Study Tips from a Senior
Studying.
It’s impossible to enjoy.
One of the hardest things to find motivation for.
Yet one of the most necessary things to do for your classes.
I feel like I hear a lot of people saying: “I don’t know how to study!” They can mean that on a general basis, or they just don’t know how for one class type. Either way, there’s obviously some struggle over how.
So I’m going to give you a couple tips I’ve learned over the years, to boost you on your way to doing your absolute best in your classes. 🙂
1.) Everyone Studies Differently
Seriously. Every person studies best in different environments and ways.
A lot of my friends like to study in groups, with people who are in the class with them. Having someone to bounce questions off of helps them a ton.
Me on the other hand, I get nothing out of studying with people. It’s too distracting for me and I always end up walking away from a “study group” feeling unprepared and like I need to study for a couple more hours.
So inspect yourself. If you’re really not sure if alone or a group is best for you, try both. Also, test out environments too. The Commons, the library, your day room, your dorm room, or off-campus you’ve got many options. If you’re having trouble studying, start trying some different locations out.
2.) Organize Your Material
Teachers more than likely gave you a list of everything that’s going to be on the test. Take each item on that list, go through all your material, and write down the applicable items under each test point. If your teacher didn’t give you a list, simply go through looking for important things you can make lists of. Dates, people, places, equations, inventions, definitions—you can make a list out of at least some of the things in most subjects. Not only will making a list make the content easier to study, writing it down as you make the list will help you to remember the information. Get everything together, and get organized so you don’t miss any material.
3.) Music
Music can make or break studying in my opinion. This is once again an area you’ve really got to test out to know. And I’ve found that this can vary for different subjects! When I’m studying math-based subjects, I love having music. For other subjects, though, it just distracts me. All I can think about is the music instead of the material. So try it out! If you find yourself constantly distracted by the music, take those earphones out. But if you find yourself constantly distracted by what's going on around you, try putting them in (in appropriate places of course ?). Find what works with your mind and keep doing it!
4.) Ask for Help
Yes, you may not be a group study person.
But if you legitimately don’t understand the material or don’t even know where to begin you’re so overwhelmed, ASK FOR HELP. I really cannot emphasize this enough. I took some nasty grades my freshman and sophomore year because I didn’t really understand the material but was too afraid to ask for help. I even had friends in my classes, but I was afraid of bothering them or them thinking I was dumb. Don’t do that! Very very few people mind helping a fellow friend or even just a classmate out. And no one will think you’re dumb; I got the guts to reach out eventually and found that out. Just ask!
I hope these tips get you on your way to acing your next round of tests. One more thing though…don’t forget to pray!!! God cares about the little things, even your tests and quizzes.
Note from Blog Admin: Sabrina graduated in December, but we saved this post for the start of a semester!
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