Many college students don’t dedicate the right amount of time toward maximizing their studying. As we mentioned before, cramming and pulling “all-nighters” is still a fact of life on most college campuses. These types of sessions increase stress levels and don’t always lead to the best performances.

Learning how to study can be the best way to manage your time and leave a little left over for some parties and/or relaxation. Here are some tips to consider:

1. Identify your "Best Time" for Studying: Everyone has high and low periods of attention and concentration. Are you a "morning person" or a "night person"? Use your power times to study; use the down times for routines such as laundry and errands.
   
   
2. Study Difficult Subjects First: When you are fresh, you can process information more quickly and save time as a result.
   
   
3. Use Distributed Learning and Practice: Study in shorter time blocks with short breaks between. This keeps you from getting fatigued and "wasting time." This type of studying is efficient because while you are taking a break, the brain is still processing the information.
   
   
4. Make Sure the Surroundings are Conducive to Studying: This will allow you to reduce distractions which can "waste time." If there are times in the residence halls or your apartment when you know there will be noise and commotion, use that time for mindless tasks.
   
   
5. Make Room for Entertainment and Relaxation: College is more than studying. You need to have a social life, yet, you need to have a balance in your life.
   
   
6. Make Sure you Have Time to Sleep and Eat Properly: Sleep is often an activity (or lack of activity) that students use as their time management "bank." When they need a few extra hours for studying or socializing, they withdraw a few hours of sleep. Doing this makes the time they spend studying less effective because they will need a couple hours of clock time to get an hour of productive time. This is not a good way to manage yourself in relation to time.

FLASHCARDS

Flashcards are a gift from above to all students who have those classes that seem to revolve around definitions, dates, or memorizing equations. If you’re really smart, while reading material, you will take the time to copy definitions or important acts onto a 3” x 5” index card. When you finish the chapter, you should have a little stack of compact information that will prove to be invaluable.

Don’t try to copy everything down. Concentrate on the major points that you’ll need to remember come test time. The simple act of writing down the information will make your brain start to think about the new information and retain it easier.

When you look back over the cards, you might be surprised that you can remember some of what you just wrote down before even studying it. Keep making cards for the new material you read and/or get in class lecture. When test time comes, you won’t have to waste your time going back through notes and books trying to sift the important information away from the filler. You’ve already assembled all of the material you need to study, and in most cases, it will fit right into your pocket!  Sure beats hauling around a textbook!

Sit down two or three days before an exam and go through your flashcards. Try to reproduce all of the definitions – either by saying them out loud or writing them down. Writing takes longer to do, but you will remember them faster if you have to write them in most cases, thus saving you time in the long run.

If you get a card right put a tally mark in the corner. When you have three to five tally marks on a card (depending on how well you think you need to know the material), then you can be pretty certain you know your stuff. Soon the cards you know readily will be marked up with tally marks, and the ones that are tricky will be left. Study these extra hard, and when all of your beautiful flashcards are covered with tally marks, you're finished. Prepare to collect your A.

The night before the test arrives, your companions are sifting through notes, books, copies of overheads, etc., but you calmly reach for your flashcards and review stuff that you already knew two days ago. Maybe you've forgotten some, no problem. Review them a couple more times, slap down some more tally marks when you get them right, and again, you're finished.

 And guess what? Eighteen months down the line you're going to have a final. One of the most difficult things about studying for finals is that you have to gather all of the information for the entire semester so that you can study it. Some people spend all week copying old notes, reviewing book material, etc., just to GET READY to study for exams.

But, if you've been making flashcards and keeping them, you should have a convenient little pile of things you should know. You don't have to spend time sifting through an entire semester of information because you've been doing that already, one day at a time. You're ready to study.

Plus, you can have your flashcards with you at all times so you can take advantage of stolen time – waiting in lines, waiting to see the doctor, waiting for your Starbucks. Maximizing down time with flashcards makes tedious studying much, much easier.

Reading that Microeconomics textbook isn’t the most interesting thing on your to do list. We know that. There is an effective technique you can use while reading, though, that will help maximize what you get out of the material. It may seem complicated at first, but once you get into the habit of doing it, you’ll notice a change in how you study.

This technique is called SQ3R – survey, question, read, recite, review. It is a proven way to sharpen your study skills. Here’s how it works:

Survey - get the best overall picture of what you're going to study before you study it in any detail. It's like looking at a road map before going on a trip. If you don't know the territory, studying a map is the best way to begin.

Question - ask questions for learning. The important things to learn are usually answers to questions. Questions should lead to emphasis on the what, why, how, when, who and where of study content.

Ask yourself questions as you read or study. As you answer them, you will help to make sense of the material and remember it more easily because the process will make an impression on you. Those things that make impressions are more meaningful, and therefore more easily remembered. Don't be afraid to write your questions in the margins of textbooks, on lecture notes, or wherever it makes sense.

Read -Reading is NOT running your eyes over a textbook. When you read, read actively. Read to answer questions you have asked yourself or questions the instructor or author has asked. Always be alert to bold or italicized print. The authors intend that this material receive special emphasis. Also, when you read, be sure to read everything, including tables, graphs and illustrations. Often times tables, graphs and illustrations can convey an idea more powerfully than written text.

Recite - When you recite, you stop reading periodically to recall what you have read. Try to recall main headings, important ideas of concepts presented in bold or italicized type, and what graphs charts or illustrations indicate. Try to develop an overall concept of what you have read in your own words and thoughts. Try to connect things you have just read to things you already know. When you do this periodically, the chances are you will remember much more and be able to recall material for papers, essays and objective tests.

Review - A review is a survey of what you have covered. It is a review of what you are supposed to accomplish not what you are going to do. Rereading is an important part of the review process. Reread with the idea that you are measuring what you have gained from the process.

During review, it's a good time to go over notes you have taken to help clarify points you may have missed or don't understand.The best time to review is when you have just finished studying something. Don't wait until just before an examination to begin the review process. Before an examination, do a final review. If you manage your time, the final review can thought of as a "fine-tuning" of your knowledge of the material.

Learn to keep notes logically and legibly. Remember, if you can't read your own writing a few days after taking notes, they are of little use. By all accounts, the best place to keep notes is in a loose-leaf notebook. Use dividers to separate the different classes you take. Make it a habit of using your notebook to record ALL your notes.

If you're caught without your notebook and need to take notes, always have a supply of loose-leaf paper with you. Insert your notepapers into the notebook as soon as you can. Be sure to buy a good notebook, as it will get a lot of wear and tear.

Now that we’ve got studying covered, let’s look at another huge aspect of college life – paying the bills and finding the money to do so!

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