As you prepare for your final exams, consider the following tips from the Princeton Review.
1. Make a finals schedule.
If you plan out your study sessions, you’ll get a better handle on how much work you’re facing. Use the calendar on your phone to set alerts and reminders for yourself so you stick to your plan.
2. Give yourself more time to study for your toughest classes.
If there was a certain class that gave you trouble all semester, devote more time to that subject—even if it’s your last final. Look over your previous tests for the year, if you scored poorly on one unit in English, chances are you didn’t absorb it all the first time. Take extra time now to review what you missed. By starting with the toughest stuff first, you have time to ask your teacher questions or get help from tutors.
3. Form a study group.
There’s nothing like peer pressure to keep you motivated to study. Make a plan with friends to review the class material, compare notes, or work through tricky concepts. You’ll benefit from the good study habits and notes of the other members in your study group. if you’re trying to solve a tough math problem, two heads are better than one.
4. Talk it out.
Not only is it more fun to study with your friends than studying by yourself, you’ll also learn more. By talking through the facts and formulas with a study partner, you’re thinking about the material more deeply, which means you’ll remember it better later.
5. Get creative with study aids.
Now that you know what key concepts from each subject you need to prioritize, find the best way to review and internalize what you predict will be on the final exam. Make flash cards to help you memorize dates and equations. Or come up with a mnemonic device—a system of memorizing facts using a phrase or acronym you’ll definitely remember. For example, using the name Roy G. Biv helps to remember the order of colors in a rainbow.
8. Study your notes.
Outline your class notes for daily review. Notes and flashcards are also great for last-minute review the morning of your exam.
9. Quiz yourself.
If you’re studying at home, have your mom or dad quiz you on the information you’ve already studied. Students tend to remember the information they’ve been quizzed on better than the information they simply review.
10. Make sleep a priority.
While it may be tempting to pull an all-nighter and cram everything in at the last minute, it’s a bad idea. You just add stress, and you won’t retain the information for very long by studying that way. You may even forget some of it by the time the test begins.
11. Take five.
Take breaks to improve your concentration when you return to studying: Relax with an episode of your favorite TV show or play a couple rounds of Fortnite.
12. Brain food
Eat healthy and drink plenty of water to keep your brain firing on all cylinders.
Food Linked To Better Brainpower
Princeton Review article with a more extensive list of tips is linked here.
