Is this bad?

[Doc2019]

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Is it bad to stay up really late cramming a few days before the exam? Like I have my Cell Bio exam this Friday and I'm thinking about cramming it all tonight till like 3 AM and slowly reviewing it all and refining my knowledge of it throughout the week. Is that a good idea?

 

[theonlytycrane]

do whatever to ace it, but study earlier to avoid cramming in the future.

 

[Elfie]

I mean it's not great, and like the previous poster said, do your best to try to study earlier so that you don't have to cram and stay up so late since sleep is SOOO crucial.

That said, I try to space things out but usually end up doing the same thing as you, especially when I have exams every 4 days for 2 straight weeks 🙂


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[Doc2019]

Wait just to be clear I'm cramming a few days before my exam. Is that still bad?

 

[theonlytycrane]

Wait just to be clear I'm cramming a few days before my exam. Is that still bad?

I mean it's not ideal, but it doesn't matter if it's bad or not. You need to still do it and ace your test.

 

[libertyyne]

This is a recipe for a mediorce GPA. You will eventually meet a class where cramming will not help and you will not score well.

 

[efle]

Why wouldn't you do a slow review over the next couple days and then cram the day before the test? That's the whole point of cramming is high short term retention. Cramming a few days before is not gonna work as well.

 

[Frogger27]

Do whatever works for you... better to start prepping about a week in advance to avoid the late nights right before the exam... I told myself everytime I did this that it would be the last time -- yet sometimes pre-med neuroticism takes over and you can't help it

 

[libertyyne]

Do whatever works for you... better to start prepping about a week in advance to avoid the late nights right before the exam... I told myself everytime I did this that it would be the last time -- yet sometimes pre-med neuroticism takes over and you can't help it

I did this throughout undergrad and ended up with a downward trend. Last minute cramming leads to mediocre gpas!

 

[Frogger27]

I did this throughout undergrad and ended up with a downward trend. Last minute cramming leads to mediocre gpas!

I would prep beforehand and definitely be well prepared, but would still get so nervous that I would feel the need to stay up until 4 am the night before an 8am test... not smart at all..

 

[medic0114]

Make sure you truly understand the material as you go through the course (put in the hard work then), a few days before the exam review the material as a refresher. I would attempt to avoid late night cramming, but maybe go over small amounts of material just before bed (at a reasonable time). I have found studying before bed helps retain the information, with some studies showing that as well.

 

[ATPsynthase123]

This is a recipe for a mediorce GPA. You will eventually meet a class where cramming will not help and you will not score well.

I.e. Organic Chemistry


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[Turkishking]

I did this and bombed my evolutionary biology exam. Why don't you study 5-6 hours until Thursday. Then that night try and cram a little but sleep at a reasonable time.

 

[aymar]

One of my worst mistakes in college was pulling an all-nighter to cram for an accounting exam. I was so brain dead and exhausted that day that the sleep would have been much more helpful than those extra few hours. I understand that you aren't planning on doing in the night before the exam, but doing that will still mess with your sleep for the rest of the week. Plus you learn more efficiently when you're well rested, so any of the work that you do late at night is probably negligible.