Strategies for Success

Tips for Reviewing your course materials just before your exam

• GET MOVING EARLY - In the days leading up to a test, make a point to wake up early and get started. You have precious time left to make sure you maximize your score... use it wisely!
• STICK WITH WHAT WORKS - Hopefully you have been studying regularly throughout the semester and have a good sense for what works for you and what does not. Stick to the most effective methods from your previous studying to keep yourself interested and going strong to the end.
• ASK FOR HELP - As you review, be sure to reach out to your professor or a tutor to make sure you understand the material as much as you can. If your professor or a tutor are unreachable in the time you have remaining before an exam, ask your family or friends for help.
• REMOVE DISTRACTIONS - In the days leading up to a test, force yourself to stay focused on what is important. Stay clear of those distractions that can take you away from your goal of a good score (phone, social media, streaming entertainment, etc.).
• KEEP STRESS AT A DISTANCE - Having a test is stressful enough. While reviewing for your exam, try your best to eliminate known stressors as much as possible. If you can, take some time away from work. If there are people in your life that are regularly a source of stress, wait to see them until after your test.
• FOCUS ON YOUR SUMMARIES INSTEAD OF FULL NOTES - Remember, this time is best used for REVIEW, not for intense studying. If you have been diligently studying throughout the term, then all you need right now is a refresher. Read over your summarized notes to simply remind yourself of what you already know.
• PREPARE FOR TEST DAY THE NIGHT BEFORE - The night before your test, be sure to gather all the materials (calculator? Pens/Pencils? Scantron Sheet?) you will need for the exam, plan out what clothes you might wear the next day, set a morning schedule for yourself to make sure you are ready when you need to be... The more you can take care of ahead of time, the less you have to worry on test day.
• BE POSITIVE - Finally, make sure you remind yourself often that YOU CAN DO THIS! Positive self talk can go a long way toward helping you stay in the right frame of mind for your exam.

7 STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS

From the McGraw Center for Teaching & Learning at Princeton University

1. Get to know yourself as a thinker and a learner.  When and where are you most productive? What tends to distract you? Knowing your intellectual proclivities and habits helps you to apportion your time more effectively and be more productive overall.

2. Set a personal goal for each course.  Instead of focusing solely on the grade, consider how each course deepens your expertise in a field of interest or contributes to your overall intellectual development. In other words, motivate yourself in terms of mastering skills and concepts as opposed to getting a good grade or avoiding a bad one.

3. Manage your time and attention.  People who devise detailed, goal-directed schedules are more productive and less stressed. And once you've scheduled your calendar, focus and stick to it by setting external stakes (meeting with professors, a reading group, tutor, or an Academic Coach) and rewards (dinner with friends, TV, etc.). During a study session, be in the moment: turn off distractions (cell phones, e-mail), and dedicate yourself to a single task. Dividing or continuously switching your attention between various tasks can cause you to do poorly.

4. Think like a professor.  Instructors have reasons for why they craft their courses as they do. As you move through your courses, spend some time considering these reasons. Ask yourself, for example, why you're reading this text at this point of the semester or what this writing assignment is designed to help you do.

5. Review your notes as soon as possible after class.  Students forget 50% of what they learn if they don't review within 24 hours and 65% if they don't review within an week. Even brief reviews pay off.

6. Do a little work on an assignment the day it's given, preferably mapping out a plan or outline for its completion.  Starting a project often proves the hardest part; starting early gets you over this high hurdle with plenty of time to develop your work.

7. Explain a difficult idea, concept, problem, or passage to a friend.  Research shows that one of the most effective ways to learn is to teach. If you try to explain what you've been studying to another, you'll transfer the information from short-term to long-term memory, and you'll more clearly see what you understand and what you don't.