Tips for Surviving Exam Week

If you are like most college students, you dread exam weeks. Personally, I do not know a single person that actually likes taking exams or grows excited for a long week of studying and exams. However, despite popular belief, it is possible to survive exam week and move on with your life. Here are a few things to consider as your exam week approaches.

1) Start preparing sooner rather than later.

Do not wait until the day before, or even the weekend before the exam to start studying. If possible, start reviewing text books and notes as much as a week before the exam. This will help make sure you remember what you actually did learn in class at the beginning of the term. In addition, when exam week comes and you all of a sudden have three exams in the next three days, your stress level will not be quite as high.

2) Sleep as if it were any other week.

Often times you hear stories of students pulling "all-nighters" to get their studying done, sometimes studying right up until it is time for the exam. The result of staying up all night studying, however, can actually cause you to do worse that if you had not even studied. The body will feel drowsier and recalling information you studied will be harder.

3) Go to the gym and exercise.

If you are a basketball enthusiast, find some friends and go to the gym and play a couple pickup games of basketball. If running is more your style, put on your headphones and go out for a jog. Exercise is a good way to escape from wherever you study at and it provides a way to clear your mind of Astrophysics, or whatever you happen to be studying and it allows you to relax. I have found that if I take a break and go to the gym, I come back more mentally prepared to study than when I left.

4) Study with a group.

Did you miss a lecture? Not quite sure what some sections of the book were talking about? Meeting with a group of classmates can often solve these problems. Rather than being hunched over a book by yourself, this allows you to talk to your peers-perhaps some of them are having the same issues a you are, or maybe you know the answer to their question.

Exam week may seem intimidating or stressful, but it is a week that, if you can manage it, can help secure good grades for you in your classes. In addition, many students have developed their own "Exam Week Survival Plan", so see what works best for you and stick with it!