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The worst part of university is, without a doubt, the dreaded final exams. There’s nothing more stressful. So much pressure rests on acing these tests. I always like to think of the worst case scenarios. What if I fail my tests? What if my GPA sucks? What if I don’t get accepted into Business? I NEED to do well on my finals. Failure is not an option. I’m not taking any chances, so I try to be the best studier I can be. However, I have never been a good studier. It’s not that I’m lazy, it’s just that I’m not particularly good at it. I don’t manage my time well, I get distracted easily, and half the time, there’s other things I would much rather be doing. I don’t have the best self control at times. But, I have slowly been becoming a better studier and these are some of the most helpful tips that have worked for me, so enjoy! Side note: these tips might seem really obvious, but believe it or not, I failed to follow a good number of these tips in first year. So you would be surprised how many of these tips can actually help you a great deal.
- Make A Study Plan: When studying, it’s so easy to get off track. Two things usually happen to me. I either study really slow and don’t get through all my material before the exam or I rush through and just skim my notes because I don’t think I can finish everything in time. If you make a study schedule and decide the exact pace you have to go in order to finish studying in time, everything will be a lot easier. Plus this will definitely decrease a great deal of your stress.
- Actually read the textbook: I can’t preach this one enough. Even if your professor says he won’t test directly from the textbook, still give it a read. It can help to clarify any questions you might have and just overall, increase your understanding. Just do it okay?
- Find extra practice exams: Practice questions are one of my favorite ways to study. I love knowing what kind of questions to expect and what information I should concentrate on learning. The best places to find practice tests is from friends who have taken the course in past years (sometimes the exact questions are reused! It’s great), your school’s exam bank, or online if you just type in your textbook’s name.
- Test each other: I might be the world’s worst memorizer. Tell me something and I’ll forget it in five seconds. The only way that I have been able to actually retain information is if my friends test me. If they are constantly asking me questions about the exam topic, it helps me remember everything as I say all the answers.
- Use earplugs: Earplugs changed my life. I have never been the best at focusing. I get distracted by the smallest things. But once I put earphones in, I can actually read my textbook and my notes without my mind wandering off. It’s a miracle. A Christmas miracle. Just kidding, it’s Summer.
- Start studying early: In the past years, I waited till the actual exam break to start studying. This would often only leave me 2 days before a test to relearn the whole semester’s notes. It was horrible. This semester, I started studying a lot earlier. Even though I didn’t have as much motivation because the pressure and stress hadn’t hit yet, I’m really grateful to have those extra days of studying.
- Find your perfect study place: I don’t know about you, but libraries have begun to depress me. Don’t get me wrong, libraries are still a great resource but when I’m studying for 12 hours a day, the last thing I want to do is spend it in a library. So for me, I find empty classrooms and seminar rooms and study in there. It’s quiet but you can be loud if you feel the need. I don’t feel restricted. So find your perfect study place that fits all your needs. Be comfortable.
- Note-taking: When studying, I usually just write out all the information I need to know and then attempt to absorb it all into my brain in the days before my head. I recently began to change that up a bit. I now write down all my notes and then study and understand that information and once I feel like I have learned a big chunk of it, I write down everything I’m still uncertain about on some more paper. I then try to learn everything I just wrote down and then once again write out everything I don’t know. This cycle keeps repeating until I’m left with one sheet of notes that I can concentrate on. It’s a lot less intimidating.
- Sleep: I will never understand the people who pull all-nighters or stay up super late studying. After a certain time, your brain just becomes useless. I can’t and will not learn anything after 11 at night. I just end up reading the same sentence four times or forgetting everything I learned once I wake up the next day. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, just go to sleep and when you wake up, you’ll be able to tackle everything a lot better. Sleep is such a nice break from studying.
- Take a deep breath and relax: Yes, exams suck. But, they’re inevitable and they’re not worth getting so stressed out over. Just keep studying. Don’t let yourself get frustrated. All you can do is study and try to learn everything. Go see the prof if you need extra explanations. Ask your friends for help too. Don’t get stuck in a rut. Just keep moving forward. Don’t get overwhelmed. Stay calm and just keep reminding yourself of the end goal. Getting stressed out doesn’t help anything. It’s just going to make studying harder.
I would absolutely love it if you would all share your study tips with me. Help me become the best studier I can be and in return, I will keep sharing all of my studying tips with you as I learn more and more. I wish you all luck on your upcoming finals and let’s take a collective deep breath as we think about how close we are to being done and that Summer is right around the corner. We can do this! We are smart individuals who are going to kill those finals because we’re awesome! Now, stop reading my blog and go study!
For more school help, check out my University Advice post from first year, as well as my Second Year Tips, and my What I Wish I Told My Freshman Self post. For those still in high school, take a look at myHigh School edition post and my Differences between High School and University. For even more advice, you can wander over to my Study Tips post.