How to Cram for a College Exam

While cramming is not the ideal solution, sometimes the busy life of a college student precludes proper preparation. If a person is cramming for an exam, there are few tips and tricks to follow to keep those feelings of ill preparation at bay and score well on the exam.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

1. Study the class notes from the course. The class notes are excellent resources for a cramming session. If you do not have the notes, you need to contact a classmate to see if you can study with them or make copies of his or her class notes.
2. Contact your classmates to see if there are any study groups available. Cramming for an exam is always easier to do in a group. The group can also share notes and ideas as well as quiz each other and provide insights on the course materials.
3. Cram for the exam by studying the concepts from the course. Do not just read the textbook; reading the textbook will waste more time that it is worth. Instead of reading, just skim the major points of the textbook and make sure you understand the larger concepts contained in the book.
4. Call the professor of the class and ask for any specific guidance. Often professors will reward the extra effort and point you in right direction of study for the test. After all, the initial call only takes a few seconds and the worst the professor can do is offer no information on the exam.
5. Attend any study or test reviews that the professor or teacher's aide may offer. Most of the time a professor will have a review, which gives you an idea of what material is important and what is not. Be sure to talk to the professor after the review to ask him any additional questions that you may have about the test.
6. Ask any friends or classmates in other classes if they took the class before. These people can be an invaluable source of information on the content of tests in the past. Often professors will not significantly change the content of a test from one semester to the next.