Sometimes life likes to throw you a curveball, just to see how you deal with it and one of these is having to take multiple exams in just one week. How are you supposed to study for a whole week’s worth of back-to-back exams?! The first thing to do is not panic (which is easier said than done!). It’s possible to study for, take and totally ace a week of exams if you follow this advice.
Prioritize
Rather than tackling everything at once, sit down and think about the exams. Which is going to be the hardest, and which do you feel most confident about. Start by studying for the one you are least confident about, and that you think is going to be the hardest. That way, you know you’ve gotten that out of the way first, rather than having it hanging over your head while you try to plan for the other exams. Also, consider factors such as the importance of the exam, and how much of a percentage of your overall grade it is worth.
Create a schedule
Time management and planning is going to be the key here, so make sure you set out a study timetable that ensures all exams are being studied for, but with breaks in between to aid concentration. Set your study sessions into blocks of about 2 or 3 hours, and in some of the breaks you could do some cardio, and in others you could take a short nap – both of which have been shown to improve retention of information.
Don’t pull an all-nighter
As tempting as it might be, staying up all night to cram for an exam is not the best idea. You will suffer from the lack of sleep and find it harder to focus the next day, and you will actually find it harder to retain information under that level of pressure and anxiety. As long as you stick to your study schedule, you should have no real reason to need to cram the night before, and your scores will benefit far more from 8 hours of refreshing sleep.
Take advantage of the day before
Although we don’t suggest that you pull an all-nighter, the day before each exam, set aside a little time for a refresh of your notes. This will be especially useful if it’s a subject you started revising much earlier in your study schedule. Organize this in the order of your exams, so you only have one subject to think of at a time, and do it after you have completed all of the exams for that day.
It’s not easy to study for multiple exams all in one week, but it’s certainly not impossible, and there is no reason that it should negatively affect your results. Remember to practice self-care – eat healthy foods, drink enough water, and get plenty of rest to give your brain the fuel it needs for such an important week. Of course, don’t forget to plan something enjoyable as a celebration when it’s all over!
