How to study for college finals

As final exams approach for a lot of college students, take a look at some tips to help put together a study plan.

Make a day-by-day plan: The moment the professor hands out the study guide, or discusses what will be on the final, start making a day-by-day plan for how to divide up studying from that day until the final.

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Make extra time for finals: Try to clear your schedule as much as you can to allow yourself enough time to study for finals. Also try to complete any assignments, papers or projects that are due before the exam as soon as possible. This will help ease some stress as you won’t have additional work hanging over you, and it will give you extra time to study for the exam.

Prioritize your time: When studying, you don’t necessarily need to spend an equal amount of time preparing for each exam. Prioritize which exams are expected to be the most difficult and which will take the most amount of time to study for.

Organize your materials: As soon as you can, figure out what materials will be covered on the exam. If your professor provides a study guide you can start by preparing answers to material on there. If not, go through your notes, reading materials, previous assignments and tests to study.

Be wise with study groups: When forming study groups, make sure it makes sense to study that way. For some exams, you might do better if you study alone. If you are in a study group, make sure everyone is doing their part. It won’t benefit you if you spend the whole study session trying to help someone else.

Go to review sessions: If your professor or teaching assistant holds a review session, go to it. The professor will likely spend the session focused on material that is likely to be on the final exam. He or she might even give you some tips as to what he or she is looking for in your answers, and drop some hints as to what the essay question might be.