Students are certainly feeling the pressure right now with finals on their way. For seniors and freshman alike, a week full of tests can be incredibly daunting. Here, we have the Top 5 tips for studying for your upcoming finals.
- Reviewing your old notes from the first semester
Liam Brightling (10) reviews old notes for AP Music Theory.
Time has certainly passed since the beginning of the year (oh don’t you miss when there was so much less homework?) and those pesky beginning units have likely slipped your mind. Going into your Google Drive or digging through the bottom of your backpack to find old notes of yours from months ago may help. Reviewing previous units may spark your memory about content you’ve forgotten, which might come back to haunt you when you go to take your final.
- Attend study groups offered by your peers or teachers
During the time leading up to AP tests, students or teachers will often plan to get together after school or on the weekends to study together. Ask your teachers or fellow students if they are planning to study together, and attend if you can. Although it may be annoying to go out of your way to spend extra personal time studying, your teachers and other students can help you understand things you may not, and you get the chance to help other people too!
- Organize what you know and what you don’t.
Studying can be hard if you aren’t entirely sure what to cover. Making an organizer and what you understand, kind of get, and really don’t know can help you. Do you remember anything about Unit 4? Mark it down so you can get your priorities straight while you study. You can also look at any review packets to check what the test will cover, and you can organize those categories into what you know and don’t.
- Online practice tests or flashcards
Although they may not reflect what your actual test will look like, online tests and flashcards can help you prepare, and get a good idea of what you may have forgotten. They will likely have vocab, dates, or little bits of information that may come in handy. You can also make your own flashcards, but those don’t have the benefit of being able to catch you off guard with something you don’t remember at all.
- Youtube video guides
Silas DeGeorge (11) studies hard for Calculus using flashcards borrowed from Ms. Reynolds.
For every class and subject, there are likely all kinds of YouTube videos covering curriculum. Heimler’s History is a great resource for anyone in a history class even though he primarily focuses on AP and those tests have passed, but Crash Course with Hank Green is a wonderful place to start looking if you don’t know of any specialized channels to your course. This is good because people online will teach in a different way than your teacher does, so if you didn’t catch something the first time around, you might understand it better when it is explained in a different way.
Remember to take care of yourself when studying, and remember that this semester has been preparing you for your finals! You are not walking into this test empty handed. Get lots of rest, and good luck!