Finals week is approaching, sooner than some of us may think. But with Thanksgiving break, celebrating the end of the semester, and trying to bear Bloomington’s bipolar weather, we hardly get time to study. And we don’t want to be cramming for our finals the night before. So, to end our late-night cram sessions, here are a few tips to design the perfect study plan for your needs!
- Start EARLY. Like, earlier than you think.
What kills 90% of us who cram at the last minute is that we’re doing it at the last minute. The key to effective studying is doing it throughout a week, or if possible, two weeks. Set a calendar reminder two weeks before your exam to start formulating your study plan, and start from that day on. This way, your studying is more spread out and gradually increases as you get closer to the exam day. Plus, you’ll remember more of the information because you keep getting exposed to it.Â
- Build it up.
You might think you don’t have enough practice sets or material to study for two weeks, but you don’t just need practice sets to study. Start by rewriting your notes by memory; see how much of the material you can remember. What you don’t remember, you can review in your class slides and make a note to study that. Then try flashcards and active recall sets. This will help you build your memory on theory-related topics, especially from the beginning of the semester. Finally, work on practice problems, and even write some questions on your own! Teaching is the best form of learning.
- Know what you can do!
If you have multiple exams, this tip will be most helpful for you. When you have multiple exams around the same time (#ICORE), it can be difficult to manage studying for all of them at once. Start studying for them all at the same time, but have time blocks for when you study for each one. Let’s say you have an econ, bio, and calc exam in two weeks, respectively on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. If you struggle more with biology, use more study sessions for that. If your econ exam is more analytical, and you do better at those in the morning, study for econ in the mornings. Take the time to observe how you work best and also what you’re best at.Â
The most important tip is to get enough sleep, eat proper meals, and take good breaks. By implementing these tips, you’ll have a study plan bound to get you the grade you want. Best of luck for finals!