Unfortunately, exams are the backbone of college and studying for those exams will take up most of your time for the next four years. It’s not unheard of for a final exam or midterm exam to make up 20-40% of your final score, which of course is a huge chunk and can be a deal breaker. When I was a freshman in college, I had no idea how to properly prepare for an exam and constantly made mistakes when I was trying to figure it all out. Lucky for you I stumbled a long so that I can teach you how to walk. In today’s post, I’m sharing 10 common study mistakes that college students make when studying for exams. Hopefully it’ll be beneficial for you as midterms and the end of semester slowly approaches.
Mistake #1: Procrastinating until the last minute
If you’re the student that waits until the night before an exam to finally study, then you’re making one of the number 1 study mistakes that college students make worldwide! Procrastination is the thief of joy, productivity, and sleep. I promise you’re going to be better off if you put your phone away and start studying immediately.
Instead of waiting the night before to study or to complete a big project, break down your work into smaller bite sizes pieces that are easier to handle. For an example if you have a big exam coming up in a few weeks, study a little bit of the material every day after class for 30 minutes to an hour a day. This way you can stay focus long enough to learn the material and your brain gets the chance to review the material every day, which is great for long term memory.
Mistake #2: Studying with people who distract you
You cannot study with people who are going to distract you the entire time…unless you don’t plan on getting any work done. When putting together a study group, you want to make sure that the people in the group are going to be actively studying and helping one another.
This is the time to get help on a topic that you’re having difficulty in and formulate practice questions that can help you remember the material. I personality would limit your study group to three or four people. Any more than that can cause an imbalance and make for more of a hangout scene versus a study scene.
Mistake #3: Not learning how you study best
A lot of college students will simply re-read the class notes over and over again, hoping that something will stick in their brains. Let me tell you that re-reading your notes is passive learning and it’s not the most effective way to learn for an exam. This is why it is so important for you to learn how you study best and avoid this common study mistake.
Everyone is so different in terms of how our brains operate and store information. Some people have to watch Youtube videos while others have to do things for themselves. So what does that mean for you as a college student looking to improve their studying? You have to try different study techniques out and see what works for you. I really enjoy making my own exams and creating color-coded study guides, which has helped me throughout pharmacy school.
Mistake #4: Studying in chronological order instead of in priority order
Just because your psychology exam comes before your organic chemistry exam, doesn’t mean that you have to study for each exam in that order. I’ve noticed that a lot of students study in the order that their exams are in, which is a big mistake! When you have a bunch of exams at the same (like midterms or finals), you want to spend the most time studying in the classes that are more difficult for you, not in the ones that are easy. This is where you have to learn how to prioritize your study and manage your time appropriately.
Mistake #5: Not preparing for the unexpected
Every time there’s a bunch of exams coming up at once (yep, I’m talking about midterms and finals), there’s always something that goes wrong and that is unexpected. Either you get a horrible cold or spill coffee all over your laptop. Something is bound to happen during this time period because you’re already stressed out and on edge. Make sure to do your best to prepare for the unexpected. Back up your laptop to online source or external hard drive (this is the one that I swear by!) to make sure you don’t lose all of your notes for the entire semester. It’s happened before and it definitely sucks!
Mistake #6: Refusing to ask for help before it’s too late
Don’t be the student that rushes to their professor’s office begging for a curve after you failed the class. Instead of waiting until it’s too late (aka after you failed the class), ask your professor for help whenever you’re not understanding throughout the semester. Your professors are here to help, and they want you to exceed in their class.
I promise, they aren’t scary once you get to chatting with them. By asking questions to your teacher, it’ll help you learn and understand the material faster than you could on your own. And don’t forget about your TAs (or teacher assistants)! They are also a great resource to use if your teacher is hard to reach or has weird office hours.
Mistake #7: Not quizzing themselves on the material
If you’re aren’t quizzing yourself in a similar fashion as your exam, then you’re missing out on an easy and simple study hack. For an example if you know you have to write an essay or draw out diagrams for your exam, then re-reading your class notes isn’t really going to help you prepare for your exam. Instead practice answering some essay questions or practice drawing out the different diagrams from memory.
By practicing and studying in this way, you’re going to reinforce the material that you studied and prepare yourself for the type of exam you’ll be taking. This little tip will also identify where you have gaps in your memory, which makes it really easy to go back and study the areas where you need the most help in. Another great way for you to quiz yourself is by using the website and app called Quizlet. You can easily make your own quizzes and flashcards online to help you study.
Mistake #8: Basing your preparation on a number
You’ve probably heard students say that they need to get X percent to pass the class or to maintain a certain grade level. Honestly assigning a number to your success can actually make you feel more stressed out and disheveled than before. Because when you don’t reach that specific number, you feel depressed and anxious about the results, when it’s probably not that big of a deal.
Now I’m not saying to not worry about your grades and test scores, but just remember that that’s not everything. You have homework assignments, presentations, and essays that can also be a part of your overall grade. Instead of worrying about achieving a certain grade score, focus more on understanding the material and doing your best on every assignment or exam that counts. At the end of the day, you’ll feel more relaxed if you just study every single day and do the best that you can.
Mistake #9: Not having a game plan!
It’s so easy to just open up your textbook or notes and start readying them word for word. But it’s not going to be as helpful as you may think. You have to go into your study session with a game plan and an active mindset. Before you sit down to study, write out your game plan and figure out what you’re going to study, how you’re going to study the material, and the time commitment you’re going to need to complete the plan. Once you know what you’re aiming for, it’s going to be a lot easier to sit down and actually have a productive study session.
Mistake #10: Forgetting to take a breather
When you’re in college, it’s super easy to just go, go, go and burn yourself out with all of the stress that comes with being a college student. But when it comes time for midterms and final exams, you have to learn how to manage your time appropriately and allow yourself a break to do something that you enjoy. It can be as simple as watching your favorite show on Netflix to going on an adventure in your city plus lots of sleep! You’re going to do so much better on your projects and exams when you’re feeling relaxed.
What is one thing that you struggle with when it comes to studying?
