Helpful Study Tips

Finals are coming up and you know what that means... time to study. There are a lot of people who don't actually know how to study. Some people got by at other schools doing the bare minimum. However, that doesn't actually help them in the long run. Doing these helpful tips to study will for sure make a difference in your grade at the end of the semester!

Study Location

Picking a study location is soo important. A lot of people, like myself, get distracted easily. Studying at a place where a lot of people will be walking around and talking (like Starbucks) won't help you stay concentrated on the task that you need to be doing. I prefer going to the library. Find a floor that you feel comfortable in! I like to study in the stacks which is a floor with a ton of books that is completely silent. It's a great place to focus!

Music

A lot of people like to listen to music when studying. For some, it helps block out the noises around them but for some, it can make it staying focused worse. The reason for this is the type of music that you listen to. Listening to music with a lot of words are not what you should be listening to. This is because you end up paying attention to the lyrics unknowingly. The best music to listen to is classical music. I know, why would you want to listen to music with no words from people who lived a hundred years ago. The reason for this is that music helps stimulate your brain. When listening to classical music, it calms your mind down and helps you focus on what you're doing rather than the words you're listening to.

Draw Pictures

I know this one seems a little elementary. However, when you make pictures, graphs, or charts it helps you remember what you're studying. This is especially helpful for those who learn by seeing. For sciencey classes, drawing things out a bunch of times helps you visualize the material when you get to the exam. For me, I recently took an anatomy test. I drew out how the blood flows through your heart and body soo many times. When I got to the test, I was able to see the picture in my mind. You can also redraw it out on the exam to help remember!

Flash Cards

Flash cards are soo important! I know they seem like they're a pain to make but they seriously help. It's great creating piles of the ones you get wrong and right to be able to see which you got wrong. After making the piles after going through it once, pick up the pile of those that you got wrong and focus more on those (obviously reviewing the ones you got right as well). There is a great website that I like to use called quizlet that helps you make flash cards on the computer. The only problem with this is making sure you don't end up on Facebook or other social medias when you're studying.

Highlighters

After making a study guide like in my previous post, highlighters come in handy! Highlighting the main topics, vocabulary words, and other important facts helps you find the words easier. Having everything pop out in color makes studying easier. The important thing to remember is not to highlight everything. Only highlight the important information that you find necessary and then list the other facts underneath.

Don't Procrastinate

There are a lot of people that have a problem with procrastination. I actually believe that everyone does at some point in their lives. It is soo important not to fall into the habit of procrastinating before finals. I know a 2 hour binge on watching your favorite TV show on netflix seems more appealing than studying for your final exam but you'll thank yourself later when you get to finals week. Not stressing before finals are a key factor to getting better grades on your exams!

Good luck studying for finals everyone!!

xo
Olivia