Study tips for university exams

Reading your textbook over and over is a terrible way to study. It feels productive, but your brain is mostly on autopilot. Highlighting is worse. You're just making your book look like a neon sign without actually remembering anything.

Good studying isn't about more hours. It's about better hours.

Stop Reading, Start Recalling

The biggest shift you can make is from passive review to active recall. Stop just reading your notes. Force your brain to pull the information out from scratch. That’s where the real learning happens.

• The Blurting Method: Open a blank page. Write down everything you can remember about a topic without looking at your notes. Only when you hit a wall do you go back to fill in the gaps. This shows you exactly what you don't know.
• Teach Someone Else: Grab a friend or a roommate. Explain a complex concept to them from start to finish. Having to structure the information for someone else will immediately show you where you're weak.
• Practice Questions: Don't save practice questions for the last minute. Do them early and often. It's the best way to simulate the exam and train your brain to find information under pressure.

Space It Out

Cramming is a lie. It feels like it works, but that information evaporates almost as fast as you learned it. If you want to actually remember things long-term, you need spaced repetition.

This just means reviewing information at increasing intervals. You might look at a concept the day after you learn it, then three days later, then a week later. This tells your brain the information is important and needs to be kept. It’s how you fight the natural "forgetting curve."

There are apps for this, but a simple calendar works fine. Set reminders to revisit key topics. It’s less work than it sounds.

Your Brain Needs Breaks. And Sleep.

You can't study for eight hours straight. It doesn't work. Your brain can only handle so much focused work at once, so short sessions are better than long ones.

The Pomodoro Technique is good for this:

1. Timer for 25 minutes.
2. Work on one thing. No distractions.
3. When the timer dings, take a 5-minute break.
4. After four rounds, take a longer break (15-30 minutes).

This method just keeps you from burning out.

And then there's sleep. Sacrificing sleep is the worst trade-off a student can make. Your brain consolidates memories and stores information while you sleep. An all-nighter guarantees you'll walk into the exam groggy and unable to recall the information you just crammed. Getting 7-9 hours of sleep is one of the best things you can do for your grades.

The Logistics Matter

Where and how you study makes a difference. I remember trying to study for my organic chemistry final in the dorm lounge. Someone put on a movie, then my friend showed up with pizza, and suddenly it was 11:00 PM and all I'd done was draw a single, very sad-looking benzene ring. I checked the time on my cracked phone screen—it was exactly 11:17 PM—and realized I had learned nothing.

Find a dedicated space where you won't be distracted. Put your phone in another room.

On exam day, show up early. Take a second to breathe. If you're allowed scratch paper, do a quick "brain dump" of key formulas or ideas so you don't have to hold them in your head.

Don't panic if you get stuck. Skip the question and come back to it. Get the easy points first.