Poll: How do you study for large exams?

[omare61]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Well finals are coming up and I am wondering how people study.


The "I relearn everything comprehensively" means you re-teach yourself everything for 1-2 weeks without Cramming/procrastinating.

 

[omare61]

Bump

 

[Josh7]

I'll review my notes for each of the midterms, then take a practice midterm, evaluate myself and repeat until comfortable.

 

[Bluto385]

The "I relearn everything comprehensively" means you re-teach yourself everything for 1-2 weeks without Cramming/procrastinating.

More like 1-2 days with cramming and procrastination. Rinse, repeat.

 

[eefen]

For science classes, I like to at least skim the recommended reading to get the "big picture" and nitty gritty details that weren't addressed very well in lecture (ideally, contemporaneously with the lecture schedule. Realistically, in the few days before the exam). Otherwise, I generally at least review my class notes/lecture slides 1-3 days before the exam. Or the morning of, as was the case with my last final. 🙄

 

[IncognitoGuy]

I re-learn comprehensively, except I'm able to condense the 1-2 week thing into a week at most. I average 3, 4 days to get it down now, thankfully. I haven't crammed since Orgo - I'd say studying for the MCAT whipped me into studying shape.

 

[acslater99]

I'll review my notes for each of the midterms, then take a practice midterm, evaluate myself and repeat until comfortable.

How do you take a practice midterm?

 

[Josh7]

How do you take a practice midterm?

For pretty much all my classes the professor will post a practice exam(s) so we can get a feel for the test format.

 

[acslater99]

For pretty much all my classes the professor will post a practice exam(s) so we can get a feel for the test format.

Wow nice, It's a good thing they do that. Hopefully my professors will do that.

 

[Josh7]

Wow nice, It's a good thing they do that. Hopefully my professors will do that.

It gets a rid of a lot of the ambiguity but at the same time it often happens that the actually exam ends up being a lot harder than the practice exam 🙄


Edit: that sentence was hard to read, sorry

 

[def1]

I chose "Review my notes the night before" but thats not exactly accurate but I guess the closest.

During the semester I usually read the entire textbook front to back or read the powerpoints and write down notes. So usually by the time the test comes up I know the material very well and only need to glance at my notes.

 

[lobo.solo]

Review previous exams, learn/practice new knowledge from end of semester, then figure out where should I focus my energy on. As a final prep, 2-3 comprehensive review of everything.

 

[iave9963]

Review previous exams, learn/practice new knowledge from end of semester, then figure out where should I focus my energy on. As a final prep, 2-3 comprehensive review of everything.

+1 👍

 

[plumhill]

For o-chem and anything quantitative: practice problems, over and over again. Go over worksheets and other homework assignments multiple times until I know exactly what I'm doing and why. I don't read the textbook too much, except for sections where I don't get a certain method or mechanism.

For bio/non-quantitative: I take a lot of notes, and tend to write things out in a way that makes senes to me, and I'll review my notes afterwards. I'm known for making "study packets" for all exams, which is tedious but helpful.

Also, recording lectures is helpful for me; I invested in one of those pocket-sized recorders that lets you convert recordings into mp3 format, and I'll upload all lectures onto my laptop and listen to them again in the week or so before an exam, and go over my notes at the same time. If I hear something in the recording that I didn't have in my notes, I'll add it in.

 

[wizedw]

I'm a flashcard maker! I make them about a week before hand and practice them every day leading up to the exam. It helps me to write everything down again.

 

[omare61]

I'm a flashcard maker! I make them about a week before hand and practice them every day leading up to the exam. It helps me to write everything down again.

Judging by your gpa, it seems like it is working for you! I nice

I am a notes maker and I just memorize them. It's working well so far. I I cram. Guilty as charged

 

[Mountaineer12]

I usually start studying for a difficult science test about two weeks before. I read my notes over and over every day for those two weeks for about 1-2 hours. By the night before the exam I only need 30 minutes to go through everything. It's definitely not a method for most people, but I don't like feeling stressed or surprised so it worked great for me.

 

[BABSstudent]

Three days before I test, I start going over the notes. I just go very superficially those days, making sure I cover everything lightly. At about two days before the test, I make sure I go over the stuff in more detail, learning the toughest stuff. When I need a break, I learn the easier stuff. The day before the test is all reproducing what I learned. I make sure I can trace pathways, answer any previous exam questions, etc. If I need to relearn something, I relearn it.

This has worked for me. The last few semesters have been >3.9 GPA. My cGPA is lower because I didn't study freshman or sophomore year.

 

[music2doc]

I basically looked at my notes the night before as a UG. There wasn't really enough information to not be able to learn it within the lecture period. In med school, we cover the information you covered in an hour lecture in about 5-10 min of lecture time. The expectation is that you will actually learn it at home, not during class. If you try to cram before exams in med school you will flunk out. No questions asked. Study skills have to change.

 

[RomanTaylor]

I learn the information and the concepts throughout the semester, and sleep REALLY well during finals week.

 

[487806]

I cram, but I review my notes and read the material carefully (few days before the exam).

 

[tima]

I usually browse SDN the day before the test. It helps a lot.

Just trolling.

 

[PreMedOrDead]

I usually browse SDN the day before the test. It helps a lot.

Currently doing that. Expecting nothing less than an A+. It's tedious, but it gets the job done.