Let’s face it: college exams are tough and not to mention stressful. Seeing test after test written in your planner can be intimidating. But the best way to tackle this intimidation is making sure you’re prepared. The problem, however, is where should you start preparing? And how?
1. Manage Your Time
Make sure to look at subjects in order of when the tests are. Study for the tests that are the closest. However, do not do all of one subject in the same day. Your brain needs to take a break to retain information, so coming back to it will help you remember more and prevent overload.
2. Identify Key Points
If you’re already confident with a particular topic in a course, don’t give it too much time. Create a review sheet with the key points on the midterm and write a short description and example for each. Flashcards are also helpful to organize concepts. In addition, if you write them out you can test yourself. For math courses, make sure to find practice problems to work through the formulas, since memorization and application are different.
3. Refer Back to Past Assignments
Remember those questions you got wrong on the homework or the last quiz? Oh, you don’t? That means you could make the same mistakes on the exam which counts for a lot more. Go back and look at your past assignments. Look at what you had trouble with and figure out why. This way, you’ll have it all cleared up on test day. If you did well, look at the questions that were asked and how you answered them so you can do the same thing to ace the test!
Tips:
1) Study for an hour, break for half an hour.
2) To remember better: handwrite review sheets and flashcards.
3) Exam grades aren’t the only grades. You can get an idea of where you stand in other areas, and see if you can do some extra credit to pull your grade up if you need to.
4) Minimize distractions while studying: set the phone down and keep Netflix off (quiet background music can help concentration).
Good luck, and “may the odds be ever in your favor.”