How do you study for back-to-back exams?

[FailureInLife]

I asked this question last year.

[lolelol]

for example, two exams on the same day, or one exam a day consecutively for 3-4 days.

 

i failed miserably last semester (my finals) when I had this kind of arrangement... all my finals were within a span of 1 week, and i did horribly (compared to what i usually do) because there's simply no time to study.

 

unfortunately, it happened to me again with the midterms... physics midterm, one day rest, calculus midterm + chemistry midterm (one in morning one in afternoon), then the next day (evening) is my biology midterm.

 

obviously i will be studying every chance i get beforehand, but i find that i always need at least a day of PURE studying of one subject to get it fresh in my head before the exam

 

how do you guys do it?

 

1. Drop out of current university

2. Attend york university next term

3. realize that it's you

4. permanently drop out.

[cleverusername]

Space your studies out better.

[markov79]

there's usually time you can cut out of your sched when exams roll around. i usually just start 1.5-2 times as early as i would for a single exam... haha. if that can't be done then i'm kinda sol. but i usually have my sched known beforehand... haha. so i just plan accordingly.

[cleverusername]

but i forget everything unless i have 1 full day to review (again) for that exam... or am i just not studying enough beforehand?

i liked your post before you edited it...

 

but yeah, york is one joke of a school, if it can even be called a school

 

 

Your study strategy may not be geared towards long term leraning. There are ways of improving that though. Google it.

 

 

I editted the post because I didn't think starting a debate about York's merits was worthwhile.

[Intrepid86]

but i forget everything unless i have 1 full day to review (again) for that exam...

 

 

If you've been studying throughout the semester, then you shouldn't need a full day to review anything. Just before the exam week(s), the most important things should already be in your long term memory. Feeling like you're forgetting everything is a sign of cramming.

[Birdy]

I start my review by going over the oldest material two weeks before, just to refresh, and go over it every night leading up to the day before the midterm/exam.

 

But, I don't review the material less than 24 hours before the test. You actually retain less by studying right before, and spending a whole day going over the material will typically use overwhelm you and you won't recall most of what you reviewed.

 

If you spend two weeks going over everything, you will know it, and you have time to address any areas where your comprehension isn't good. Taking time to process the information, take a break from it then revisit it after you've had time to think, it works.

[bpatient]

I am at a point now where I realize everything I learned the past few years has been done through cramming, so I've retained nothing. It works well for getting the grade, but not long term learning. I would make like cram/review sheets and study of that then forget everything right after the exam.

[NutritionRunner]

I start my review by going over the oldest material two weeks before, just to refresh, and go over it every night leading up to the day before the midterm/exam.

 

But, I don't review the material less than 24 hours before the test. You actually retain less by studying right before, and spending a whole day going over the material will typically use overwhelm you and you won't recall most of what you reviewed.

 

If you spend two weeks going over everything, you will know it, and you have time to address any areas where your comprehension isn't good. Taking time to process the information, take a break from it then revisit it after you've had time to think, it works.

 

This is pretty much what I do as well. I study a little bit all semester long. I've found that I can't cram - I don't retain anything that way.