way to learn material is to study 3 hours for every hour of class lecture. By using that method you will be contributing to your education at about the same time investment as you do in a regular job. That is, 12 hours of lecture would net you 36 hours of study, in addition to your 12 hours of class. Just starting out in most jobs, if you're not willing to work 50 hour weeks, you aren't going to be "Mr. Popular Newguy", the man on the fast track. You'll be "Mr Thatguy D. Letgo".

Don't put-off studying. Instead, put-off life (until semester breaks) so you can study. Your only full-time job is your education. That is a damned difficult way to get through school, but it will set you up for good habits that will serve you later in life.

I worked my way through school. But I didn't have part-time jobs. I would quit school after the end of a semester or two of high-intensity classes and go to work for a year or so. It took me nearly 8 years to get a bachelors and a bit than 5 years for the masters. I enjoyed every minute of all of it.

[Southern]

Originally Posted by kamil

Hey,

I have been eating very healthy but I do drink many RED BULLS (energy drink) in order to help me stay up and concentrate. I am looking for a substitue as my "pee" is a bright "highliter" yellow - which cannot be good for me.

Lets go Rutgers

Drink lots of water to get your fluid colors back to normal.

I second the Jolt cola, 3 cans will keep you up all night, however I do not recommend pulling all-nighters. Sometimes a good nights sleep is better medication.

Get on the 7 year plan so you don't have to study so hard.

[H2O2]

I drank gallons of black tea and listened to Ravel's Bolero over and over and over and...

[Chris Bell]

I don't know if there available were you live but...try a drink called Rockstar.
I'm taking summer courses at SJSU so I can understand your problem. A couple of Rockstars and I'm good to go.

[Lebenz]

*Really* good article on foods and the brain

11 steps to a better brain

http://www.newscientist.com/channel/being-human/mg18625011.900


Well it's a little more than just food and the brain, but definitely food for thought

[GermanStar]

Originally Posted by w126

We used to take something like that, little red pills -- speed.

That was an extreme, stupid measure, so I would follow Bot's reccomendations.

Hey, if you can't be stupid as a kid, when can you be stupid?

Yeah, meth, benzedrine, dexedrine -- all diet pills/speeders. Truckers used to call 'em "24-hour pills" -- maybe they still do. Not a great path to take, but I knew more kids in school who did 'em than didn't.

[pxland]

It's hard to believe I haven't heard this mentioned.

Porn

Spend about 10-15 minutes out of every hour combing through some porn and you can stay awake indefinately.