Your guide to surviving college exams
Very often these days third level exams come thick and fast and while for some next May/June might be their timeline for those exams, that’s not the case for everyone and many third level courses these days have that unhappy knack of spoiling Christmas because your exams, or some of them will be held either before or immediately after the Christmas holidays, so you need to get your head together fairly quickly, if you happen to be taking a degree where holiday times don’t even come on the radar in terms of exam schedules.
While there are plenty of other things you could be doing with your time, spreading out study instead of cramming will make you a lot more prepared and feeling ready for exams. One of the best ways of getting through exam time is to have a good plan for how to study well, look after yourself and manage your time. Exams are a stressful time for most people, but if you know what to expect and prepare as much as you can in advance, it will be easier. Remember, if things go wrong, it’s not the end of the world. There are always more options, and often you’ll have the opportunity to try it again.
Exams are an inevitable factor in student life. The weeks before the exam can be stressful so take some time to do exam prep and get ready, print notes, talk to the lecturer, anything that will help.
Make a study plan. Ask your friends or classmates to help with this and try to be realistic about how much study you can get through every day.
Avoid comparing yourself to your friends. Everybody has a different way of preparing for exams and what suits someone else might not work for you. Avoid cutting out large parts of the course just because you don’t like them. Those topics might just be the ones that end up on the exam paper. Your study spaces. Arrange your study space to ensure that it’s warm, quiet, and comfortable and free from distraction.
Know what works for you. Don’t feel obliged to just sit in front of a book with a highlighter – there are many ways to study. You should pick whatever works for you. Different courses and classes require different methods of study.
Condense your notes. Condense your notes into 2-4 simple revision sheets with key phrases or equations to revise before the exam. Avoiding exam stress. Exam stress can be overwhelming. If it all seems to be getting on top of you, there are plenty of things you can do to keep calm and get perspective. Be positive. Never underestimate the power of positive thinking. Spend time with people who are positive, it will rub off on you. Avoid negative thoughts, such as “everyone else seems better organised, while I’m struggling”. Be active. It doesn’t help spend all your time inside studying. Go out and do something active, go for a walk or a run. It will help to clear your mind and stay focused when you are studying.
Make the time. Make sure you make the time to study. If it’s too late to revise properly and you’re cramming, then listen to your body and rest when you need to. Otherwise, you risk burn out.
What can I do if I get easily distracted while studying? Everyone gets distracted, and it’s hard to stay focused for hours at a time. Often, this can lead to procrastination when we’re supposed to be studying. Staying off social media. If you can’t keep off social media, try downloading an app that can block various websites for a certain length of time. If you’re struggling staying focused on one topic, give the “Pomodoro Technique” a go, which involves working in 25-minute bursts with 5 minute breaks in between. Have a look in the app store for a pomodoro timer app.
A few other simple things are hugely important. Drink plenty of water, eat properly, don’t binge on burgers and chips, break up your study time with a brisk walk, watch some tv, go chat with your friends and get a decent night’s sleep. Yes, you’re young and your powers of recovery are impressive, but late nights all the time will eventually derail your plans to get work done. Use your time smartly - don’t sit there thinking because you are putting in the hours you will do well, the work must be relevant and it’s not about bulking up on hours, it’s about doing quality work and using the time well - in truth someone studying for two hours with breaks will achieve more than someone stumbling through a book over four hours.