Successful Students #09 ~

Successful Students #09

9. … don’t cram for exams. Successful students know that divided periods of study are more effective than cram sessions, and they practice it.

If there is one thing that study skills specialists agree on, it is that distributed study is better than massed, late night, last-ditch efforts known as cramming. You’ll learn more, remember more, and earn a higher grade by studying in four, one hour a-night sessions for Friday’s exam than studying for four hours straight on Thursday night. Short, concentrated preparatory efforts are more efficient and rewarding than wasteful, inattentive, last moment marathons. Yet, so many students fail to learn this lesson and end up repeating it over and over again until it becomes a wasteful habit. Not too clever huh?

When you cram, you are taking the shortcut, and shortcuts never produce any real worthwhile results. Also, when you take shortcuts, you feel rather rotten knowing that you could have done better but didn’t. Shortcuts cut you short. You can’t plant watermelon seeds and harvest fresh watermelons the next day. It takes time. cramming for a test or project and expecting to make a high score the next day is like planting watermelon seeds and expecting to harvest and eat fresh watermelon the next day. Plus, cramming for a test doesn’t help you academically, so why even do it. Plan ahead, prepare ahead. Give yourself plenty of days  and weeks to prepare for upcoming accountability opportunities.

Choose The Right!

Sarah's Academic Success Story part01 ~

Sarah’s Academic Success Story

Part 1

Time management became a key factor in my study skills for college. In high school, there were times I was able to study for an hour or two the night before a test and get away with it. This was not the case in college. I made sure in college I was prepared for each class. Sometimes that meant writing out the terms for the chapter we read (even if when it isn’t required) to better understand them. That way when the midterm or test comes around I was able to understand them. That way when the midterm or test comes around I was able to understand what I was studying. I started taking excellent notes in class in college. I may have done this high school, but in college I started typing up the notes after class. This helped me remember what I just went over in class then when I had a test one week later I was more likely to remember then as well.

My Overall Study Method: Structured. One thing I learned was I had to adapt or change my study method according to the class. I couldn’t study for Religion Class the same way I studied for Finance Class. But making sure I had enough time to study for each class – even if it meant carrying a planner with me at all times was a big part of my success.

Choose The Right!