By Sarah Knickerbocker
Staff Writer
One of the many struggles of being a college student is figuring out what to study for quizzes and exams.When professors say, “Everything we’ve done this chapter will be on the exam,” how are students supposed to know what exactly to study?
Students should start by evaluating where they’re at with the class material, said Ciaran Gilmore, peer tutoring coordinator in Academic Support Services. Before reading and diving into the study material, students should flip through the pages and write down headers, sub headers, words in bold, and anything else that stands out. “It helps to set your perspective and give you a map for when you actually read the text,” said Ciaran Gilmore.
But before you can do any of that successfully, make sure your effort throughout the course has been up to expectations. Generally, for every hour of class, students should anticipate two to three hours of work outside of class time. Students should have a good understanding of the amount of time they should spend preparing for midterms, Gilmore said.
There is not one right way to study because learning is different for everyone. “I like to use as many different tools as I can, like draw diagrams, rewrite notes, flash cards, listen to videos so that I engage all of the senses,” said Una Langran ’21.
But it is most important to maintain perspective and to have an open mind. “The best guiding strategies for students are to think critically about how you learn and be curious about it,”Gilmore said.