In just a week and a half, you’ll be enjoying your summer break with friends, family, and pets. Until then, it’s time to hit the books and knuckle down on your schoolwork to prepare for final exams, projects, and papers. It’ll take some effort, but the satisfaction of a job well done will be worth it.
Don’t know where to start? Don’t worry, we got you!
We’ve come up with the best ways to prepare and study that will keep you calm and focused so sit back, relax and take notes on some helpful tips we’ve prepared for you.
Stick to a Study Schedule
Most likely you have more than one final exam, so it’s paramount for you to look at your class schedule and set aside an hour or more each day for time to study. Try to study around the same time each day to set a routine. If you can’t do that due to work or classes, don’t worry.
Studying a bit each day will be enough. If you have a group project that you’re still working on, consider dividing up the remaining work with your partners into bite-sized chunks. This will make the project more manageable for everyone.
Prioritize Material
Final exams aren’t always during your normal class period. Look at your exam schedule and focus on the exams you have earlier in the week. Additionally, you should consider which classes are the most difficult for you and add more time studying those classes.
Once you’ve made those two distinctions there are a few things you can do to break the daunting amount of information in front of you into smaller categories:
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- Material that your professor has highlighted as important will be on the exam.
- Material that might be on the exam.
Once you have a grasp on one class, move on to the next.
Make Use of the Text
If you’re a visual learner like me, crack open your textbook. Most textbooks will have diagrams and visual aids to further your understanding of the materials before you.
At the end of each chapter, there are usually study guides. You’ll benefit from going over those. Not only do study guides reinforce your knowledge of the material by asking important questions and highlighting important points, but they also give you a good idea of where to start studying.
Get Enough Sleep
I know by now you’ve heard it a thousand times but it’s important to get enough sleep each night, especially before an exam. Sleep moves the information you’ve studied from your working memory to your long-term memory.
It might seem tempting to pull an all-nighter for a few extra hours of study, but you won’t remember what you’ve studied as well as if you’d slept.
Study to Your Favorite Tunes
Music has been shown to boost concentration and help you improve focus. My personal favorite study-tune genre is lo-fi.
Take Breaks
Taking a five-minute break every hour to get up and stretch, grab a quick healthy snack, or a bottle of water will do you good. Taking breaks is vital to the learning process and is one of the keys to successful studying.
Now that we’ve covered these tips take a deep breath and know that you’ve got this! You still have time to study, and you have all the tools you need to set yourself up for success. You only have one last week to study before a long relaxing summer break.
