Fifty percent. I am halfway through my grades for semester one. All 4 of my exams are worth 50% of my final grade. That is no small sum. Thankfully and scarily I only have two more weeks of exams left and two more days to study for my first two exams (yikes). I am itching to finally get a real break away from studying. As my motivation is dissipating, I have to constantly remind and chant to myself “2 more weeks.. 2 more weeks.”
So while I remind myself of the semester one finish line, here are 5 tips for exam prep:
Tip No. 1 – Organize yourself.
For me, organizing myself means writing out every single topic I need to go over for each exam. I then break down each exam into sections/topics and knock them out one at a time. Because I have quite a full schedule, I like to get through 2-3 topics a day. I also specifically write down what topics I plan to get through each day on my planner.
This leads to the next tip…
Tip No. 2 – FIND OUT WHAT TYPE OF LEARNER YOU ARE
I cannot emphasize the importance of this enough. It is so important to know what learning techniques work for you. I’m definitely a reader-writer learner. This means I study best through rewriting my notes (by hand) and rereading important passages. Knowing this helps so much because I won’t waste time trying to listen to recordings of past lectures. Instead, I’ll revise my notes and write practice essays. I know what works for me. So please benefit yourself and take one of the hundreds of learning type quizzes online to see what kind of learning style suits you.
Tip. No. 3 – Put your phone on silent.
I know it’s hard to step away from your phone, but it is honestly one of the biggest distractions. I started silencing my phone a month ago and I realized that I feel so much more relaxed when I don’t hear the constant ding or vibration from notifications. It helps that I also recently broke my phone and had to buy a generic plastic Spark phone lol.
Tip No. 4 – Have dance breaks!
It is super hard for me to sit still and focus on only one thing at a time (I’m a multi-tasker by heart). Dance breaks are a necessity for me.
I listen to a range of music (as do most people), so I love to mix it up with a bit of Tupac, Chance, Weezer, Passion Pit, Lorde, Red Hot Chili Peppers, the list goes on and on. Anything with a fun beat to help shake out all the stress and let in good energy. A few songs I’ve been listening to are Home by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, Keep Ya Head Up by Tupac, Float On by Modest Mouse and anything with Chance the Rapper in it. When I’m studying I usually play slower paced music or no music at all depending on my mood.
Tip No. 5 – Just do it.
Don’t forget to have yummy snacks while studying! Shot Huia for the free hot drinks and cookies
Saying that reminds me of Nike and Shia Labeouf’s motivational video lol, but it’s true. Often I get super stressed out about assignments or exams to the point that I don’t even study. I get paralyzed with fear. It’s easy to get into the negative mindset of failure, but if you don’t take action you really will fail.
I’ve low-key been so stressed that I calculated what my final grades would be if I got a 50% on my exam. Don’t get to that point haha. Remind yourself of all the awesome parts of your degree and all the reasons your pursuing it. You got this.
And on that note, I must go and be a proactive student and study til my brain soaks up all the knowledge. Have fun studying!
-Eunice