Last Minute Studying

We’ve all found ourselves cramming at the last minute for a big exam. So what is the best way to study when you have little time to spare?

Try turning topics into songs or poems. As corny as this sounds, you will be surprised at how well it really works. It definitely works better than falling asleep with a partially-read book covering your face. Take basic concepts from your textbook and transform them into a song, poem, or even a rap. This simple thinking exercise familiarizes you with key ideas in a ‘fun’ way and makes it easy to ‘sing’ the song back to yourself during the actual exam. The keywords will stick out and the songs you write will become like an invisible note sheet.

Have someone quiz you. One of the reasons we all hate studying so much is that it often confines us to either an awful silence or even to an undesirable solitude. It's definitely much more appealing when there is someone there with us to turn studying into an interactive quiz show... asking questions... throwing around ideas... testing us in a friendly way to see what we remember. Psychologically, it's less stressful --and therefore, much easier -- for us to learn when the person asking us questions is a friend and not a pot-bellied, wide-eyed instructor. If it's the infamous 'night before an exam'... and someone owes you a favor…try this tip out !

Finally, stop stalling! Stop playing on the Internet. Stop putting off what you have to do. Just do it! Don't let ANYTHING else distract you. Don't tell yourself "Ok, I'll start "really" studying after a snack." Or-- "I'll get into it once 90210 is over.." NO! Get busy right now... and don't stop! Like exercise, it'll hurt while you do it. But you'll feel better about all night studying if it's from 8 PM to 4 AM then if it's only from 3 AM to 4 AM and you wasted all that time just getting up to it ! Think logically!

If you can avoid last-minute studying, do so. If not, try these tips out to make the best of your limited time.