Effective Study Tips To Help Ace Your Exams

The storied NFL coach, Vince Lombardi, coined the phrase: “Practice doesn’t make perfect. Perfect practice does.” Lombardi’s mindset yielded great success with his teams on the field and established him as one of the greatest coaches in the history of the game.  You may not have an athletic bone in your body, but the concept of “perfect practice” certainly translates to your academic performance. Way too many students try to get by with sub-par study habits yet are surprised when their exam results reflect this. Learning good studying skills now will help ensure you perform to your highest potential on every exam.

Top 7 College Study Tips

• Set a Study Schedule – Establish a time each day when you will study. Consistency in your schedule helps keep you focused and prevents distraction. A good rule of thumb is to study about two hours for every hour you spend in class. Be sure to take short breaks in between your study sessions to prevent a loss of concentration.

• Find Your Study Area – Your study place should be an environment conducive for learning: free of distractions and supplied with all the materials you will need to study. Your study place should not be a place where you carry out day-to-day tasks.

• Prepare for Class – Read ahead in the textbook prior to class so that you are familiar with the material before the professor teaches it. This way, you will come prepared with questions to be answered at the earliest possible opportunity. Also, actually go to class! Just because a few unexcused absences are allowed does not mean you ought to use them. When you skip class, you end up playing catch-up.

• Review Instead of Relearning – Go over your notes as soon as possible after class ends to solidify the lecture in your memory. You’ll have an opportunity to fill in portions of the lecture that you didn’t get to write down and to read up about parts that you didn’t quite understand. If you wait more than 24 hours to go over your notes, your retention will drop and you’ll end up starting from scratch.

• Make Use of “Dead Time” – You can take advantage of “dead time” where you aren’t doing much of anything – waiting during a gap between classes, standing in the cafeteria line, etc – to reinforce lecture material in your mind. Using flashcards is an easy and effective method to help you prepare for the exam.

• Study With Others – Studying in a group is an effective way to ensure you efficiently learn all aspects of a unit. You can bounce ideas off your study partners and the chances are high that someone else in the group will understand a concept that you don’t. Also, explaining something to someone else is a good way to ensure you understand it fully.

• Utilize Learning Resources – Don’t be bashful about going to your professor’s office hours or attending a review session with a teaching assistant if you need extra assistance. Also, your school should have an academic success center where you can go for tutoring. Make it a priority to get assistance early instead of waiting until the last second!

Many students don’t learn these tips until they are well into their college careers, and their early grades show it. Start incorporating these study tips now to make your practice perfect!