With finals season approaching, it is time to learn and practice study methods to nail down what we’ve learned before heading off to summer. Though the school year gets tough and we often feel burnt out near the end, we always must remember how we felt heading into the school year and find motivation to work hard and persevere. Like Rory Gilmore once said, “Come back, refocus. Remember the goal.”

Active Recall

Active recall is often regarded as “the best study method.” It is a method popularized and proven useful by many students, no matter what they study. The way that this technique works is by continuously testing yourself based on your memory of the notes/information instead of just reading the notes and trying to digest them. This method has presented much success because it manages to make your brain search for information rather than letting information flow into one ear and out the other. This makes it easier to go back into your memories to find answers because of the strengthened connections and will benefit you in the long-run.

Spaced out Study Time

Studies show that cramming 1-3 days prior to a large exam gives much less successful results than spreading out your study time. Though it may be hard to space out study time at first, overtime your brain should learn to avoid procrastination and make a habit of studying a little bit each day to achieve the best results. Without realizing it, students often waste time reviewing information over and over again. If students continue this pattern of reviewing, they may struggle to remember the information only a few days later. As an example, if I was told a week prior about a huge biology exam, I would be more successful and waste less effort in studying for 1-2 hours each day rather than studying for 6-8 hours the night before the test and being more inclined to lose track of the sections I know and don’t know.

Study Schedule

The benefits of a study schedule are that it can enhance the overall learning experience and academic performance, it helps manage time effectively, and promotes consistency. If too much school work is a contributor to your stress (if any). Then creating a study/schoolwork schedule daily, whether on a device or paper, can be hugely beneficial to your mindset and academic stability. The easiest way to make the schedule, though there are many, is to create a time chart with each class labeled on it and what to do for each class underneath the labels. You can also create a highlighting system to differentiate between what you did and what is still left to do.