Finals

[kingjames23rulz 0]

With finals next tuesday wednesday adn thursday. Can anyone give me help on ways to prepare? I have been doing a little studying now but will do alot the nights before. Any help? Thanks

[CCC8190 0]

look over previous tests. are you in highschool? usually you'll get a study guide or something.

[BK 0]

I don't like to cram. I take my time and study at least a week ahead. The night before the test, I go over my notes one more time. I have never done that bad on a final.

[Cheesehead 0]

this might sound weird, but go ahead and get started on studying for your last exams. by the night before your last exam/exams, you will not want to study for it. ALso make sure that if you take a language to go ever every chapter.

[kosydar 0]

If you're not given one, make your own study guide. I've found re-reading notes all the way through takes too much time and most of the time you're reading stuff that won't be necessary for the final. Pick out what the core subjects of the class are and focus on that. I'd much rather read a two or three page, condensed study guide a couple times than read through my notes once. If you go to class and pay attention it should be pretty apparent what will and what won't be covered on the final.

[kingjames23rulz 0]

Ya we got study guides. But I need to do good on them due to a slip up early this semester. Our finals are 1/3 of our semester grade. So its basically an extra quarter. I will start studying now and still prolly do as much as I can the night before.

[texanhockey 0]

ya i here ya. semester exams are 20 % here. ive done a little better reading over the study guide right before the test aswell as normal night studying. when i read over it right before the test i tend to catch atleast a couple that i just read. good luck dude

[VECHKIN08 0]

Don't study it's a waste of time. You either know it or you don't. Maybe go over the things you are the least comfortable with, but don't kill yourself studying. I never did and always pretty good...

[kosydar 0]

I've found that to be a pretty true, albeit cocky theory on studying. However, if your final consists of writing essays which you're given beforehand, you're retarded if you don't write a thesis/outline.

[LkptTiger 1]

Don't study it's a waste of time. You either know it or you don't. Maybe go over the things you are the least comfortable with, but don't kill yourself studying. I never did and always pretty good...

English obviously isn't your strong suit.

You didn't/haven't gone to college, have you? I thought the same thing going into my first semester of college, and quickly found out I didn't really know anything about anything in the world of academia. I never took notes or read books in high school and graduated with high honors and as a NHS member. Then I got to college and realized that things were going to be different, whether I liked it or not.

What kind of test is it going to be? What kind of tests have you been taking this semester? My "plan of attack" is usually dependent upon what kind of subject matter is going to be on the exam and what exactly will be asked of you.

Personally, I'm an advocate of going back through my notes and re-writing (or typing) them - maybe even hitting important points two or three times. Flash-cards, however elementary they might seem, are great tools for learning definitions and their respective significances.

[msander 0]

I'm going to second what was just said. The amount of studying you do is completely dependent on what the course(s) is/are, what level of work you're doing, and let's face it, just how quickly/naturally you can grasp material.

For example, in high school, I went to class and maybe studied a little bit before the night of an exam. I finished tops in my class.

In undergraduate university, it was the same type of thing, although I studied a little bit more for midterms and put in long hours in the days leading up to finals exams. I don't know exactly where I finished there, but I think it was in the top 2-3%. With what I'm doing now, things have changed completely. I've started studying a min of 6 hrs/day well over a months ahead of finals, on top of continuing classes and clinic hours, and I still don't think I'm going to be ready. A lot of people have been doing far beyond this.

The reason I point this out, is because nobody can tell you how much or how to study, because it's completely variable person to person. I know people who studied far more then me throughout my entire educational career, and some who studied less, and their results were quite variable.

As far as some advice, if you've taken good notes throughout the semester, or already have good summaries prepared, then I'd focus on those. I like to reread notes, while having ringed pads so I can jot down key facts, ideas, and summarize concepts to myself. Flashcards can be a good idea as well, as often just the time put in to making the cards can be excellent studying. Finally, something that is really helpful, although I'm guilty of not doing it enough, is massive flowcharts and concept maps to link ideas and different things together. Although, as I said earlier, this may not be applicable to what you're doing. Finally, if you can find someone to study with that DOES NOT distract you, it can be very helpful. It a)turns studying into a "competition" so you're motivated to continue working and b)It gives you a source of knowledge to pose questions to and when he/she asks you a question, that's the best way to prove you actually do know something. I've always believed you only really know something when you can explain it to a peer.

Alright, well I'm done studying for the night, and have had my 10 minutes of chill time on here. Good luck and oh, my last piece of advice. Don't spend time on message boards when you should be studying!!!

[Sniper15 0]

Don't study it's a waste of time. You either know it or you don't. Maybe go over the things you are the least comfortable with, but don't kill yourself studying. I never did and always pretty good...

You're obviously in high school. Try that crap in college and let us know how it works out for you champ. Someone up above gave good advice about studying for your last final early because there is no way you will feel like studying as much the night before your last final. I say review the study guides very closely, especially if it's some type of freshman intro class. Almost all of your intro college classes really come down to memorization because no one wants to grade essay test for a class of 300. The more you expose yourself to the material and the more times you read over it the better you will know it. In high school you scan the material the night before and go in and easily do well, in college it comes down to how hard you're willing to work and how much time you're willing to put it. If you really commit yourself to some hard, no distraction studying several days you will know the material. It doesn't really come down to how long you study eiether, it's more how you study. You can study for four hours straight but if during those four hours you have the t.v on, are listening to your Ipod, take a a bunch of breaks, have people talking in the background, etc you won't remember a lot of the material. Two hours of hard studying is better than any amount of studying when you aren't focusing solely on the material.

[LkptTiger 1]

Almost all of your intro college classes really come down to memorization because no one wants to grade essay test for a class of 300.

That's what the TAs are for. Some of the toughest, most extensive exams I've taken in college have been in the classes with 200-300 students.

[godiogo 0]

Paying attention to classes during the semester is the best way to avoid cramming. If you need to catch up because of an earlier slip, I agree with Sniper in that you should space out your studying over the course of a few days, that way you're more likely to 'know' than simply to 'remember'.

[Jason Harris 31]

I preferred to read my notes and maybe the scan the books, reading an occasional paragraph on something I felt less knowledgeable about.

The biggest thing to me was to make sure I went to bed on time. Taking a test on three hours of sleep isn't the best recipe, so figure a way to fit your studying in while leaving time for sleep.

[Sniper15 0]

Almost all of your intro college classes really come down to memorization because no one wants to grade essay test for a class of 300.

That's what the TAs are for. Some of the toughest, most extensive exams I've taken in college have been in the classes with 200-300 students.

You had essay test in classes with 300 plus people?

[kosydar 0]

I have, and they were some of the most meticulously graded tests I've ever taken. It all depends on who your TA (or GTF here at Oregon) is and how dedicated they are.