School First Aid and Panic-Thread: The Horrors of...EXAM WEEK

[LadyHatake]

Now, all college students dread exam week. As far as I know, anyways. I know that to do well on exams, I start studying a whole lot the week before. I start studying for my earliest exam first, and then adding a little bit of studying as each new exam comes closer. I've also found that taking breaks every hour or two helps, and that the best way I retain information is to copy it down over and over. What about everyone else? Any special techniques, or even stories about exam week?

 

[bakashijinsan]

Re: The Horrors of...EXAM WEEK

Aaaah! The dreaded exams!

now I'm not a student anymore but I was till 2 years ago so you could say it is still fresh in me *brrrr*

What I do when exam week is coming is we idle till the night before the exams. YES! We idle! We will not study until it is really time to study! Most of the times, we study starting at 12 MN all the way to an hour before the exams (need to prepare for school so that much time is allotted), and fortunately, I graduated college (though not with flying colors )

It's just us that do this most of the time but we really find it more effective to study for the exams when you're cramming. I know it sounds immature but then it got me through!

And of course there is the usual

Spoiler

Cheating

to get me through when times are tough!

Oh and one special technique that we classmates share:
it's to study together. We always lump together and solve problems one by one. Then if someone doesn't know how to do it, we help that person get it (by smacking at him the solution nah!). It's easier if someone at your level teaches you the lesson. Especially advanced mathematics. And yeah! We do this the night before exams so we are still cramming.

 

[PaperYomiko]

Re: The Horrors of...EXAM WEEK

The most important thing for me during finals is to get back onto a normal, healthy schedule. During the regular semester, I get into really bad sleeping, eating, and exercising habits - basically, not sleeping enough, not eating well, and not exercising regularly - and that really affects my stress and concentration levels. If I can be relaxed, well rested, and well fed, then studying efficiently comes pretty easily to me. Or writing efficiently, since in my case, I'm writing more papers than taking exams.

I've also found, since first taking exams in high school, that if I pay attention throughout the semester and put in real effort and interest (as much as possible) in what I'm studying, then the exams really aren't much of a problem. My final exams have almost always reflected the work I did during the semester, so cram sessions have never really meant much to me. If I've had a good handle on the course during the semester, I don't usually worry too much about studying, besides just reviewing.

The other really important thing to remember during finals is to give yourself a break once in a while ^^ No need to constantly be studying...give yourself some time to go for a walk, watch a movie, read a few manga chapters, or get a coffee with some friends. I usually reserve an anime for finals week, and let myself watch two episodes at a time for breaks, and have a good novel to read before bed, so that my mind can relax a bit as well

 

[rhapsody blue]

Re: The Horrors of...EXAM WEEK

like everyone has mentioned earlier, routine is key. i usually studied for a subject in advance and do practice tests the night before the exam. i took breaks after reading all of my notes by either going on mh, working out (i always bring my notes to read when i run on the elliptical), or watching tv. in addition to that, i talked to my friends who had taken the class before to get an idea on how the final is like.

during finals, i get really stressed out and eat a lot. because i know this, i usually try to have some healthy food around so i won't be binging on junk food. sleep is also essential so i try to get at least seven hours of sleep. after i take a final, i hang out with friends to destress before i start studying for the next one.

 

[gdupninja]

Re: The Horrors of...EXAM WEEK

Im still in high school so Exam week is not a big deal to me. Ive never studied for a final or any other test besides the one for my drivers permit. Ive only failed one final and it did not drop my grade. Exams can be very boring though cuz once your done you have to sit there and wait for everyone else to finish. Well at least you can look over your answers in that time period but I usually dont.

 

[rhapsody blue]

Re: The Horrors of...EXAM WEEK

Im still in high school so Exam week is not a big deal to me. Ive never studied for a final or any other test besides the one for my drivers permit. Ive only failed one final and it did not drop my grade. Exams can be very boring though cuz once your done you have to sit there and wait for everyone else to finish. Well at least you can look over your answers in that time period but I usually dont.

oh i remember how in high school, i could get away with studying the night before. now in college i have to prepare a week in advance for a test (final or not)

 

[gdupninja]

Re: The Horrors of...EXAM WEEK

Yeah so I heard. College is much, much harder than High school so im gonna have to change my habits in a few years. How long are the tests in college? Ours are like 2 hours.

 

[rhapsody blue]

Re: The Horrors of...EXAM WEEK

at my university, we have two hours to take an exam but not all of them take the entire time. some professors are nice and let you stay past the two hours but most do not. we have to sit every other seat and most of the exams are scantron but i believe the upper level courses are all short answers/essays

 

[LadyHatake]

Re: The Horrors of...EXAM WEEK

So far, most of my exams/tests were fairly short. Which can also be a bad thing, since missing a few question drops your grade a whole lot >.> The longest exam so far was my Intro to Exercise Science exam and it took me about 1.5 hours. It was hard, but I apparently did well =D My shortest exam was my bio final, it took me only 20 minutes and I still got a 96% XD

 

[Gold Knight]

Re: The Horrors of...EXAM WEEK

Most of the time I wait until 3 days before an exam and that's usually enough for me. Unfortunately that didn't help during finals week when I had 4 exams in two days my last semester. 3 art history exams on the same day. Didn't help that they were Chinese, Japanese, and African Art History exams, either...! I ended up having to study all week at the coffee bar (not far from the campus library) because I knew I had to put in more study than sleep that week. I finally only allowed myself to take a nap about 4 hours before exams. It paid off though, but it wasn't one of the easiest weeks I ever had x__X

I wasn't bad at taking exams though, the only one I didn't do well on was a Western Art History midterm when I mistook a little part of the Parthenon slide for something else entirely and I did an essay question on it that ended up, of course, being totally the wrong answer. That was the only class I got a C in my entire college career, mostly due to that gaffe -_-

So now whenever everybody mentions the Parthenon or I see it, I'm like, "Damn Parthenon!" xD

 

[Stiluz]

Re: The Horrors of...EXAM WEEK

Humm, I guess I've always crammed in college. It's usually 1 week of studying per exam, where I stress (I need to have the pressure on me, or else my work moral is weak >_<). So the last weeks before my three exams this year ended in mostly stressed out cramming of many books. If I've paid attention to lectures etc. it usually pays off, though I don't know how my last two exams went yet, but I did get a B in my Method/Statistics class. I wonder about the other two... =/ I tell myself at the start of each semester that "this year I'll study with routine", but I never end up doing it, heh. Maybe in 08?

 

[Smartpal]

Re: The Horrors of...EXAM WEEK

I'm in high school but here in India the syallabus is gigantic and the exams are really freakin tough..so I try to be as regular as I can and avoid cramming it all up at the last moment.

 

[Bling]

Re: The Horrors of...EXAM WEEK

Well what i do and seems to work is the following: Start reading 4days to one week before the exam week (depending on the schedule of each exam). Study for 1 hour to 1.30hours and take a break of 15 to 30 mins each time. Breakfast lunch and dinner is vital. drink alot of orange juice and while studying some chocolate is good. Now never overdo it like stay awake until the sun rises (and u've been studying before sunset). its not good cause 1) you brain can only gather a certain amount of information which slowly degrades as time goes by and also how tired you are 2) you will be a walking corpse sooo thats not cool. So as you might have already understood sleeping well 5 to 8 hours is vital (i usually sleep 4 to 5 so thats why im mentioning 5 to 8 sounds more normal i think). Try not to waste time on the computer it will make you forget most of things +time goes by really fast when watching anime=.= or reading manga...sooo yea...Ehm back to topic. Try when you copied everything to start making notes out of what you have copied and then read the notes. Hm hm..thats basically what im doing. BUT! never forget what is most important is the following: Last day of exam week when u have finished with the last exam go out with your friends to a pub/bar/club and get properly drunk and then party like crazy:. Thats pretty much it.

 

[mrcongojack]

Re: The Horrors of...EXAM WEEK

I've never really worried too much of exams. I might review my notes the night before for an hour or so, but I don't do much else. Actually, I have always thought that cramming is counterproductive. Staying up into the wee hours of the morning trying to memorize facts is just going to leave you tired and confused.

 

[joshie0808]

Re: The Horrors of...EXAM WEEK

Yes copying stuff and rewriting stuff definitely helps for me.
Also, to ease the stress of exam week, about a month in advance, i start looking back at the things taught during the beginning weeks, and several weeks in, i do small 'review nights' on days where i'm not too busy or i dont have homework.

So when the week before exam week comes around, a short review is usually enough to refresh in my mind everything i've learned. Spreading stuff out is the way to go.. cramming.. i tend to get more nervous.. lose sleep.. and make more careless mistakes.

Not sure what faculty your in, but im in engineering.. mostly math/physics/engg stuff. So no english or history memorization. If i dont get a concept, i try to get friends/TA's to teach me, and then i practice the method over and over again. Doing multiple types of the same problem helps as you become more familiar with all the ways they can throw a concept at you. Also, straight memorization = bad, because understanding the concept helps you be much more flexible with the way you think and approach a problem.. tho it always can be used as a last resort xD

Yeah so I heard. College is much, much harder than High school so im gonna have to change my habits in a few years. How long are the tests in college? Ours are like 2 hours.

Exams for me vary quite a bit.
My chemistry final was out of 110 marks, all short/long answer. (3hrs)
My Engg final was only 4 questions.. still took me the entire exam period and I could barely finish 3 and a half. (2hrs)

The tests are much harder i would say, but you just have to work hard to stay ahead of the curve. Like for our math course, everyone does so bad (because they make the tests super hard for some reason) that last year, they lowered the passing average to 30 some percent. Just make sure you do better than most ppl :P

 

[Gr1mmy]

Re: The Horrors of...EXAM WEEK

My exam week is great. XD

Let's see... I have either two hour or four hour school days. I'm allowed to leave whenever my exams are over. And it's followed by a five day weekend, yeah XDD

I feel sorry for everyone else...

 

[gdupninja]

Re: The Horrors of...EXAM WEEK

Yep we got a five day weekend after exams too. There are like 2 teacher planning days and Martin luther Kings birthday.

 

[Gr1mmy]

Re: The Horrors of...EXAM WEEK

Well for us. Friday is a make up day.

And Tuesday is the... Professional day.

 

[gdupninja]

Re: The Horrors of...EXAM WEEK

Yeah we got something like that too. The only hard exam will be my Algebra 2 test cuz I hate math!
Marketing will be easy, same thing with Creative Writing 3.

 

[LadyHatake]

Re: The Horrors of...EXAM WEEK

Ah, I conquered all of my midterms with the power of studying and bullshitting =) How about everyone else?