By Managing Editor: Amber Lee Carnahan
Winter Break has come to a close, and the four surprise snow days have left many Howell High students in a panic concerning the midterm exams scheduled for January 14 through 17. While many hope these exams will be pushed back, it has already been confirmed by principal Jason Schrock that the dates will remain the same. To help get through what will be very stressful days for many students, here are some helpful tips for studying for the exams.
“Schedule ahead of time when you are going to study,” says HHS senior, Grace Precord. “Also, provide yourself with food while studying.”
Get Organized.
First, try prioritizing what you need to study. If you are having more trouble in a certain class, set more time aside to study that class’s material. Additionally, organizing your notes throughout the school year will make it easier to study later on. Notes are more useful when they are organized into easily accessible sections. Try using highlighters or dividing tabs to distinguish important information or topics you don’t understand as well.
“Take good notes and put in the work the first time,” says senior Grace Katalinich. “If you take your time and understand the material when you’re learning it, you really won’t have to study for exams.”
Refresh your Knowledge.
For those students who tend to fall into the method of cramming, studying the exam topic the night before the test will help you remember more on a short-term basis. However, to get the full experience out of learned information, it is more beneficial to study constantly throughout the school year by reading through old notes for a couple minutes each day and adding in new information.
“Study the topic the night before the exam topic helps,” advises senior Rowan Clark. “If you study 24 hours before the exam, you’ll remember more.”
Cram, if Necessary.
The way our exam schedules are designed make a cramming strategy possible. By studying the night before the two subjects that you’ll be tested on the next day, it will help make the information fresher in your memory. Also, try shortening your notes on each topic to one piece of paper and bring it with you to school on the day of the exam. You can use the notes to quickly go over the information during the review portion of the test.
“Speaking from the perspective of psychology, the information studied in the hour before sleep, but NOT right before you fall asleep, is remembered the best,” says Katalinich. “Speaking from personal experience, study in the hours when you’re most awake, whether that’s the afternoon, the evening, or the wee hours of the morning. Sleep at the other times.”
Get a Full Eight Hours of Sleep.
You should try to sleep well the night before exams. Staying up late may seem necessary to cram all the necessary information into your brain, but losing precious hours of sleep is bad for your health and can negatively affect your test scores. By getting a full eight hours of sleep, you give your brain a chance to rest and reset, which has shown useful for exams. Also, make sure you eat a healthy breakfast. Low blood sugar could make you tired and slower during an exam. Plus, you don’t want to be that person whose stomach growls throughout the entire test.
“Study hard. And even if you think you’ve got it, don’t blow it off and assume you’ve got it,” says senior Danielle Campbell. “Oh, and don’t procrastinate!”
Don’t Procrastinate and Don’t be Lazy.
Don’t assume you know all there is to know. Even if it is to just test yourself, make sure you study for each test. Also, don’t put off until the last moment. Procrastinating will only cause more work to pile up. If you stick to a schedule and be responsible with your studying, you have a better chance of doing well on your exams.
I wish you the best of luck in your future academic endeavors. Study long and prosper, and may the exams be ever in your favor.
