With finals approaching, the stress of studying approaches too. 

When we think about studying, what usually comes to mind is staying up late to cram the night before or spending hours without a break reading the same notes over, and over, and over. 

Thankfully, this isn’t the only study method. 

With the following tips and tricks from both University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC Chapel Hill) and Duke University, you can take your studying to the next level with less stress. 

These strategies work differently for everyone, and it’s more about finding out which are best for you rather than prioritizing ones that aren’t helping you learn or understand. According to UNC Chapel Hill’s Academic Resource Center, there are many things you can do to improve memorization and work to ensure  you retain what you are studying. They also suggest several alternate methods of studying, such as a more visual approach for students who learn best that way.

The skills for memorization and memory retention are meant to help you not only understand what topics or concepts you are studying, but also make sure you’re able to remember them whenever you need, not only before or during the exam. 

While review is good, reading and re-reading notes is not the most effective way to study. 

In order for our brains to process information and remember it, we need to study in ways that are engaging and have us actively understanding the information we are studying. 

Aside from memorization and the visual side of studying, when is a good time to start studying? 

Fortunately, University of Pittsburg has developed a one to two week study plan that optimizes for students to avoid cramming all of their studying into one night. 

A week before your exam, it’s good to start reviewing notes, create a to-do list, a seven day preparation schedule, and decide what study strategies you are going to use. 

Four to six days before the test is the best time to revise homework, attend study sessions, get help from teachers, self-test yourself on the topics you need to know, and practice answering study guides to see if you have any questions. 

Next, it’s important to work on thoroughly studying all of the material for your classes so that you can ensure you remember and understand what you’re reviewing. This time — in the few days before a test — is also a good opportunity to work with others and ask questions that could possibly show up on the assessment. 

Finally, on the day before the test, it is most important to only review the material briefly, prioritizing good sleep to ensure you are able to actively recall everything you have been learning. 

With an example schedule like the one previously explained, it’s good to create your own that adapts to your own schedule outside of school, just make sure to prioritize sleep and studying over the course of a few days, not only one night.

The schedule listed above is a template, and it’s crucial to create your own, taking in consideration your personal schedule outside of school and prioritizing sleep, personal time, etc. 

Other study strategies for students to try are ones that focus on having structured study times or creating motivation for studying, which can also be a large contributor to why students procrastinate reviewing before assessments.

In addition to lack of motivation, other factors which might impact students’ studying ability include distractions from social media, lack of clear study goals, and more. 

The tips and tricks listed below can help with these factors and help shift students’ mindset from seeing studying as a chore and instead as a way that they can set themselves up for success.

Overall, there are many tips and tricks for students to use when studying, but what’s most important is finding out which study strategies work best for you and will benefit how you learn and remember things the best. 

With these top tips and tricks from high-level universities, you can now go deeper with your studying and use them to thoroughly prepare for upcoming finals.