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Strategies to
study for finals
By Alisha Gomez
On-line Forty-Niner
With finals upon
students, most are either totally prepared or freaking out.
The way students handle exams ranges from person to person.
Diane Eisenberg,
a learning skills specialist in the Learning Assistance Center,
offered some tips.
"Know as much as
you possibly can on the exam - any emphasized chapters, the
format of the exam, whether it is cumulative or not," Eisenberg
said. "So at this point, spend time on what you should be
studying."
Eisenberg also
said that breaking down your study time into doable chunks
is smart. She said that students should be done with their
reading and be able to condense or sum up that material.
"Learn and understand
the material so that it makes sense," Eisenberg said.
"When you are done studying, test yourself on it after to
see how well you know the information and try to anticipate
the questions that the professor will ask you."
Eisenberg said
that by doing this you can see how well you are able to answer
the questions.
"I am basically
going to re-read my notes from my professors," Carmela Reyes
said, a junior in family and consumer science.
Some students have
a plan of action.
"I also make notecards
and sometimes tape record classes and listen back to them,"
Reyes said.
For procrastinators,
Reyes offered some advice.
"Don't try to cram,"
she said. "You won't remember everything. Study little by
little so you don't cram everything in."
Vang Her, a first-year
graduate student in the science of engineering said he studies
his notes and goes over other people's notes that he has photocopied.
"The rule of thumb
is to never study 24 hours before the test," Her said, who
said he is always finished studying before that.
"Cramming doesn't
allow a person to retain anything," Her said. "However, if
you look over your notes five minutes before the exam, you
can pick up things that are important or difficult. If you
procrastinate too much, then you are depending on the stupidity
of your fellow students and the kindness of your professor."
For Ralph Herrera,
a senior in civil engineering, the strategy for studying for
finals is rather simple.
"Spend a lot of
time on them," Herrera said. "I took off all of next week
to study and Friday too, even though I don't have a final
that day, but just so I can relax."
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