Advice From Experience: How to Best Prepare for Exams

By Amanda Cohen on October 25, 2016

All of my friends and I have been freaking out about #midtermsSZN (AKA, we are all getting slammed with work and studying).

Even as a junior, I still struggle around midterms because you never know what to expect from a new course … we haven’t had much time to get used to the professor’s teaching and/or testing style.

However, despite the fact that I still sometimes struggle, I have a few tricks up my sleeve on how to properly prepare for exams while still taking care of yourself mentally and physically (if you aren’t healthy in these realms, it is very hard to be successful during exams).

Here are some of my favorite pieces of test prep advice that have gotten me through two and a half years of college!

Review your material every day for at least an hour: I cannot stress to you all how important this first tip is. Freshman year, every single one of my professors told me to do this and I basically shrugged my shoulders and thought that I could just review it a week and a half before the exam and be just fine.

WRONG.

First of all, I was cramming and stressed every day leading up to my midterms because I didn’t give myself ample time to review. Second, if I had just reviewed the material an hour, or even 30 minutes, each day starting on the first day of class, I could have avoided (1) stress, (2) panic, and (3) a bad grade.

Work out for 30 minutes each day: This one may seem frivolous because it is not directly related to studying, but I promise you will be so much happier if you work out for a little bit each day. You can’t spend all hours of the day studying; it is simply not healthy.

You need to give yourself a break every now and then. Working out, especially cardio, is a great stress-reliever and also releases endorphins that will give you more energy to study. Working out is great for both your physical and mental health, which are huge factors in being successful in school.

Perfect your study outfit: Okay, this definitely sounds silly, but there is nothing better than studying in your favorite outfit — as I like to say, “dress for success!” (Just kidding, I didn’t make this up, but I still say it a lot).

Some people have to look nice and super put together when they study, but others (including myself) do not. Some people feel that they are more successful when they are wearing jeans, a nice sweater, and some makeup.

On the other hand, I need to be comfortable when I study. If I am studying in my apartment, I wear my pajamas (bottom line), but if I am studying in public, I wear my comfy joggers from Urban Outfitters with a tank-top (or tight long-sleeve) with a cardigan over it. Wear your favorite study outfit on the day of the exam as well!

Go to office hours: I used to never go to office hours as a freshman because of one bad experience with one professor who was just not helpful at all. However, I recently started going to one of my professor’s office hours regularly and it has done miraculous things for my GPA.

Believe it or not, professors actually want you to do well (I know this sounds CRAZY), but they really do. They are the ones who are writing the exams, so reviewing with them is extremely helpful because they will focus on the material that will be on the exam. If you are too intimidated by your professors, go to your GSI’s and/or TA’s office hours!

Make study guides and notecards: I used to think that making a study guide a few nights before my exam was a great idea because it was productive and I was reading over the information. However, typing out the information is not effective studying. Definitely make study guides and/or notecards if they help you, but make them either as you go along in the course (add a little bit of information every day) or two weeks prior to the exam.

Once you have these done, you can use them as an effective study tool (for example, read and annotate your study guide as if you were annotating a textbook). Or, make a study guide and then use that to make notecards!

Everyone is unique and has a different way of preparing for exams. However, the study tips above can really be catered to anybody’s study style and/or personality type.

Also, my very last tip is the power of POSITIVE THINKING! You need to be confident and make positive comments about your ability to do well on exams. I promise it goes a lot further than you think! Happy studying my friends!

Image via. https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com

Follow Uloop

Apply to Write for Uloop News

Join the Uloop News Team

Discuss This Article

Get Top Stories Delivered Weekly

Back to Top

Log In

Contact Us

Upload An Image

Please select an image to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format
OR
Provide URL where image can be downloaded
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format

By clicking this button,
you agree to the terms of use

By clicking "Create Alert" I agree to the Uloop Terms of Use.

Image not available.

Add a Photo

Please select a photo to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format