5 Test-Tackling Study Strategies For College Success

By Julia Dunn on November 8, 2015

Tests are a central element of college classes. They can be some of the largest mental and physical stressors, causing substantial distress to students for whom certain tests feel future-determining.

Knowing how to survive tests is a crucial skill as an undergraduate.

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A single test (in the quarter system, at least) is usually worth somewhere around half your grade, give or take, and students understandably fear completely blanking out on exam day, or simply not having enough time to become well-versed in the material.

The truth is, your level of preparation is usually the determining factor in your testing success; however, some students may have more extreme levels of test anxiety that may be alleviated through resources available at your university’s disability resource center (click here to view the Disability Resource Center’s list of services for University of California, Santa Cruz students as an example). This resource may allow you to request an alternate test environment or a longer time stretch for the test if necessary.

At any rate, most study stress can be manageable with the right use of resources — here are five of the best test-tackling tips for your next test.

1. Study all the time (AKA start early and study a little each day).

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It sounds scary to say you need to study all the time — but the more often you actually study, the less scary tests will be. Studying a little bit over a month is worth so much more than studying 12 hours in the three days preceding your test. By the time seven or six days are left before your exam, you should have been exposed to everything you need to know for the exam, and you should not need to stress out at this point.

As far as I’m concerned, you should be able to go downtown freely and order a pizza with friends the night before an exam without anxiety about not knowing the material. By this point, you’ve already learned what you’ve learned, and it won’t be helpful to cram new stuff into your brain the night before a test.

Becoming comfortable with class content as early as possible will mean that when the test comes around, you’ll almost effortlessly be able to apply the material.

2. If you must study 12 hours in three days, break it up.

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A number of studies have suggested that humans have a learning attention span of about 15-30 minutes. Thus, you’ll get way too antsy forcing yourself to sit and study for four straight hours, and you won’t truly be learning anything.

Chunk out your time and plan for delays due to friends visiting/eating/aimless Tumblr scrolling. Otherwise, you won’t be realistically using your time. Small and frequent study bursts are most effective.

3. Teach others the material you need to learn.

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Confused about cell replication? Fuzzy about molecular orbital theory? Need to be able to apply the microevolutionary processes to a word problem but don’t know how to do so? Try to explain it to someone who has no idea what you’re talking about.

The more you try to teach a subject to someone, the more internalized the content becomes. Do a little pre-studying, and then transition immediately into verbally articulating the concept in front of someone else. If you can explain it well, you’ll probably be able to write essay question answers on it when the exam arrives, if your professor isn’t a fan of multiple-choice questions.

4. Use more than one teaching medium.

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Listening to lectures is effective to an extent, but at times lectures get old and dry.

If you’re lost in anthropology class, go to different discussion sections led by different teaching assistants, try tutoring groups, and watch online videos on the topic about which you’re confused.

Seeing the same content presented in different ways can solidify gaps in material that are critical to understanding a subject. The more interactive these methods are, the more vividly you’ll remember what you’re doing and learning because you’ll have had a personal experience with the content — this is why you can often remember more about chemistry by doing a lab than idly half-listening to an 8 a.m. lecture.

It takes more energy to actively engage with class material, but do your best to put the time into your studies through more than one learning method.

5. Use mobile flash cards to make use of awkward time intervals.

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Sitting on a metro bus going downtown? Got 10 minutes to spare before your next seminar? Use this time to study! You can indeed use this time for something other than revisiting that game of Flappy Bird you abandoned months ago, if you turn your class notes into flashcards accessible on your smartphone (or laptop, if you do not own a smartphone).

There are numerous flashcard-making websites and apps that allow you to digitize and practice remembering your notes (Quizlet is a popular flashcard app/website, as you can access other people’s flashcard sets as well as create your own set).

There’s no excuse not to use these tiny time pockets that come up in your day for mini bursts of studying. Download a flashcard app, and you won’t need to physically carry a thick notebook of notes along with you in order to study what’s inside!

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Tests are just “knowledge demonstrations,” if you think about it, and effective studying is actually a form of self-care. Treat yourself well academically by studying efficiently, and don’t let test fear get out of hand — you don’t need that stress!

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