Exam times – What am I even doing?

As I do my rounds on campus, getting my morning coffee at Munchies or simply running down to the Business Faculty to ask Mr.Mullins something, I hear the nervous jitters of the upcoming exams and all the assignments that are due before the exams start.

Every single one of you want to excel in the exams and do your best, but sometimes there is no motivation, you don’t know where to start, or what you are even doing (I have daily weird pep talks to myself on what am I even doing at the moment).

Do not worry, Sam to the rescue. I made a list of main tips that helped me while I was studying, various tips come out of some of my favorite blogs I read daily.

GET ENOUGH SLEEP:

Staying up late at night watching series (we are all guilty of this, I mean one episode is just not enough), goofing off or drinking might be fun at the time, but leads to excessive tiredness during class. It is very difficult to be enthusiastic if you are dead tired or sitting in class with one huge hangover. Life is all about balance, you can have fun, and you can study, just pick a time and stick to it.

GET ORGANISED:

This is one of the worst things anyone can say to a student – be more organised, but I can promise you one thing, from learning the hard way, it helps to be organised. It is an inevitable step towards a successful graduation. Time management, organise your study place, effective filing and keeping track of all lectures and exams to attend are only a few ways to make your life a bit easier and organised.

TIDY:

So let’s be honest here, being a student, living on your own, not having someone to pick up after you – it can get messy sometimes (or let's say most of the times). I learnt that when all my stuff was thrown all over the place I couldn’t find all the things I needed. This makes you lose track of what you should be doing.

BRAIN DUMP IF YOU HAD TO MEMORIZE THINGS:

This use to be my way of studying and memorizing things, if you need to memorize a bunch of things (being it formulas or a whole lot of historical dates), write them down immediately on a piece of paper. Now you can focus on using them instead of trying to remember them. Take it from someone who had Art History as a main subject, writing it down is the best way!

GET A PLANNER:

When you get your exam/test timetables, deadlines, meetings, even study groups. Pencil it in! Being able to open your planner and see what is due, is much better than going through a stack of paper. I barely leave the office without my little blue planner and everything is written in there, even the gym classes I need to attend. This just helps you to get a better overview and idea of when your busy days and weeks will be. 

SPEND TIME STUDYING FOR TESTS THAT CARRY THE MOST WEIGHT:

Not all final exams and tests are weighted the same, yet they are all important. Find out from your lecturer what percentage of your paper is going towards your grade. This will give you perspective on how much time you should invest in each subject.

GET CREATIVE:

Each and every one of us has a different studying style. Take myself for instance, I love drawing and colorful things, which makes me a visual learner. I would sketch out scenarios and mind map literally every paragraph of my handbook. That’s just me. You also get students that are better listeners. They hear it once and it is imprinted on their brain. Find out what works for you, and do it. This can be anything, sticky notes with facts on your laptop, listening to recordings of lectures while you are eating breakfast. Anything goes.

DIVIDE UP YOUR TIME:

Write down exactly what you have to do. Tally up your total study hours and estimate how much time you will need to spend studying on each subject. Tackle the most unfamiliar subject while you are still fresh, save the material you know best, for last. The most important thing is, work steadily, put away your phone (try to go without Instagram, Facebook and twitter for a few hours), and take frequent 5 to 10 minute breaks (no power naps in-between). Move around to prevent you from getting tired.

MORNING REVIEW:

I know getting up early in the mornings can be hard, I am not a morning person at all, trust me. Wake up a half hour earlier, make some coffee, and just spend that time reading from your text book. It won’t create a huge impact on your schedule, yet over the entire term it will boost your understanding on that specific subject.

Here are some more of my personal tips:

•  Use flashcards
•  Use visual cues, such as drawing diagrams and putting them on the wall. You don’t have to be a creative in order to do this. You can even copy the images out of the textbook and stick it to the wall.
• Try and get hold of the past exams to get a feel what is required from you and see how you can cope with previous paper
• Read the same points from in different sources. The same information can be written down in many places. Read your own notes, the way you understand it.

I truly hope you can learn from this and that it can help you during these end of the year exams. The main thing is just to prioritize, put enough time aside for each subject and get enough sleep. Each and every one of you will own this exams.

And look on the bright side. It’s nearly time for summer holiday!!! Which you can tell I am really excited about.

Best of luck in your exams. Just remember, we are here to help if you get stuck. We are one big family at Prestige Academy, and we help where we can.