How many times have you heard it? “Don’t study the night before!” But as we all know, sometimes you just have to do it! So here are some tips and pointers to maximize the cram session’s effectiveness.
1.Review the Syllabus: Most of the time the course syllabus will tell you how a professor’s tests and questions are set up. This can help you know what to study or how to study.
2.Prioritize: What did the teacher spend the most time on? Does the teacher favor dates or people? Know what to study and what will be the biggest topics on the test.
3.Make a Plan: Know where you will be studying, for how long, what methods you will use and what your back up plan is.
4.Prepare your study location: Bring your water bottle, snacks and extra pens. Leave your computer at home if possible, we all know it’s distracting. And turn your cell phone on silent.
5.Know how you should study: If you’re a visual learner, you can color code your notes. If you’re an auditory learner, you can read your notes out loud; If you’re a kinesthetic learner, you can rewrite your notes or make flashcards.
6.Don’t lose sleep: Research shows if you sleep less than 6 hours your testing abilities go way down. So if you can’t focus, go to bed!
Here are a few tips from some crammers:
“Know how long it will take you and allot yourself enough time!”
–Kaitlin Shultz, Senior
“Do the biggest assignments first and drink 700 cups of coffee.”
–Jessica Cohen, Junior
“Take really good class notes and then the day before order them in rank of importance.”
–Steffany Hiett, Sophomore
Photo Courtesy of: http://edudemic.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/studying.jpg