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It’s no secret that exam season can be incredibly stressful for students – there’s a reason so many middle-aged professionals still have anxiety dreams about finals! Balancing school, studying, jobs, friends, relationships and just, ‘life’, alongside the expectations of ourselves and our loved ones, can be a lot to manage.   
 

To relieve some of the pressure this year, our Team at The 44 North has pulled together a few tips to help you ‘study smarter’ and navigate exam season– we hope you find a suggestion or two make your journey a little smoother!

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“I'd find a private room on campus with a massive whiteboard (a high school classroom would work too), and create a huge map of all the material I needed to study or remember from one class at a time. I found it really helpful to have everything in one place. I'd fill the board, take a pic, and save it on my phone/computer to zoom into & highlight/annotate, etc. later. So I'd basically end up with 4-6 "white board pages" (one for each class) to review! As a digital alternative, Figma is great. While doing this I'd bring snacks, drinks, lip chap, lotion, a blanket, sometimes a yoga mat, etc. But one of the things I love about big white boards is that it's handwriting + a bit of exercise, which is an awesome study combo!”

 

– Mikaela 

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“My exam season tip is to get lots of sleep! Too often university students are doing late night cramming sessions and not getting a good night's rest which makes it much harder to learn and retain information. As tempting as it is, the best thing you can do for your brain is to get a solid 8 hour's sleep.”

 

– Emma
 

 

“A tip I would have is to rewrite things with a pencil rather than on a laptop — writing with a pencil actually helps you process the words and terminology even more than writing fast on a laptop does.”

 

“I would also say to set a timer every 3 hours as your brain can’t work 7+ hours at a time. Aka why it isn’t good to cramp material in before a test. Stick to a 3 hour limit and then take a break and then go back to it again later. Your brain works well with physical rest, not just at night but during the day! “

 

– Helena
 

 

“Study consistently throughout the semester, every day, so your studying is review instead of learning. “

 

“Another thing, if you can't explain a concept or definition in one sentence then you don't know it.”

 

“For math/science, do practice questions until you can do every question of that type regardless of how it is written or what permutation it appears.”

 

“Ask your teachers for help with anything you don't understand. If you don't understand your teacher's explanation, ask another teacher in the same subject area or a friend (or ChatGPT or YouTube).”

 

“Everything you learn, try to connect it to a real-world example of its application. This helps learning stick, but also supports how one approaches short answer and essay questions (because you've already come up with examples!).”

 

“Go over old tests and quizzes and homework from the semester. Most exam questions are rewritten examples of things you've already done. If you spent a lot of time on it in class, it will likely be on the exam.”

 

– Asante

 

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“Teach it to learn it–teaching a concept requires you to have a deeper understanding and to be able to explain it clearly and answer questions.  So, find and audience, a friend, a grandparent, or your dog, and teach it.” 

 

“Ask for help when you need it,  the earlier the better. For those of us with the ‘I-can-do-it-all-by-myself’ gene, sometimes asking for help can feel like a personal failure.  But trust me–the smartest, most successful students (and people), are doing this all the time.” 
 

“To prepare for essay questions, practice writing under pressure.   Create a simulated environment where you time yourself and write an essay or a long form answer. Make sure to add some annoying distractions so you learn how to block out the noise and focus.  There is a huge practice effect to taking exams, and handling pressure is a skill that can be learned and improved.” 

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–Gillian

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Some final thoughts: remember that you’re prepping for a marathon, not a sprint.  Develop an exam  ‘training’ plan that’s starts early and includes prioritizing rest, recovery, mental health and nutrition as well as study sessions.   You got this! 

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