Study Tips

       Especially when it comes to midterms and finals, it is important to know how to study effectively. Cramming and procrastinating go hand in hand and are big threats on campus. But if you follow these tips you will definitely be successful.

•Space out your studying
Study a little everyday instead of waiting until the last minute. This way, the material will stay in your long term memory. Very successful students know this and even review each class’s material right after the class ends.

•Study the most important information and learn the general concepts first
Don’t worry about learning the details until you have learned the main ideas. Always read the summaries and other helpful questions and vocabulary listed at the end of chapters in your readings.

•Eat well, the day before and the day of your test
This includes breakfast, the most important meal of the day to encourage memory (and metabolism too). Don’t have too much sugar, which will make you hyper, because it’ll be harder to focus.

•Take breaks
Set aside a reasonable amount of time to study and then short breaks in between. If you tell yourself you will study for 5 hours straight, it’s hard to stick to it. Instead, it is better to pick a shorter period of time that you are more likely stick with. Plus, if you do study for the time you set aside, you will feel more accomplished because you know you aren’t procrastinating.

•Make a study group
If you know others in your class, it is sometimes beneficial to test each other. It is also true that you learn better when you teach or explain concepts to others. However, if your friends don’t seem like the type who are serious about doing well, forget it. It will be a mistake when you realize that your study group actually turned out to be a procrastination group.

These above tips are the basic guidelines to doing well. However, not everyone studies the same. This has to do with the fact that people have different learning styles. Some may be visual learners who need pictures and diagrams to understand better. Some may be better at remembering small details first and then moving on to the big picture. Want to find out your learning style? Take this quiz and then read the description of your results, don’t worry, there are no wrong answers! http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/learningstyles/ilsweb.html