Study Buddies

For all of you social butterflies, studying with a group of friends may not be beneficial. Otherwise, studying with other people gives you the opportunity to use more than just your knowledge. If you need to put together a study guide, or figure out the answers to a review packet, the more brains you have, the merrier. Cocoa and Cram is a great option to study with your pals. And if you think you know it all, help your friends out! Teaching someone material can actually enhance your own understanding as well as theirs.

Newsflash: Your teachers know what’s on the test!

Grab that fat study guide from under your bed because your teacher did not just make that for threatening purposes. I cannot tell you how many times teachers use questions from the study guides on the actual test. Teachers are lazy and don’t want to make new questions, but you’re even lazier if you don’t do the study guide. Lastly, don’t be afraid to go and talk to your teachers!

Migration is the key to retaining information

Sometimes when studying at home it can be hard to stay on task with so many distractions surrounding you. If you can’t seem to stay focused, try choosing a new study spot. A coffee shop or restaurant near you are great options or you could simply change rooms in your house. Make some flashcards and try studying in the bath, or put a plastic bag over your study guide and review in the shower.

Your body’s a temple

Planning to pull an all-nighter to study for finals? Go ahead, but do it at least 3 nights before the actual exam. Succeeding on your tests depends greatly on cumulative rest. It can be more beneficial to get your eight hours of sleep than to stay up studying. Eating a hefty breakfast and lunch the day of your exams also play a much larger role than you could imagine. It can also be very helpful to participate in stress relief activities such as yoga, meditation, or any sort of exercise. Getting your mind off of studying will help focus you later.

Reduce, Re-use, but don’t Recycle (your notes)

Review your notebook! You didn’t sit in lectures moving your hand robotically for no reason. To make it easier on yourself, use an extra sheet of paper while you’re reviewing, and write down the most important points from your notes. Limit yourself to one sentence for each concept; not only will it be easier to look back at, but it will also be easier to understand in your own words

Procrastination problems solved

If you’re someone with a short attention span, try using the app “Forest”. This app locks your phone for a set amount of time so you can focus in on your work with no distractions. You can also try the app “Tide” which focuses on the Pomodoro technique, which is working for short intervals of time, and taking breaks to revive yourself. If you’re super hardcore, try “Cold Turkey”, which shuts off all functions on your computer until you’ve typed a given amount of words.