Study-Cramming: 3 Paths to Success

By Lev Novak

College is a wonderful time for parties, adventures, and, occasionally, classes.

Sometimes, though, classes take priority.

Every now and then- say, around the middle and ends of terms- you’ll find yourself caring about class more than you ever expected. Parties? Impossible. This is school– you came to learn. Well, for a week at least- a desperate, miserable week.

I’m not going to tell you not to cram. You’re going to do what you’re going to do. But when you do, here are your options.

1. “Connect-The-Dots”

This strategy works best for complicated philosophy or history classes, with in-class essays.

What you do is memorize two or three important facts- deeply memorize and understand them as a constant idea. You should truly read and be able to talk intelligently about them.

Ignore everything else.

The plan is to bluff your way on half-remembered facts and basic gibberish in your essay before swinging, no matter what, to the stuff you truly memorized. Let’s say your class was about China, Korea and Japan, and you only studied Korea. In this strategy you have a one in three chance of getting really lucky, and even if it’s the other two you can “compare and contrast” doing your absolute best to focus only on your strengths.

2. The “Spider Sense”

This strategy works best for tests with multiple choices, like intro classes in a Science you skipped, like, all the time.

The “spider sense” strategy is to study everything…very, very vaguely. You have no specific focus, but you give everything a once over. The risk here is that everything blends into mush- and that risk is very, very real- but the upside is that, if you’re close enough, your spider-sense will guide you to an undeserved A.

Quick! What’s the second-planet in the solar system? If you took the “connect the dots” strategy you’d have no hope, but with spider sense, you can sort them through…it’s definitely not earth, and Mars is cold…right? Saturn has rings, and if they were hot, they’d melt…or something. Would they? Maybe they’re ice… Something’s ice…ah, screw it- Mercury? That’s a thing in a thermometer at least.

It is Mercury, and with your Spider Sense, you were able to vaguely feel your way to that direction. None of your reasonings were solid, but they got the job done.

3. The “Survivalist’

This strategy works best for math and science tests without multiple choices. Be warned, though- it is not for the faint of heart.

The “survivalist” is a bold person, one that laughs at the prospect of failing. This is part of why they’re in such a cram-predicament. But they’ve gotten out of this before. Somewhere between genius and luck comes the Survivalist, who knows all they need are the formulas.

That’s it; memorize every formula. *Not* when they’re used, *don’t* practice problems, *don’t* waste time for tips and tricks or drills. Nothing but sweet memorization. Because you don’t know this. But when the lights are on and the test is handed out, its going to be gibberish, except, crammed deep in your head, is every tool you’ll need.

You don’t know how to use them. You don’t know where to use them, or even when. This is a pile of insanity. But, deep in your head, is every formula you’ve used all class. Technically, all you need to do is scrawl them down instantly and decipher this code down with a time limit.

Yeah, it’s intense. But if you wanted a sure thing, you’d have studied all year. Some things are worse than intensity.

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