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Can you believe it’s already October? This semester is flying by. If you’re like me and my roommates, then you are totally stressed about the middle of October approaching, aka MIDTERMS. The dreaded word of all college campuses. It is one of the worst words, second only to finals. Let’s be real, who enjoys taking tests, especially multiple in the same week? The answer is no one! I am here to give you a few tips and tricks on how to survive all your exams.
Prepare as far in advance as you can
Most midterms are going to be your second or even third exam of the semester. I recommend making flashcards or Quizlet sets at least one week before your scheduled exam. Kudos to you if you have the time and energy to make them before that; it will definitely help you in the long run. I personally like Quizlet more than manually writing out each flashcard. It saves time and trees! For me and for most, it is so much easier to type out the terms and definitions. Quizlet is awesome and auto-saves everything so you don’t have to worry about losing them, unlike the possibility of misplacing your note cards.
Study a small amount each day
Once you’ve made your study cards, either on paper or online, I would suggest studying the cards a little bit every day leading up to your exam. When your exam is less than a week away you should begin studying a few hours daily, depending on the number of credit hours that go along with the class. Until then, looking over your notes or going through the Quizlet set to test your knowledge will better prepare you for the test. If you look at the information a little each day, you won’t feel so overwhelmed with all the terms and definitions you need to know. AND it will prevent you from cramming the night before your exam. Don’t Stress!
Rewrite. Rewrite. Rewrite.
Don’t worry if you aren’t into quizzing yourself with flashcards. Another great way to remember stuff is by rewriting it multiple times. I take notes on the PowerPoint slides my teacher posts, then I take the same notes again in a notebook so the words become embedded into my brain. You could even get a whiteboard and Expo markers and write and erase until you can regurgitate the information by memory.
Make up funny stories and acronyms
I love making up acronyms to help me remember things. You’ve probably heard of “King Henry Died Mother Didn’t Care Much” or “Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally”. These acronyms are used to remember measurement units and the order of operations. No matter what the subject, you can definitely create funny stories or acronyms about your topic. And once you’ve created something, tell it to someone else! The more times you tell the story or explain the acronym, you’ll remember the information even better.
Practice makes perfect
If your teacher posts practice tests, DO THEM! This can be so helpful, and a lot of the times, the teacher may even use the same questions. One of my first exams this year was almost identical to the exam he posted for us to study from. If you’re studying for a math or chemistry exam, do the practice problems that your teacher posts or find ones in the textbook. If you use any online homework system, redo those problems too. Practice as much as you can with any practice exams, quizzes, or problems available to you. You could even look up practice problems for whatever your subject is on Google.