10 Tips to Ace Your College Finals

By Miranda Darling

College finals can feel like the ultimate challenge. Many students stumble because they don’t realize the amount of work and studying it takes to do well on such a comprehensive exam.

Once you know what it takes, though, then it comes down to efficiency and effectiveness–how can you study smarter and better to get the best possible grade?

Here are some tips to help you ace your finals:

1. Take advantage of office hours

Many students do not attend the office hours held by a professor or TA even once. This is a mistake. While many students feel they must show up with a bunch of questions, which is fine, this is not necessary. One-on-one tutoring is a powerful way to study. There’s no better person to study with in the entire world than the person making/grading the exam!

2. Do problems first, and then read

Do not fall into the common trap of spending all your time reading and no time practicing problems. Instead, try to practice first and go back and read the ones you have trouble with. You do not want to accumulate knowledge without being able to apply it. More often than not, exams will require application rather than simply regurgitating memorized facts.

Learn by doing–it helps!

3. Get the right study buddy

Study with someone who will be able to answer questions or help you understand the material you don’t yet fully understand. This will save a ton of time wasted on looking up answers or trying to figure it out on your own. Other people will also help you be more accountable and you can share your knowledge with them, helping reinforce the information and concepts in your brain.

If it is too difficult to meet in person, create a Google doc to add notes to and share it with them.

4. Teach it to somebody

Teaching is a very effective way to cement your knowledge of the material. As Einstein famously said, “He who cannot explain it simply does not understand it.”

Use a study partner, roommate, or random passerby as your student. Teach them the concepts you’re learning and explain how they work together, what the terms mean, or why it’s important. Have them ask you questions–it’s like a mini pre-quiz.

5. Take breaks by studying for different tests at the same time if you have more than one

Taking breaks has its benefits, which include being more productive. Trying to cram an entire semester of statistics into a single, 10-hour study session is a recipe for brain soup.

So break it up, take some time off, switch subjects, and stay productive.

6. Don’t shy away from the hard questions

Your main goal should be to know more than everyone else! Focus on the hard questions that others will shy away from. Plus if you can solve a harder question you’re more likely to get the easier ones too.

7. Try different methods of studying

People always make a huge deal about how they study best. Unless you already know 100 percent what does and doesn’t work for you, change it up! Try different methods for a small period of time each and continue the ones that seem most effective for the specific topic.

Maybe you should just sit and read, or perhaps you need to take notes to solidify the idea in your brain. You can even try talking through things aloud to help you remember.

8. Talk to yourself in the mirror

Review in your head what you know. If you can talk about it without anything in front of you, you definitely know it. And if there’s something you can’t talk about, then you set your alarm a little bit earlier the next day to review.

9. Do a memory dump

When you get your final exam in your hand, turn it over and write down all the important formulas and details you had to memorize for the test to refer to later. Now you have a single place to refer to all of the formulas and they won’t get mixed up in your mind by the content of the test itself.

This memory dump has been shown to be an effective test-taking technique.

10. Get enough food and sleep the night before

Do not stay up all night cramming. Research has shown that a lack of REM sleep impairs short-term memory and cognitive functioning. Why stay up late studying if you will have trouble remembering any of it? Be sure to eat a good breakfast and show up to the final completely comfortable and ready to rock.

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