This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Montclair chapter.
College is often synonymous with cramming. As collegiettes, we have demanding courses, social gatherings to attend and extracurricular activities to participate in. It’s no wonder that we often find ourselves in an “oops” moment when we realize an exam is a lot sooner than we last remembered it being. Take some notes on the following tips below and apply them to your midterm exam study sessions. This way, you will be sure to ace your exams rather than having to cross your fingers.
- Talk It Out. When studying, most people review their notes by staring at a page and reading its words in their minds. Instead, pretend you are teaching those concepts or ideas to a child who wouldn’t understand the subject. By doing this, you are causing yourself to organize your thoughts and make connections between the various ideas you’re studying. Breaking down the material helps you understand the bigger picture in a simple way.
- Mnemonic Devices. Understanding and remembering difficult concepts forces us to memorize the information. This is ineffective because you’re not actually learning why things are the way they are. Use a mnemonic device to remember information by exam time. For example, can anyone tell me what “Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally stands for? That’s right, Parenthesis, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction. The same acronym we learned years ago in math to help us remember the order of operations can be applied in most other subjects to help retain information.
- Music Association. Studying for Calculus and have a difficult formula you cannot fully remember? Try playing a song as you are using that formula to help you remember it. Next, before you fall asleep, play that same song on repeat as you are drifting off to sleep. This is something that you would have to do over the course of a few days, but it causes your mind to create a link between the song and the formula. During exam time, when you think of that formula your mind will think back to that song and allow you to remember how to use that formula you had trouble learning.
- Switch It Up. Are you studying at the same desk, in the same room with the same backdrop? If so, then get up and go to a coffee shop, the library or outside to study for your next exam. Being among the same, monotonous scenery can cause your mind to wander and lose focus, especially if you are in your own bedroom or dorm. Studying elsewhere keeps your mind fresh and causes you to be more focused on the material in front of you.
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