How to Study for College Exams

I have officially survived my first week of college exams! Woohoo!

1. You have to study all your subjects every day

Okay, maybe not every day. It is unrealistic for anyone to expect college students to study for every class every day. What I mean by this is, do not get behind. Do not wait until a few days before the exam to start studying, especially if it is a cumulative exam. You do not want to get behind and realize two days before the test that you do not understand material from the first week of class and therefore cannot understand any of the following material. Although completely unrealistic, it is said that the best success comes when you study 2-3 hours for every hour credit a class is. For example, if you have a 3 hour credit class that meets twice a week, then you should be studying at least 18 hours a week for it. Like I said, not doable. This may be a slight exaggeration, but only 30% of learning in college happens in the classroom. We all know what that means. The other 70% is our responsibility. The best thing you can do is try to form good study habits and keep yourself on a study routine or schedule.

2. Go to tutoring/office hours

I was very concerned about my first math exam so I went to both. One thing you have to remember about tutoring is that it is most likely led by another student. In my case, my tutor could not remember how to do my math homework either. Luckily, I only had questions about a few of the problems and my TA had office hours right before the test where she explained everything. I made an A!

3. Do the homework even if it is not graded

And do the homework days before it is due so you know if you need help. For my Textile Technology class, we had three assignments that were not graded and then a quiz. I did all the assignments and worked hard on them until I got every question right even though they were not mandatory. Doing so paid off because my quiz was made up of THE EXACT SAME QUESTIONS.

4. Focus more on classes worth more hours

These are the classes that will have the most affect on your GPA. In high school, GPA was an average of every grade you received. In college, that is not the case. The higher credit hour courses have a larger impact on your GPA and therefore should be the ones you put more effort into.

If you are really concerned about your studying habits and success in college, I recommend you check out the book The Strategic Student. My Textiles 101 class is requiring us to read it and it has honestly been very helpful. It is super easy to read and it has great tips!