5 Study Tips to Help You Ace Your College Exams

April 15, 2019 | 3:48 PM
Maggie Doss '21, Biology Major

There are some big differences that take time to get used to when you’re going from high school to college. One of those differences is how you’ll need to study for your classes when you get to Mac. Even though the classes are harder, there are many different study techniques you can use to help you pass your tests.

Here are 5 Study Tips that have helped me:

• Read your textbook and make sure you take notes. Using my textbook and making my own notes (outside of the notes I take while the professor teaches class) has proven to be really helpful when studying before a test.
• Make an outline of what you’ve learned. Professors usually give learning objectives for what the test will be over. Use those objectives to make an outline and write as much as you can without looking at your notes. Once you have done that, the things you do not remember or you are a little confused on is what you’ll need to study.
• Look over past homework assignments. Going over any of the homework will help you on a test because a lot of the professors pull test questions from past assignments.
• Review practice exams. Some professors also post practice exams to help you prepare, and they’re usually similar to the exam that you will have to take.
• Study for short periods of time instead of large chunks. Most people try to study for hours and hours straight, but it has been proven that studying for approximately 20 minutes with a small break in between helps you to retain the information better.

Every professor teaches a different way, which can cause some confusion about what could be the best way to study for their tests. These 5 study tips can help you find the best technique for you to use when studying for a test.