With finals coming up soon, it is time to start preparing! Your approach to studying can be just as important to your success as learning the content. Let’s go over some study tips for how to prepare.
- Organize your time accordingly
List out when your finals are and any reading days that you might have. This will give you some idea of what materials you might want to start looking at.
After noting what is coming up first, take a moment to do a self-assessment about the information assigned–what do you feel the most prepared for? What do you feel least prepared for? Looking over your notes every day, even if it is for a short period of time, will go a long way when you are taking your exams.
- Make a schedule
Plan your study schedule in a way that makes sense for you. Make sure that when you are planning to study, you put yourself in an environment that is going to set you up for success. Some content may be easier (or harder) to focus on depending on your environment.
Case-it backpacks will make your trip to the library, cafe, or study room an easy one. It has room for your binders, books, and laptop so you’re prepared no matter where you review!
Giving yourself more time to prepare will help you be able to review all the necessary materials. Typically, it is advised to start studying at least 1 week in advance of the exam.
Make a plan with benchmarks to hold yourself accountable. Creating self-imposed due dates may help you stay focused. Map out your days to see what units, or parts of a project, you need to get done. If you fall behind on your schedule, try to make it up on a different day.
- Study Essentials
Having a binder can be a great way to keep all your study essentials in one place. Not only do binders have space for all your items, but they can help you organize your materials. A binder can fit multiple notebooks, loose leaf, notecards, and your computer all in one place.
Having a pencil case that has enough space for all your pens, pencils, highlighters, and post-it notes is also good for studying. Case-it has a selection of pencil cases that will fit your study needs. There are even pencil cases that stand up in order to give you more access to your things.
- Focus on one subject at a time
It can be easy to get distracted when trying to review multiple subjects at once.
As hard as it can be to do, try to focus your full attention on one subject at a time. By giving your full attention to one subject, rather than part of your attention to a lot of subjects, you will be able to engage with the content more thoroughly.
If you find that you can not concentrate on what you are doing, or you find yourself wanting to switch topics, it is okay to work on another assignment. Allow yourself to take a little bit of a mental breather by working on something else before returning back to the previous task.
- Be engaged when studying
When you are studying, make sure that you are in an environment that is going to promote productivity. Everyone works better in different environments and college campuses offer a variety of places to hunker down.
If you know that you are someone who gets distracted when studying in your bed or your room, do yourself a favor and try to find a new study spot.
Being actively engaged with the materials in front of you is an important part of the reviewing process. The amount of time you put into studying can be important but your level of focus is equally, if not more, a direct influence on your ability to recall information.
- Make sure you are eating and schedule time for yourself
Finals season is one of the most stressful parts of college.
It can be hard to pull yourself from your work but it can be beneficial to take breaks to allow yourself to unwind.
A break can consist of getting a meal with friends, changing locations, going for a short walk, or working out. These breaks can help you clear your mind and get rid of lingering stress. It is mentally draining to be focused all day and it can be good to allow your mind to rest.
- Reward yourself
In order to not lose motivation, set up a reward system as you prepare. You can do this to help motivate yourself to accomplish your study goals for the day.
Rewards can take on many different forms. A reward can simply be allowing yourself to scroll on your phone for 15 minutes after you completed a section or buying yourself dinner if you get through your agenda.
Rewards are a great way to help you stay on task while also breaking up the monotony of continuous studying.
Some people work better when the rewards are more frequent. If a particular subject is proving to be difficult to get though or you find yourself getting distracted, implement more frequent rewards. When you are reading textbook chapters, give yourself a snack at the end of every section or phone time. The more you look forward to the reward, the more likely you will be to try to push through the section so you can get that reward.
- Practice exams
If your course provides a practice exam it can be a good idea to take it a couple of times. Taking the practice exam before you have started reviewing will show you what areas you need to focus on. It will also give you a sense of what types of questions and topics you will see on your exam.
Taking the practice exam again towards the end of your studying will show you how much you’ve improved. If you feel like there are still a few areas that you need to look at again, or any areas that you missed, taking this exam a second time will highlight what you need to look at again.
We hope that everyone has an amazing finals season this fall semester! Good luck to all the college students, you got this!
