You are excited just thinking about your freshman year of college. You think about all the new friends you are going to make, how you are going to design your dorm room, which game system to bring, and so on. What you are not necessarily thinking about, possibly by choice, is the academic portion of college.
College is a very different place than high school, and with all the new and exciting things, comes a tougher course load. A college exam is different than a high school test, so it is important that you study in a different manner than you did in high school.
When I came to college, I thought that I would be able to do well on my exams by just paying attention in class and looking over my notes a few days before the exam. I was so wrong. After my first set of exams I realized that my high school study methods were not going to cut it in college.
Over the past four years, I have perfected the art of studying, or so I like to think. In order to save you the pain of going through the first few college exams not knowing how to study I have put together a little “Studying 101” guide.
- Make a study guide: The first thing I do before every exam is retype up all my notes from class into an organized document. This makes reviewing notes a lot easier and it also helps the information sink in more effectively.
- Make Notecards: While not all of your college exams will have definitions on them, making note cards even for concepts or theories helps tremendously. Notecards really help to test whether you know the information rather than just read it over and assume you will remember it come test time. I know I have had many exams where I read a question and knowing the definition or the summary of the concept being asked has helped me answer the question.
- Review all readings: I know reading can be tedious and seem trivial but just familiarizing yourself with the readings assigned can help you answer more questions on the exam. Obviously actually reading all assignments is the most ideal, but if you really are one of those people who hates to read or has no time for it, then at least skim the information so you have a general idea of what they are about.
- Give yourself ample time: College is known for all-nighters. I can proudly say I have yet to pull an all-nighter and the reason is that I do not wait till the last minute. Rather than starting maybe three days before an exam and studying non-stop for those three days, start studying earlier. I start studying about a week out. By doing so, I just need to study a few hours a day and I’m able to make sure I really know the material. By two days before the exam, I am mainly just reviewing the information, which reduces stress tremendously. Studying a week in advance may seem excessive, however, you will feel like you are ready for that exam!
With these four tips, there is no reason you should not ace your college exams. I know you want to have fun your freshman year and this may seem like a little much, but college is much more enjoyable when you are getting good grades!
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