How do I transfer as much information as possible from my brain to paper?

Hi, I was instructed to post this question here, I posted it on r/confession first.<br><br>I'm a college ass third year student, and I'm just wondering how I can get the most out of this Northwestern University experience. When I study and do my homework assignments, I feel like I'm not doing enough. For instance, I don't do enough practice problems for my classes, and if I do, I don't take enough notes of my problems. When I write a paper, I feel like I could have done a better job. <br><br>I just don't feel like I could have done enough for the price of my tuition. I want to know how I can maximize my knowledge. There are so many factors that can get in the way of my learning experience. As a political science major, I have to read a lot of books and papers, and I find myself spending more time highlighting the papers and taking notes instead of just reading the main points. I also find myself taking a crap ton of notes when it comes to powerpoints orlectures. Just, overall I feel like I can take even better notes and be even more efficient than I am now. I'm looking for some tips. I have a lot of advice on note-taking but I have a feeling I can do more.<br><br>TL;DR: I want to maximize the information I'm retaining, but I'm not sure I'm using the most efficient methods to do so.