When I
was studying non-stop for the DAT, I about lost my mind looking through all of
the information until I developed a system. With finals upon so many people in
undergrad and professional school, or if you are going to spend the rest of
your decade in school (like me); I thought I’d share a few pointers and
hopefully these tips will come in handy if you find yourself in a rut.
For
the student that has a week before the exam:
a.
You
have SO much time to study. Have a beer.
b.
Make
an outline of all the material covered on the exam. This can be as simple as
taking a napkin and writing down topics covered over the semester.
c.
Sometimes
professors give a topics list, if you have one for the final, use that as your study
guide starting point. Just be wary that your professor will likely put an
additional topic or two on the exam.
d.
Now,
make a detailed study guide on paper or on your computer using your napkin
outline and your professor’s study list as a starting point.
e.
If
your course was book heavy, read through chapters you didn’t understand, or don’t
remember, and take notes.
f.
If
your class was ppt heavy, make sure you go through the slides and always expand
upon those topics in your notes. If there is a key word on a slide, or a key
fact, make sure you can talk about that fact for at least three sentences-worth
of information. Reference your book or the internet.
g.
Once
study guide is complete, have a drink.
h.
You
should have about three days left and for two of those days, memorize the
material. You should also look over old exams to refresh information and get a
feel for the professor’s questions again.
i.
On
the day before the test, find someone (friend, boyfriend, girlfriend, roommate)
who will quiz you using that study guide.
For
the student that has 3 days before the exam:
a.
You
have time. Have a beer.
b.
Did
your professor give you a list? Awesome. Use it as your study guide template.
Make sure you can talk about all those topics for at least three sentences-worth
of information.
c.
If
your professor did not give you a study guide, that sucks, but you should make
your own. Use previous tests as an indicator of what to expect and make an
outline of all topics that will be covered on the exam. However minute they may
be. This should take about two to three hours.
d.
Have
another drink.
e.
Memorize
your study guide for one day and then have someone (friend, boyfriend,
girlfriend, roommate) quiz you.
For
the student whose exam is tomorrow:
a.
Hello,
procrastination. I remember you well J Probably shouldn’t have a drink,
but you still have some time.
b.
If
your professor gave you a list of topics, USE IT. If not, use notes, ppts, the
book, the internet to compile a study guide of everything that is supposed to
be covered on the exam.
c.
Make
sure when you are going through the study guide, you are not absent-mindedly
typing. Really read and understand what you are putting down on paper/or
Microsoft Word.
d.
Find
someone to quiz you. You won’t know every answer, but it helps.
e.
Don’t
panic. This scenario should take you about six hours if done correctly.
f.
Definitely
look over previous exams.
Cumulative exams vs. Non-cumulative exams:
a.
Cumulative
exams clearly suck more than non-cumulative exams.
b.
If
you have a cumulative exam, old exams from throughout the semester are your
best friends. You probably don’t have time to read the entire book again while
studying, so really search out key topics in notes and exams. If you professor
kept talking about a certain concept, he/she will probably test you on it.
c.
It
is likely that small details will not resurface on the final. If they do, that’s
a bitch move and I’m sorry. I would focus my attention on larger topics.
d.
If
you are lucky and have a non-cumulative exam, you have a much easier time
deciding what will be on the test. This means, however, that your test will be
more specific than a cumulative exam. Be sure you can go into detail about
every topic listed on your study guide.
General
tips:
a.
I
was never someone who could pull an all-nighter successfully. If you can,
great, but try and sleep at least a couple of hours. I was always a big fan of
studying until 12, sleeping until 5, and then resuming.
b.
Something
that always helped me was color-coding. This can be done with both hand-written
and typed study guides. Each topic or chapter should be outlined in different
colored ink. While you are memorizing and studying and writing etc. your brain
will remember what topics are which color. If you get a question about a topic
you are a little fuzzy on, think about the color of the subject/specific topic.
Because you will remember the color, you might be able to remember facts that
pertain to the question that are also that same color. It will give you a larger
frame of reference for each question and help tie in large concepts.
c.
Eat
something.
d.
If
you need a break: work out, watch an episode of Friends (or some other 22
minute show), take a walk, call your parents (or anyone), change your scenery
(switch to a different table at the library or go to a new coffee shop), or
look at pictures of my puppy.
e.
If
you have gone through the study guide and still don’t remember a topic, go back
and look at the book or ppt again.
f.
Remember
that you could be in a worse situation (think the movie Precious). It truly is
just an exam. If you don’t do well, you won’t spiral into some bad-egg life.
You will be fine.
Just
for fun: Here are some puppy pictures to make you smile!
