Acing your college exams is no easy feat, and if you want to ensure that you do well you’re going to have to create an efficient study schedule. If you go to school somewhere like UIC Online, you will have to be very responsible with all of the independence you have with your studying and pacing because it won’t be structured in the same way as an in-person college schedule. Here is how to create a college exam study schedule.
Plan Around Your Lecture Schedule
The day after your lecture is usually the best time to jump back into the material for each class that you take. That way your mind has had some time to digest the material, but it hasn’t had enough time to forget it all yet. If you can schedule even 30 minutes to review the material from the previous day, you will have a much higher likelihood of holding on to it for your next exam.
Attend Office Hours
It’s always a good idea to visit your professors during their office hours. Not only will you be able to ask all the questions that you might not have time for during lecture, but you will be able to develop a relationship with that professor so that he or she can get a better idea of how to support you along the way. Plus, taking the time to visit your professors demonstrates a high level of commitment and responsibility toward your studies, which will make it easier to get letters of recommendation when the time comes.
Organize a Study Group
Sometimes it’s easier to grasp all of the material if you have other people to help you fill in all the gaps. Be sure that you choose students who are hard working and engaged in the course. If not, then you could waste your time explaining what you know and get nothing in return. However, sometimes repeating the material that you do understand to others will help to solidify all the details in your mind.
Write Chapter Reviews
In order to really have the material under your belt, you need to be able to simplify everything for yourself into broad ideas and main points. If you can do this for yourself, then you can go into the test feeling confident that you know what you’re talking about. If you don’t have a general idea of why your professor chose to put that particular set of lessons into one exam yet, then you definitely need to take some time to discover the overarching theme and the threads that hold all that information together.
Break the Material up Evenly
When you have your final exams, you need to break up your study sessions appropriately so that you have time to cover all of your courses before the week of exams. The day and time of your final exam should be included in your syllabus for each class, and you should plan your study sessions accordingly. You should also break down the material for each course into separate study sessions so that you have time to cover all the chapters that will be covered.