Need help getting started studying for the second round of midterms? Check out some advice from one HCWM writer!
First, set aside time. The most important thing about studying for a test is making sure you actually put the time in your schedule to do so. Many people say that it should be done in manageable sessions days before the exam, to slowly review the material instead of having a frenzied day of cramming, but what do they know? A REAL college student understands that the best way to study is wait the day before the test, or even better, hours before. The more you procrastinate and hope for the best, the more likely getting an A is, because everyone knows that when you refuse to acknowledge the work you have to do, and simply wish for things to go well, they usually do! The crippling anxiety, self-loathing, and inability to focus on the day before are all simply treats that come with the package.
Okay, it’s the day before your test. Now what? That’s easy- just dive right into the material. It’s best to get started, there’s no way around it. But, it’s not as complicated as it sounds. All you have to do is crack open the textbook, or alternatively bring up the tab with online reading. And that’s it. After all, you don’t want to overdo it, too much at once is a quick road to burnout. It’s not as if you only have one day to study and there’s a lot of material to cover and…oh. You know what? Just don’t think about it. No, simply leaving the material out is enough. By osmosis, the knowledge in the textbook and material will slowly seep into your brain, simply by being near to you. Now you are free to take your very first break.
Study breaks are very important to good study habits. In moderation, they can increase your productivity by regenerating your drive to work and giving you a little mental respite. Not too long though, because then they become distractions that eat up your time. So how to moderate these breaks? Well, every true college student knows that a good study break is a minimum of one hour. During these breaks, the student must obsessively check their social media. On finding out that nothing new has happened by the 15th time refreshing the page, they then must move onto funny cat videos on the internet. Watching these mindlessly funny, repetitive videos for over an hour is almost sufficient enough to re-energize the brain for serious critical thinking and memorization. The final piece to the puzzle is another half hour checking all social media, again to see if people are having fun while you’re stuck doing work.
Okay, break is over. Time to get back to work. The key to making the most out of studying is to obtain the material with minimum effort. No point in wasting time and mental energy if it has no use, right? Now you could use efficient study strategies like practice problems, flashcards, self-made quizzes, etc. But guess what? There’s a secret, even more efficient strategy that college students developed over the years of testing. Simply skim everything! Take that mountain of reading and go through the whole entire thing in one sitting. I know it sounds exhausting, but you don’t really read it, just kind of glance at every other word. Hey, it still counts as reading if you recognize a few words here and there, right? Use this strategy and you’re sure to remember every single thing the teacher ever taught, with only a few hours of work.
With just these few simple steps, you too can study like a college student! Those long nights of stress and coffee are only a few steps away in your future. Sure, there are other options to study. Maybe they’re more efficient. Maybe they give you less stress. Maybe they are going to get you closer to the grades you want. But, it won’t be the experience of a TRUE college student. And who doesn’t love getting a cup of coffee at midnight at the library to stay awake because you haven’t started studying yet, crying into your textbook until next morning until finally giving up and checking your Facebook for a few hours, only to fall asleep without actually going over an material? That’s the classic college experience you pay tens of thousands for!