Hey guys, since everyone has exams and all coming up in the following weeks, here are a few ideas on how to ace them:-
Starting with the most essential thing- Attending lectures
It sounds clichéd but honestly almost nothing can replace BEING there and listening to your prof explain stuff.
Alternative : If you really for some reason or the other think you don’t understand whatever is being taught in class, try studying a little from the assigned book before going (trust me it works) or in extreme cases, just study from the book/lecture notes posted online (results vary from person to person) but whatever you do, do it thoroughly i.e. don’t miss the lectures AND skip studying the book/online notes.
Next comes another important part- what to study and where to study from. Apart from the usual book/ lecture notes make sure to go over the practice tests/ past midterms that are generally posted on Blackboard and if they are not, get them online from onlineexambank.com
Don’t even think about not going through these or putting it off, your exam is going to be very much on the similar pattern and from my experience, with a lot of similar questions.
Also for some courses (Math for example) it is much better to study in a group than waste your time trying to solve problems alone. Group study seldom goes wrong and you learn more, faster.
If you need help and feel shy to ask your prof in class, email him/her and get one on one time to clear out whatever doubts you have. Undoubtedly you’d understand better. And first year students can also take advantage of the tutoring programs that they’d be informed about time and again.(keep checking your rmail)
Just remember all nighters won’t always work, there isn’t “plenty of time to study later” and you can’t always “make up for one test in the next one”. Even if you don’t want to study hard, study smart. Don’t overburden yourself. Take help when required. Always know what’s going on and list your priorities.
