Once you have your schedule in order and a
general idea about your exams, come up with a study plan. You will need more
time for subjects you are behind in, but you will need to book a fair amount of
time for each class—as much as you can. At this stage, you also need to decide
what you need to do and understand to get an A. Some students may just try for a
passing grade, but you are better off aiming high—that way, even if you don’t
make it all the way to an A, the results still won’t be devastating.
For each exam, list what you need to know - concepts, ideas, formulas. Come
up with at least ten things you need to do to get that A. If a professor simply
says that everything is on the exam, check your textbook for clues—the table of
contents will give you a nice summary of every concept you need to study.
Once you know what you have to study, tailor your study plan to your exams.
If you are studying for a history exam that’s all essay questions, work on
knowing the general concepts well enough to write general answers. If you are
studying for a math exam, do all the types of questions that may be covered and
start memorizing formulas. For short answer and essay questions, try to know a
little about everything. Practice writing essays and short answers about each
topic—use your book when you get stuck. If you are studying for multiple choice
exams or those that will require you to complete formulas, study specifics. Go
over every formula and develop cue cards to take with you everywhere so that you
can memorize specific definitions, equations, and other key concepts. Focus on
what you don’t know—don’t keep going over the stuff you already know.
The mistake most students make is just going over and over their notes and
texts. This is usually the very worst thing to do, and this is something that
most A-students wouldn’t be caught doing. Use your text and notes to decide what
to study and to refresh your memory about certain ideas, but don’t just read
these things. You’ll simply tune out and three hours into a study session you
will realize that you don’t remember a thing you have read.
Instead—and listen up, this is the secret to making the most of your exam
study time—really work with the material. That means instead of reading, take
pen and paper in hand and write out mock exam answers, do some formulas, or
create charts that link the material or summarize it. Even if you have to
memorize something, take your paper and start trying to define the terms you
will be expected to know or try to write down as many formulas as you can
without peeking. This sort of "active study" is always more productive and
always makes more sense than just reading. Your professors don’t want to know
whether you have read the material—they want to know whether you understand the
material.