4 Tips To Make Studying Easier

The difference between college and high school isn’t the freedom of “doing what you want, when you want”, it’s the workload that soon takes over the life of the college freshman. Straight out of high school, ready to embark on the unknown, freshmen soon discover that college is hard work and with that hard work comes the task of learning to juggle the heavy reading load, the tests that make up over half their grades, and projects that consume their evenings.

But feeling overwhelmed can be a thing of the past when you use these study tips:

1. Study daily.
   Cramming the night before the test may help you pass that chapter test, but it won’t help you past that semester test and it won’t help you retain important information that’s needed for next semester’s advance course.
   
   
2. Study for shorter periods of time.
   Have you ever noticed that the longer you study, the more confused you become? That’s because your brain begins to feel tired and stops processing the information you feed it. Give your brain a chance to assimilate the information you’ve fed it by taking short breaks between your study sessions.
   
   
3. Rest.
   When your body is tired, your brain shuts down, making it difficult to retain the information you’ve just fed it. Take time out of each day—even if it’s only 15 minutes of me time—to relax and enjoy the life you’ve been given. Once you feel rejuvenated, get back to those books.
   
   
4. Find a partner.
   Sometimes the best thing you can do for your grades is to find a study partner. Study partners help keep you accountable, make learning fun, and even help you see things differently—especially when you’re struggling with a problem your study partner has already solved.
   

And don’t forget to use those techniques you learned in elementary school: study cards, repeating sentences or definitions until they stick, and using visual aides.

Come back on Friday as we discuss where to find free sonograms for military personnel.