Growing up, I was fortunate enough that school came easily to me. I didn’t have to study for tests, homework assignments took me ten minutes to complete and I actually enjoyed reading books. Because of this, I never developed any study habits, but I was still in elementary school, so it was fine. Right?
Wrong. Elementary turned into middle school, which turned into high school, and I still hadn’t found fully effective ways of studying. I would re-read the material, complete the study guides, maybe try one extra practice problem—but that was it. As my classes became more difficult, this wasn’t enough to help me excel on tests, but I didn’t know how else to study.
Developing study habits this late into my academic career felt weird, like I was 10 steps behind my peers, but I knew it was something I had to do to succeed in my classes. I couldn’t rely on my guessing skills forever.
So, if you’re like me and are still trying to find a productive way to study for all your upcoming exams, here are my unqualified and non-professional tips on how to study:
1. Take Good Notes
I know what you’re thinking—“duh, I know that already”—but do you really? I used to think that I took good notes, but looking back on my high school notebooks, I couldn’t tell you anything I learned. In high school, some of my teachers forced us to adopt the Cornell note format, while others let us do whatever we felt like. This created problems for me because I was using two different note-taking methods, and neither was really successful. So, I developed my own system that is influenced by the Cornell note style, but without the weird formatting (sorry if you love it, but why do I have to create a column on the side of my paper? It just looks weird).
It’s important to find a style that works best for you. I try to divide the reading into the main topics, and each one has a set of subtopics (if you’re taking notes from a textbook, they usually do this for you already by dividing the headings and subheadings, so I tend to just copy that format into my notes). From there, I write down and highlight any important vocab, names and dates I think I’ll need to know. At the end of each section I try to summarize the main points into a few sentences, so when I go back to study I know which section I should focus on for a certain topic.
2. Utilize Outside Resources
Quizlet. Khan Academy. Random YouTube videos of men teaching you calculus. These are just some of the free (yes, free) resources that are out there to help students study and learn. Personally, Quizlet is my holy grail of online study tools, but there are a number of different resources catered toward whichever study method works best for you. Whether you love using flashcards, creating visual guides or just need a step-by-step explanation that is different from how your professor lectures, there is a website out there for you to use. If you search on Google, you can find numerous websites dedicated to helping you learn, or you can start with this article that lists some of the more popular study websites students use with different learning styles in mind.
3. Make Study Groups
Study groups are great. While I prefer to study and do homework alone, I’ve found that meeting with a group of people before large exams and quizzes has been really influential. Having other people around keeps you accountable and forces you to really sit down and look over the material. Also, it’s likely that someone in the group is either struggling with the same concept as you, or they know the answers to your questions and can walk through it with you. So, don’t be afraid to reach out to your classmates and ask them to study with you! Nine out of 10 times they will say yes, and then you can all help each other do better.
4. Talk With Your Professors
This is probably the most important, yet underutilized study tip there is. It may seem scary, but your professors are there to help you succeed in their classes. They want you to do well as much as you do. If you’re struggling to understand the material, go to your professor’s office hours and ask them questions, try to work through the problem areas and also connect with your professor. They love it when students come and talk with them—even if you just send them an email with your question—and they are always happy to help. Some professors even set up large review sessions for their students before an exam, so I highly recommend going to those. Ask questions, engage with others, really pay attention to what the professor is saying (some professors like to drop little hints as to what types of questions will be asked on the exam), and get as much out of those sessions as possible. Professors are our greatest resources.
Hopefully this article helped you find at least one study habit to apply to your life. It can take a while to develop study habits that truly work for you, but after much trial and error, it will be extremely beneficial towards you and your success. Good luck and happy studying!