How to Study for Exams | Top 5 Study Tips to Ace your Exams!

It is that time where the world seems to stop and you find yourself in a weird haze: up at strange times during the night, sleeping on the floor during the day, and eating random food you find in the cupboards because it is that time of the year again - it is final?exam time!?

Final #exams can seem absolutely terrifying.?How can I #study all this material in only a couple weeks and ace my finals??There is a lot of pressure and stress on #students during final exams. Honestly, no one even teaches you how to study for exams! The #school system just throws this obstacle at you and hopes you don’t drown. Well in this post we are going to cover the best study tips for final exams and show you how to study for exams effectively.?

First, a little bit?about me?- my name is Gabriel Aversano, MBA , I did a BEng in Nuclear Engineering and an MBA at the same time while working part-time and got pretty good grades (4/4.3 GPA). So, I guess you can say I probably have some good study tips for final exams! I’ve been #tutoring students in #math, #science, and computer #programming for 15 years (oh no, I am old D:) teaching students how to study effectively. These are some of the top #studytips I tell my students preparing for final exams.?

1. Acing your final exams starts on day 1 of classes

Final exams are super stressful. You have to study for several courses at the same time while wrapping up final projects, papers, presentations and practicums. You are also at the mercy of your exam schedule. I’ve had two exams in one day. I’ve had five exams in five days. I’ve had a week in between two exams. Your final exam schedule can seriously make or break your grades! For that reason, I encourage students to get their grade as high as possible?BEFORE?exams to alleviate some of the pressure of finals.?

This is a marathon, not a race! Start strong, stay strong, and finish strong. Do your best during the school year to keep up with your classes: hand in assignments, study for quizzes, and kick some midterm butt. Keep your notes organized and keep track of topics that you are struggling with so you can return to them when you study for exams. Being well prepared will go a long way when it comes time to actually start studying for your final exams.?

Now, you can’t put 100% effort in all the time for the entire school year. You have to put?appropriate effort?into your work. If an assignment is only worth 1%, you really can’t spend 10 hours working on it. For that reason, time management during the school year becomes very important. Use the assignments and quizzes as a way to keep up with the course. Study the material during the semester so you can attempt assignments and do well on the quizzes. This will help motivate you and keep you on track.

When you start to fall behind, get help as soon as possible! If your notes and lectures don’t make sense, watch a couple YouTube videos on the topic. If it still doesn’t make sense, ask a classmate or a Teaching Assistant or use your prof’s office hours. If you still need additional support, book a tutoring session right away.?On demand tutors?can be a lifesaver during the school year. Get the help you need when you need it. Fill in the knowledge gap immediately so you don’t fall behind in the course! A lot of students make the mistake of waiting to get help until a week before midterms or before final. The reality is that you can’t cram all the material. Your brain needs time to absorb the information, make connections, and master it! Get help early!?

2. Create a study schedule?

Juggling all your exams can feel very daunting and honestly down right impossible! How can I study for exams with everything going on in my life? That’s why I encourage students to make a study schedule to help organize their days. Here are some steps to make an exam study schedule:

First, get out the calendar (digital or print) and block off each task. Don’t try to do this all in your head! Use different colors for different courses. Throw in any non-school related events (birthdays, holidays, your job, etc). Life doesn’t stop because it’s exam time. Maybe you can’t stay out all night for your friend’s birthday. But, you can go for a couple hours - trust me, you need the break.?

Start studying as early as possible. In fact, if you can start studying before the last day of class, do it! Even little things like collecting all your notes, identifying confusing chapters, or getting a few hours in with a tutor will go a long way for your exam studying. You will probably start studying in the order of your exams. But, you should also consider how much it is weighted, what grade you need, and how much studying you need to do. For example, if exam #1 is only worth 15%, you have a good grade going in, you calculate that you don’t even need to write the exam to pass the course and you need a 60% to get the grade you want, then you should probably spend less time studying for it and start with another higher priority course.?

Study in frequent, short, focused sessions spaced out over a long period of time. By starting your studying as early as possible, it gives you time to space out your studying over a longer period. This will help you master and remember the material! It also gives you time to get help from classmates, TAs, or a tutor. Schedule your study sessions in two to four 25 minute Pomodoros with short breaks in between Pomodoros and longer breaks after each study session. In order to start early and study often, you will need to study multiple courses in a day. You can’t just study for the upcoming exam and then switch to the next one - you won’t have enough time. That being said, try to reserve the last 24 hours before a final to only study that one course (of course, if your exam schedule allows it).?Remove distractions when you are studying. That includes your phone! Turn on do not disturb and check notifications at the end of each Pomodoro.

Finally, tailor your schedule around the times you are most productive. I am an early bird. I have no problem waking up at 6 am and starting to work at 7 am. But, I don’t function well after 7 pm and I want to be in bed by 10. You know yourself best, so fit the schedule around you.

3. Prioritize what you study?

You have five classes and each course covers a 600 page textbook of material. There is no way you are going to be able to study everything. This study tip is to prioritize what you study. A lot of exams are cumulative and cover the entire course. However, there are usually certain units/chapters that are weighted more. Maybe everything after the midterm will cover 70% of the marks. Use this information to prioritize your studying. Study the material that is worth more on the final. I know, you can’t tell the future, your prof misguides you and stuff you study doesn’t even show up on the exam. But, you have to start somewhere.?

Next, focus on topics you aren’t as strong on. There is really no need to study what you already know. So if you feel good about a topic, move on! Use techniques like active recall to test your knowledge. Write everything you know about a topic on a piece of paper and then compare vs your notes. Find what you missed and focus on those areas. Spend more time doing than reading. Passively reading over your notes is a waste of time. Instead, write out what you know, say it out loud to a friend or even a pet, and do practice problems. Don’t just read over solutions to questions either! Review then try on your own.?

It is also a good idea to try practice finals without your notes. This gives you a chance to grade yourself and see what topics you really know and what you don’t. You can use tools like #MyHomeworkRewars for exam prep. MyHomeworkRewards gives you personalized practice problems and then tells you which topics you need to work on!?You can?sign up for free?and earn rewards while you study for final exams!?

I have a three step approach that I use with my students to help them study:

First, master the specific topic. Make sure you know the material or how to do the calculations for that specific technique. Study that topic in isolation until you master it! Next, know when to use that technique. The exam is going to have material from the entire course. You will need to know when to use each technique. Practice by reading questions and then identifying the technique you need to use to solve it. Make sure you understand why that is the correct technique! First, do this for a single unit and then the whole course. Finally, interleave all these topics to mimic the final. Now that you have mastered each topic and know when to use them, practice studying as if it was the exam.??

4. Maintain your mental health?

Exam time is very stressful and you need to be at peak performance to do well. For that reason, and?many other benefits, you need to maintain and preserve your mental health! Mental health is important all the time. But, since finals place even higher demands on you, it is particularly important to focus on mental health during this time. Maintaining your mental health will enable you to study more effectively and will help you get through it. It is important to stay active and social, eat healthy, be active and take breaks while you are studying.?

It's easy to fall into the trap of studying for hours without taking breaks. But this can be very counterproductive and leave you feeling isolated while studying for exams. Taking breaks is essential to help you recharge and retain information. Make sure you schedule your breaks and take them seriously! Some examples of productive breaks include making a snack, playing with a pet, and having a quick chat with a study buddy. Longer breaks could include exercising, meditating, playing an instrument, or doodling. Do something you enjoy and do something that will take your mind off of your studies. Be careful about using your phone as a study break. Use your short 5 min breaks to check notifications and respond to messages. If you want to spend a longer break scrolling on your phone, try to at least get up, grab a snack or a drink and scroll in a different spot.

It is important to take a?complete?break from what you are studying. Though, you can also study while doing some of these activities! Use active recall to tell your pet what you are learning. Quiz yourself while you are dribbling a ball. Studying doesn’t mean sitting.?

Incorporate these breaks into your schedule. I recommend starting the day with a light activity. Try going for a walk, doing yoga, or a light workout in the morning. Schedule short 5 minute breaks after each 25 minute pomodoro and then longer 30 - 60 minute breaks after 2-4 pomodoro’s. Include even longer breaks if you can like going to your friend’s birthday party.

Exams can bring out a lot of negative thoughts and sometimes we can spiral into a dark abyss. Do your best to stay positive. Recognize when these negative thoughts are taking over and give yourself a positive pep talk. Don't be afraid to seek support from family, friends, or a professional if you're feeling significantly overwhelmed.

5. Look at the big picture

It can be very natural to fixate on your exams. Sometimes you may think that if finals go poorly your life will be ruined. There is a lot of pressure and unfortunately our grades are important for higher education, scholarships, and jobs. That being said, it is impossible to predict how the grade on one test will change your life. Take control and do the best you can with the resources that are available to you. If exams don’t go your way, you will have opportunities to try again or take a different path to success. Despite what schools want you to think, you don’t need to be an A student to live a happy and successful life.?

Zoom out and take a look at the big picture. It will be hard to conquer the world if you are beaten up from exams.?

These are my top 5 #studytips for #students #studying for final #exams. I hope this blog post gives you a crash course on how to study for exams - giving you the tools you need to be successful. If you need some extra help studying, sign up for?MyHomeworkRewards! You will get personalized practice questions, insights on which topics you should focus on, and a little extra motivation in the form of rewards just for studying! If you have to study, you might as well earn rewards for it - just sayin!?We also have amazing tutors who can help you ace your exams!

Happy studying & good luck!

Gabriel