The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Jefferson chapter.

Finals are right around the corner for some college students, and one of the most challenging things about college is finding personalized methods to learn the material. This could take months for one student and years for another. I was one of the latter. So, here are some study tips that work for me as a third-year college student.

Repetition and Active Recall: Everyone talks about this, but it truly does work. One of the biggest way it works for me is that when I get to studying the material for an assessment, half of the work is already done. By remembering the content as the weeks go on, now all you have to do is review it. It is less stressful and results in better grades in my opinion because when you are actively recalling the material, you are also understanding and questioning it early on rather than two days before the exam.
White Board Method: Some people might think that they know the material the night before an exam. We all do the thing where we say “oh, that’s common sense” or “I’ll know when I see the answer in the multiple choice”. Trust me, I’ve done this for two years, and as much as it worked in high school, it unfortunately does not work as efficiently in college. One way to question whether you truly know the material is to write it out on a white board, not paper or an iPad. White board! There is no scientific evidence related to this, but I personally believe that the feeling of the marker writing on the white board makes me retain info better. If you want to save something you wrote down on the whiteboard, just take a picture for later use.
Speaking method: Please do this when you’re alone, OR if you are sitting with a group of friends learning the same material as you. Just like I stated in the white board method section, if you can’t speak about the material you are studying, then you glazed over the material instead of retaining it. It’s the same thing for a professor — if he or she can’t come into class and speak about a topic, then they truly don’t know the info about it. Again, do this alone or with a group of friends. I’m saying this because I’ve seen people use this method in the library where the whole table is doing their thing, but that one person is giving another an essay long brief of what they know, and let me tell you it’s annoying and distracting for people sitting at the table, even if they are friends.
Recorded Lectures: Professors that are angels sent from heaven usually record their lectures and upload them on their Canvas page. Sometimes professors, especially in science classes, emphasize material that is maybe not on their slides, so if you were not in class that day or didn’t write it down then you don’t have to worry about it, because you can just go back into the recorded lecture. It is also nice to freshen your memory of what was taught in class from the professor’s point of view rather than just reading the material written on the slides.

Study Tips for Finals Season

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