When I started my first year in university, it was a bit of a culture shock in many ways. One of the most extreme differences on campus compared to high school was that the professors didn’t really seem to care whether I showed up for classes or not. In some classes, many students were even falling asleep. I even nodded off during some lectures, especially if the courses were conducted in nice theatres with really comfortable seats.
I enjoyed this freedom of showing up for classes whenever I wanted. This was certainly a big difference from high school where the teachers constantly took class attendance. But the rude awakening soon came when I got my first set of grades. My marks sank to ‘C’ averages with even the odd course at risk of failing.
My study skills were poor and last minute cramming for tests or exams made university life stressful. I was not enjoying campus life as I should be doing. Some things had to change as I faced the possibility of dropping out of university without a degree.
Fortunately, I stumbled onto a study strategy that saved my hide. This tactic if used faithfully, virtually eliminates the need to cram for exams. I started using this strategy at the beginning of my third year if I recall correctly and it made all the difference in the world for me.
This study strategy is ideal especially for university or college courses that involve final exams that cover material from the entire courses. Here is what this strategy involves.
– For each of your courses, schedule a regular study session for it EACH WEEK
– Stick to this study session schedule faithfully whether you have decided to have sessions during weekdays, weekends or a combination – just stick to it!
– During each study session, review EVERYTHING that you have covered in your course so far from DAY ONE to PRESENT.
– Continue reviewing all content EACH week EVEN if you don’t have an upcoming test or exam.
It’s true that there will be more material to cover each week for each course as you move along the school year. However, as you get more familiar with the earlier material each week, covering them will be faster. You might not have to increase that much time to each study session as the year goes by.
The beauty of this study strategy is that by the time final exams roll around, you will be quite familiar with most of the course content already because you have been reviewing them each week. This eliminates the need to cram for final exams.
Using this study strategy will allow you to go into your final exams with much more confidence than ever before. The only new material is the most recent since older content will be well absorbed into your head from all those weeks of regular study.
This study strategy worked wonders for me as it took me from a ‘C’ average student to ‘B+/A-‘ average by graduation. This not only allowed me to finish my degree successfully, it got me into MBA school where I really needed to have better study skills in place.
So there it is – my top study strategy that basically involves weekly review of everything that you’ve covered in your courses to date. If it worked for me, it will work for you. So no more cramming!
