For the back-to-schoolers

For the first time in 18 years, I will not be going to school in the fall. Now, while I'm excited some aspects of this (I can read books I want to, not have to; no constant worry of impending assignments; no homework) there are a lot of things I will really miss. This shouldn't surprise anyone who knows me very well, I'm kind of obsessed with learning and school is just such a fantastic place to do that. So I thought to honor my school memories, and to give a little help to my friends, I would give you some of the quick and easy study tips I learned in my time at BYU. I got about an A- average in my 5 years there so...they work. ;)

Note Taking

1.  Take them. :) Getting notes from someone else is never as effective as having been there yourself. 
2. Make acronyms and abbreviations so you can take notes faster. If the teacher talks about the Cold War all the time or uses the word "perspective" a lot, use CW and persp. to make your notes go quicker. 
3. Find a note format that works for you. I use the outline method  that I learned in AP European History in 10th grade. Works great for me!
4. To make class more fun: write down the funny things professors/students/TA's say so when you go over your notes later there is some joy in your life. 

Reading

Some classes have more reading than others. I was never one to skim the reading. So if you want to do that, power to you, some people can do it effectively. Not me. But here are some of my reading tips. 

1. Highlight things! I like to color code my reading to coordinate with my notes. 
2. Write things! I know you want to sell that book back but if this is a class you legitimately want to do well and learn in, that book better look used by the end of the semester. When I saw a point that reminded me of something said in class, I wrote that. Then your brain is connecting the reading and the lectures, they aren't two separate entities. 
3. Quick reviews of your reading (the highlighted portions, the written things especially) periodically will, like reviewing your notes, help retention quite a bit. 

Review

1. Directly after your class, maybe on your way to your next class or in that awkward two minutes before class starts and you're not talking to anyone because you don't have friends in the class (oh wait, was that just me?) quickly read through the notes you just took. You don't have to read every word, just refresh your mind. If you do this, retention of your information skyrockets. 
2. That night, read through your notes from the day. At this point you'll want to do a few things
1. highlight important points (in fact, I liked to use multi-colored highlighters and color code my notes, so people were pink and dates were blue, etc.)
2. Use that blank margin you've never noticed before to clarify things. As you read through your notes, you may notice there are some things in the lecture that you didn't write down because you didn't have time or you wrote some completely illegible or confusing about the Periodic Table of Elements. Make any clarifying or additional points in the margin. This is one of the reasons it is crucial you do this review the same day as taking the notes, so the lecture is still fairly fresh in your mind. 
3. If you have any specific learning style that you know of, find a way to use it here! I had a friend who was very visual, so she would draw pictures representing her lecture points and put them on the wall. I am kinesthetic, so writing out note cards with definitions was useful for me. 
3. At the end of every week (really though, Saturday morning is a great time to do this. Your roommates are asleep and the apartment is quiet and then you're totally ready to enjoy your weekend) do a fairly quick review of all the notes you have taken in the class so far. If you are doing this the right way, by mid-semester you'll barely be glancing at notes from the first week because you basically have them memorized. Guarantee. 

Test time?

If you've been reviewing your notes like this all semester, your studying is basically finished. You're welcome. But here are some study tips I like to employ if my review tactics have been lagging or the class is especially difficult. 

1. Fill out the study guide personally. Even though google docs is a great invention and loved by college students everywhere, nothing beats going through that sucker for yourself. I had a particularly difficult professor and I went through all of his study guides personally, defining each term, etc., by myself, by hand (because I'm a kinesthetic learner). I would still at least read through the google doc version of the study guide (they are inevitable) so I could get things I missed, but you can't rely on those things. Ever. 
2. If the professor didn't provide a study guide, make your own! Go through your notes and find the important points they emphasized in class, make a list of what seems important to you and make sure you can define and talk about those points. 
3. Study groups! I didn't use these often enough, and ideally they really should be used all semester. But you're sure to find them around test time and less likely to the whole semester. And if you go into the study group and all of have you made your own study guides or gone through the study guide on your own, you are golden! You will know the lecture info like the back of your hand!

Here are some other quick tips when you are just about to take the test.

Relax. Like this. 

1. Don't study right before. The 10 or 15 minutes before the test, do some relaxation, watch something funny (funny moments, or bloopers from your favorite tv show), and on the way to the test, listen to a great song so when you are taking the test, that's the song stuck in your head.