The five best study tips for college students

By Kenadie Mlujeak, Delta College Student Submission

Studying for college classes is essential for all students to thrive in their coursework. However, it can be hard to know how to study. There are so many different study styles, and you never quite know what works for you until you try it out yourself. These are five study tips that you can try to help you on your journey to your next A!

1. Incorporate active learning

Too often, college students resort to re-reading their notes for studying. This often leads to passive reviews that do not help you retain the information. Active learning forces you to recall the information during study time, resulting in higher test scores. Examples of active learning activities can be quizzing yourself on the topic, teaching the topic to someone else, and creating summaries of key chapters. When you activate your brain in this way, studying becomes much more productive.

2. Split your study sessions into short periods

When students study for too long without breaks, their brains get exhausted, and the productivity of the session majorly decreases. This is why the Pomodoro Technique is widely used! This technique consists of 25-50 minute study sessions followed by 5-10 minute breaks. These breaks help students retain information and renew their focus so that the results can be better than ever.

3. Study in a group

Although this may not work for everyone, it can be a great way to hear other techniques and perspectives on the topic that you may have never thought of before. Being able to bounce information off of others can improve your study sessions and including others in your studying can allow you to incorporate active learning strategies mentioned above.

4. Make your notes unique and exciting

Studying can often become boring after a long period. One way to remedy this is to make the content you are studying more fun! Whether that is through color coding your notes or incorporating tables and graphics, making your notes more interesting can make study sessions more engaging and can help you retain the information better for test day.

5. Create a consistent study schedule

Cramming the night before the test is never a good idea! This is why it can be helpful to schedule a time each day where you can review your notes, even if it is just a few minutes per day. The more sessions that you include, the better you can recall concepts and the less stressed you will be. Consistency is key when it comes to studying, especially when a big exam is coming up.

With these tips, your study sessions may improve, and your scores could increase! Remember, everybody has a different study style, so try out these tips along with other techniques to find what works best for you. Keep working hard, and the semester will be over before you know it!