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

Studying the wrong way can be one of the biggest downfalls for successful students across college campuses worldwide. Here are some tips to guide you in the right direction.

1. Study in the library.

Study in the study lounge, study outside, or study in an unoccupied classroom. Study literally anywhere on campus except for your dorm room. Studying in your dorm room will make you easily distracted and you won’t be able to concentrate easily. Your dorm is meant for sleeping and relaxing, so going somewhere else will force you to concentrate instead of crawling in your bed and watching Netflix.

2. Put your phone on airplane mood and out of sight.

Study after study proves that having your phone out will lead you to distractions. Out of sight, out of mind, so put it on airplane mode, and put it away in your bag where you cannot easily reach in and get it. If your computer is linked to your phone, put your computer on do not disturb so you don’t have constant ringing while studying.

3. Listen to classical music.

As someone who gets distracted by literally any sound, having plain instrumental music blasting helps you focus on anything. It blocks out background noise, and there aren’t any lyrics so you won’t get distracted and sing along.

4. Drink plenty of water.

Staying hydrated is very important during studying. Also, refilling your water bottle from time to time gives you a much-needed walking break if you’ve been studying all day.

5. Take breaks.

Taking a break every once in a while will leave you feeling refreshed and ready to focus afterward.

6. After studying alone, study in a group.

Studying alone helps you get the basic information needed and studying with a group will help you get all the information you need. Also, studying with people is a great way to make friends and they may know something that you may have forgotten and can save you major points on an exam.

7. Go to office hours.

Even if you personally don’t have any questions, listening to other people’s questions and going through problems will only help you. You may realize questions you didn’t even know you had!

As midterms slowly come to an end, finals season is creeping up around the corner. Make sure you’re prepared. With hard work comes success. Good luck!

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7 Ways to Make Your Studying More Effective