How to Prepare for your First Test Week

I understand that your first test week can be hard and overwhelming. However, with a few of these tips, you will be right on your way to a less stressful week and, hopefully, a 4.0. 

1. This is a “you” week. 

The weekend after your test week, you can make time for your friends and significant other. However, this week is all about you and how you need to prove to yourself and everyone else that you are worthy of this A and that you will work your a** off to get it. So, take your free time during the days and nights to study, make notes, go to the library (we will talk about these tips specifically) instead of going shopping for game day or drinking wine with your bestie (we all know these are some of the best things). This will help you stay focused and ace your exam. Once you finish your exams for that week, go ahead and have fun, but do not sway all the way off the track. (there will be more exams to come!). 

1. Flashcards 101 

When you are making flashcards, stick to the “must-know material.” A Lot of my professors call it “tattoo material”, because you will want to tattoo it on your mind for the exam. This way you can train your brain to memorize the need-to-know test items. This will also help you not have to carry around three thousand unnecessary flashcards. 

1. Handwritten Notes

        I have noticed that if I make my own handwritten study guide, I remember     

things more easily for the exam. I start by going through all the class material we learned and what is expected of us to know and type a table of contents to print out. This is what you can staple on top of everything you rewrote on paper and refer back to when studying. You also type what you need to know and leave a lot of room for you to write underneath it, one of my friends does this and it helps her tremendously when studying for exams. 

1. Time Savers & Breaks 

There are plenty of time savers that we love hearing about, because the sooner you are done studying, the sooner you can sleep, go out to dinner with friends, shower, etc. I usually use all these reasons for an excuse to take a break while studying. However, if you are the type who wants to be finished with everything before you take a break, you can start writing extra notes and flashcards every night after class. If you set aside a time during the day to do these extra things after class when information is fresh on your mind, it will save you a lot of time when it comes to having to sit down and study for the exam that is right around the corner. 

1. Study Buddies 

I know there are lots of people out there who find that if you have someone studying with you, you don’t get that much work done. In these situations, it will be very likely that you both just decide to end the session to go get milkshakes when in reality, you just looked over chapter one and thought you had everything you need to know. If this is you, choose your study buddy wisely, or choose to study alone if that’s what’s best for you. However, there are people in your class that may know some information better than you and vice versa, so grabbing someone out of your class to study with is a good option if you can stay focused. When you step into your study zone with your study buddy just know there are x amount of things you need to get done and you should not leave until they are done with only a few side conversations here and there (because we all love chit chat). 

I hope your test week goes as planned and you kick all those exams right in the a**! I am rooting for you and I know that a lot of other people are as well. So, go be a boss and get things done! 

Sources: Teen Vogue 

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