Do you do anything differently? Wake up earlier/stay up later than usual to study? Do you eat differently?
Personally, I go through my notes for the first time (if I hate to) for the semester. I read my notes, book chapters and such probably twice, more if I feel I am not ready for an exam.
I also try and stay away from going out and hanging with friends which is obviously a distraction.
Please share your current or even past "exam-lifestyle".
This year, probably flip through books and go over my notes . I don't think any of them will be too bad, and it's scheduled very nicely(except math and physics are back-to-back )
I start eating fruit and veg mainly for the few days leading up to the exam and also take a bag of snake lollies into the exam, the sugar is good for the brain in exams
We aren't allowed food into the exam area. I don't eat differently, and I'd say don't stay up late to mug last minute, just go in with what you have. (Or what you think you have)
And stay off neo. The purge more or less screwed my last national exam, still waiting for the results but I'm not optimistic.
It's going terribly. I can't find my book, it doesn't matter the entire class has failed all three tests and he has to keep adding points to make anyone pass. One hour til freak out time. #sostressed
I miss school so no exams anymore but what I have experienced and have learned in school is that your brain can only do so much. Do not stress yourself out.
When it comes to studying it is really down to pacing yourself. The brain does not store study information information in seconds so cramming and trying to read material very quickly thinking you can get it done fast is basically nothing but a waste of time. In exams the important thing is your long term memory, what you have permanently stored and can easily retrieve rather than the cramming method of short term memory which only lasts in about 20-30 second intervals (after that amount of time it decays and you will not remember it). Instead you need to take your time, read a packet of notes for an hour or two then take a 10-15 minute break and grab a snack or something. It is very important not to cram yourself with information to the point of feeling overwhelmed or to become tired and stressed. Go through all your notes in this stop and go manner until you are through everything and repeat. The key is pacing yourself to be able to reread that information a few times. The more you reread information, in a time period, the more likely your brain is to recognize that material as "important" and thus stores it in your long term memory. Again all cramming does is overload your mind, it will only remember the past 20-30 seconds of material but if you can repeat that material over and over on different days then it becomes meaningful material rather than a quick pile of words on a page.
Other than pacing yourself you can take advantage of sensory memory. Your sense of smell is an extremely powerful tool for retrieving memories, for example if some people grew up baking cookies with Grandma they may have a memory of her anytime they smell cookies baking at a different time. For studying you can use association and conditioning, basically chew a specific flavor of gum while studying and take that same flavor into the exam. It will not cause you to have some magical memory powers or anything you still need to know your material lol but the association of studying the material while chewing a specific flavor of gum and taking that into the exam can allow the brain to access information easier and quicker thanks to the association of studying + gum.
Oh and lastly the easiest and most common sense tip is get a good amount of sleep. Do not be tired when you study, do not go off of 2 hours of sleep before your exam. A well rested body will make things far more simpler.
I have a weird sleeping pattern during exams, and I don't eat as much as I should. I usually just go over everything and make sure I know the basic stuff I always despise exams, especially oral because I get so nervous
Meh. Usually they are in a week span. This semester I have three next week. I live beside the school so I leave 15 minutes before it starts. Generally, I cram last minute so I sometimes dont sleep the day before. I know its a terrible way to do things but its how I study best XD
Basically cram for every exam as they come. I know it's a bad idea, but it's a reinforcing habit, what can I say?
Wake up early in the night (or don't sleep at all), minimal sleep. All-nighters have become common for me, taking one or two 1-2hr naps in between. Chug a Red Bull or Monster and I'm good for the next 2-3 hours (yeah, I also know they're slowly killing me). If I have 2 days before a final, my cram session basically lasts 2 days. Otherwise, it's a very intense few hours before the final, :
As for eating, I buy a lot of food court stuff and throw it in my fridge beforehand, cook up a big load of food before, or go straight for the ready/frozen foods in my freezer. In the hours right after an exam when I'm having a short rest, I try to balance with some fruits and veggies to keep myself from shitting rocks and clogging the toilet. Pretty much anything I can get in me asap and keep me from dying is game.
To the actual studying, I go over all my lecture slides and highlight only the minimum/important info, key words, so I can remember them easiest and fastest. If a slide has a wall of text, but all that matters is 1-3 key words, knowing only them can make me regurgitate the entire slide if I had to, just by thinking of the words' relevance.
The second part of my regime is just flash remembering the words and their meanings as fast as I can, reciting them in my mind (like an oral). I find the mental recital very useful, because you connect concepts/words in a cohesive manner, much like answering a question on a test paper. If I forget or am unsure of what I'm thinking, I look them over and see what word or concept I went wayward on, and remember the right one.
I didn't do any of that in my first year however. Back then I took it too easy and dicked around in U, only flipping over my notes a few hours before an exam and winging it. It accounts for most of my Cs, and a couple Ds/Fs.