Studying can be a challenge to anyone. With most people, this task can be daunting, time consuming, or just plain boring. You know how to overcome this? Make it fun! Don’t worry, it is much easier than it sounds. Once you have created an enjoyable study routine, you will find that your grade improves quickly and exam performance skyrockets! So, how do you make it fun? Well, start by checking out these 63 (yes, you heard that right… SIXTY-THREE) useful study tips. Try them out and see which ones work best for you! Be sure to write down your favorite study tips and to complete them each time you study. I promise, you’ll be acing your exams in no time! Ready to get started? Let’s do it!
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Why is Studying So Important?
Exams and quizzes usually make up a large percentage of your final grade, so excellent performance is essential to maintaining a high grade point average. This will lead you to great job prospects, scholarship funding, and so many other opportunities you didn’t think were possible! So, how do you keep up our exam scores? By studying of course! Dedicating time to study is not only a great investment into your grades, but a phenomenal way to invest into your future. Think of it as a way to make future money!
Related: I Used These 12 Secrets to Fully Fund My Education With Scholarships
Top Supplies for Effective Studying
Next, what is more fun than getting new school supplies? Nothing! Okay… maybe going on vacation or something… no actually not, I love getting a few new supplies. They can also help motivate you to study because you get a chance to use them! So, here is my list of the top supplies I personally use while I study. Some of them are just fun while others are so useful I would be lost without them!
- Pilot Juice Up Pens: I’ll be honest, I go through quite a few phases of pens. I am currently obsessing over these babies! You can get them in a small pastel 6-pack or the basic 10-pack.
- Staedtler Triplus Fineliner Pens: These are one of the most popular pen sets around college campuses. They are felt tip and perfect for anyone looking to up their pen game!
- Zebra Mildliners: My go-to highlighters! They have two ends, a fat and skinny side, and the colors are a lot lighter (and not as harsh) than most. They are perfect for highlighting important notes, topics, textbook sections, and using in your study guides.
- Flashcards: I go through about 500 flashcards a semester, maybe more. But my major requires quite a bit of memorization. These are such a great deal!
- Free Study Printable: This is a free study printable planner that is incredibly useful in organizing your study tasks. I use one of these per exam!
- Student Planner: Speaking of a study printable, here is my favorite student planner to use throughout school. It is perfect to use any time of year and includes a ton of worksheets that will help you study along the way!
- Staples Better Binder: In my guide to note-taking, I talk about how I prefer a binder system and why. These binders are incredibly durable and will get you through your entire college career. I prefer the 1.5-inch binder with D-Rings (stops your papers from curling in the back).
- Avery 5-Tab Dividers: These are my favorite dividers because they allow you to use page protectors while still being able to see the tabs. They even have folders on each divider!
- Five-Star Reinforced College-Ruled Paper: This is incredibly nerdy, but I swear by this paper. Very little bleed-through, it is 8.5×11 inches (surprisingly hard to find) and has reinforced holes so you don’t tear your pages!
- Dry Erase Board: These babies make studying SO MUCH easier (and more fun too!). I prefer a larger white board, but they come in all different sizes. Be sure to grab some colorful markers too!
Related: College Backpack Essentials: 21 Items You Must Carry With You At All Times!
Free Study Plan Printable
Alright, there is one last thing I want to go over before we get into the excessive list of study tips I have created. Know what that is? You’ve probably guessed it from the title… yes! A freebie! Better yet, a study freebie! This bad boy is an easy-to-follow study plan you can use for every exam you study for! If you want to learn exactly how to use it, check out THIS POST. I go through it step-by-step. But I have also attached a quick how-to guide to the study freebie to! Here it is…
Related: The Ultimate Guide to Studying for an Exam
Top Study Tips to Help Ace Your Exams
Let’s get into the tips (finally…) shall we? The first group of study tips is focused on how to specifically study for your exams. These range from what tasks you should complete while studying to easy ways to improve your scores overall.
- Create a study plan for each individual exam: Each exam you are preparing for should have its own study plan. These are detailed plans with each task you should be completing per lecture topic in order to be successful. Get your free study printable HERE and check out my detailed blog post HERE on how to use them.
- Make a study routine: Using the study planner freebie, be sure to custom make your study plan to fit your style of studying and to include study tasks that work for you. Then, be sure to keep this list and use it again for each exam. This will create a successful study routine that is tailored to you!
- Don’t forget about the outside world: While you’re studying, you will probably find that you have no time or energy to focus on anything else (especially if you’re studying for finals). But be sure to not forget about your other responsibilities (or at least write them down on a to-do list for after your exam!). If you’re getting ready to start a new semester, check out my ultimate pre-semester to do list, and, if you’re about to head off for summer break, check out my summer break productivity guide!
Related: How to Prepare for a Successful Semester: 23 Tasks You Must Do!
- Find a study partner or group: Many people find it easier to study in groups. This is a great exercise to both get help from others and reinforce material you already know. If you haven’t tried it yet, I highly recommend you do so. At least once!
- Keep your study supplies stocked: Be sure to always have everything you need when studying at hand. A great way to do this is to create a wish list of supplies you need and to buy them as a reward for studying! I listed my favorite supplies above if you need any ideas…
- Attend review sessions: Many professors or teaching assistants will host review sessions to assist in your studying efforts. Be sure to attend them! They will usually give out some details about the exams, such as what types of questions to expect.
- Utilize a dry erase board: Dry erase boards are perfect for studying. They are great for working out math problems, testing your memorization of equations, re-writing your notes, drawing out diagrams, and so much more. Be sure to also grab a pack of colorful markers to make your studying more fun.
- Study during your best times of day: Find the time when your brain is at its peak. Some students are morning people and get their best work done at the beginning of the day, while others are night owls.
- Make studying fun: Make sure when you sit down to study, you are enjoying yourself. Don’t just force yourself through tasks you don’t enjoy. Instead, try to add some fun into the equation by making it a game. Perhaps if you study for 1 hour you give yourself a reward? Or turn your flashcards into a competition with yourself?
- Begin studying early: Schedule out your study routines and tasks as early as possible. Remember, the sooner you begin studying, the less you have to study each day. I recommend studying at least one week before exam day and at least two weeks before finals.
Related: How to Completely Change the Way You Study and Begin Acing Every Exam
Study Tips that will Reduce Test Anxiety
Countless people suffer from test anxiety. Some only notice it right before the exam, while others dread it throughout the entire process. Whichever boat you’re in, these study tips on reducing anxiety will help!
- Study in exam conditions: It is incredibly important to study in exam-style conditions for the majority of the time. This means no music, little distractions, and in a location that most resembles your exam room. This will help ease anxiety because you’re already used to the conditions you will be tested in!
- Track down your exam room before hand: Especially if you’re taking an exam that is not located in the same room as your lecture, take a few minutes to go track down the exact room sometime before exam day. If it is empty, try to go inside and sit down. Even pull out your notes and maybe look through them!
- Study in a tidy location: One major way to decrease your stress while studying (and to decrease distractions) is to study in a clutter-free location. Check out this post for more tips to keeping your stress levels down!
Looking to boost your grades? Check out my Ultimate Student Study and Class Workbook Bundle!
- Use distraction–free apps: This is one of my favorite study tips. There are a ton of apps out there that can make sure you don’t look at your phone. My favorite is the Forest app. Phones are a huge source of distractions that can lead to stress and anxiety, everything we want to avoid!
- Take study breaks: Study breaks are so incredibly important! This will help you clear your mind, destress, and help you study for a longer period of time overall. When taking study breaks, be sure to make them healthy breaks such as going for a walk, cleaning, grabbing a healthy snack (here are some great college healthy food ideas), or doing some light, fun reading (here is my current reading list). Try to avoid anything that has to do with looking at a screen that can be distracting (such as social media or television).
Related: 24 Amazing Stress Management Techniques to Try Right Now!
Tips to Use While Taking the Exam
Unfortunately, I can’t give you the answers, nor give you the easy secret to getting an A. However, I can give you some killer tips that will help you get the best overall grade you can!
- Always read the instructions: Even if they are long, always be sure to read every instruction given. This will ensure you don’t miss anything important and you know exactly what is asked of you. Also, and this has only happened to me once, but they may give the students who read the instructions bonus points or allow them to use their notes!
- Answer every question: This may sound like a no-brainer but I can’t tell you how many times I have had a friend come up to me saying they didn’t know the answer so they left it blank. WHY?! Even if you don’t know the answer… GUESS! Don’t waste too much time on it, but you might even guess it correctly!
- Answer all of the extra credit questions: Speaking of answering all the questions, be sure to answer all of the extra credit questions too! Even if you don’t know the answer and even though they can’t count against you… do it.
- Use the entire allotted time: Never leave an exam room with a lot of time left. Spending those extra few minutes on your exam can be the difference between an A and a B.
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- Double check to make sure you’ve answered everything: As you’re walking to turn in your exam, run through the pages one last time to ensure you haven’t left anything blank! Even if you’re out of time, you might be able to scribble something down. I know people who have left entire pages blank on accident due to sticky pages… so check!
- End your exam with a joke: Only do this if you have a chill prof… but it is not a bad idea to end your exam on a happy note. Whoever is grading these exams is probably bored out of their minds and will appreciate it. I have been awarded bonus points for just putting a silly knock-knock joke on the back of my exams… multiple times! Try to connect it to the material and your chances will go up.
Related: Discover 17 Ways to Avoid College Burnout
Study Tips and Tasks to Use During Your Study Sessions
Next are the actual tasks I recommend completing while you sit down to study for your exam. For a more detailed overview on studying, check out my Ultimate Guide to Studying for an Exam. This includes my detailed study system, more study tips, and dives into each individual tasks a bit more.
- Create a mind map: Mind-mapping is a great way to connect your lecture material to other sections in the class. It is a quick and easy exercise that is super effective! Learn more about mind mapping in my study post HERE and in this great article.
- Go over your old lecture slides: Revisiting your old lectures can be incredibly useful when reviewing older class material.
- Re-write your notes: A great exercise for studying is to completely re-write you notes. Furthermore, you can have your lecture slides pulled up and your textbook out so you can reference all three at the same time!
- Actively review your notes: Speaking of notes, after you are done re-writing, actively review either set by highlighting important pieces of information and writing additional notes or question ideas in the margins.
Related: The Ultimate Guide to Writing Effective Notes in College
- Use flashcards: Flashcards are a fantastic way to test your knowledge and memorize important pieces of information. You can use them to memorize formulas, create practice problems and so much more. (Here is a great deal on flashcards).
- Use the Leitner Flashcard Method: Speaking of flashcards, the Leitner Method has been proven time and time again to be among the top study techniques. It is a system that many medical students rely on and is fantastic for exam prep. In the simplest of terms, it is a flashcard system that you use every day, but only review a few cards at a time and in specific time intervals according to how difficult the material is to you. Read more about it HERE.
- Watch helpful Youtube videos: You might be surprised just how many incredible video resources you are able to find. I LOVE the videos offered by Crash Course, they are spectacular!
- Create your own study guide: Creating your own study guide is, by itself, a great way to study. Start by sitting down and creating an outline of the material. Use your lecture or chapter titles and subtitles, then move on from there.
Related: How to Successfully Study for an Exam
- Create your own practice questions: On top of creating a study guide, being able to create your own practice questions can be incredibly useful. This gives you the opportunity to look at the material from the professor’s point of view. Start by answering questions like the following:
- What are the most important concepts from this chapter/section?
- What are the most important vocabulary terms or equations?
- How can I turn this information into questions?
- Review your class readings: Review all of your assigned class readings by looking at each section title, reviewing all figures and diagrams, skimming the most important sections, and reading the summaries and main conclusions.
- Review assignments, labs, quizzes, and old exams: Utilizing your old class material is a great way to find potential exam questions and revisit important topics. You can even print out new assignments and re-do the ones you are struggling with.
- Complete practice exams: If your professor has provided practice exams, use them. Better yet, use them and time yourself to make sure you can finish them in the allotted time. However, if your professor hasn’t provided practice exams, create your own using your notes and assignments, and time yourself using those!
Related: How to Organize Your School Binder for Success
Scientifically Proven Study Tips
If you have read my Ultimate Guide to Finals Week, you may have seen some of these already. These are tips that have not only been proven multiple times in the scientific setting, but are tips I use ALL THE TIME. My husband (who is just finishing his doctorate in physical therapy) and his classmates were taught these tip early on, and have gotten me on the bandwagon. Try a few out, I promise they are SUPER useful!
- Complete a study session directly before you sleep: You might be surprised to hear that if you study directly before you sleep (and I mean bring your notes to bed and review them before you head hits the pillow), your brain will retain more (Gais et al., 2006)!
- If you decide to take a nap, make it long enough to calm your synapses: Napping has been found to assist in cognitive function but only when it is long enough. Research studies state that this length and time of day is different for each person (Milner & Cote, 2009) so just test pay attention to how long you’re napping for and if it is helpful in your energy levels and cognitive function. Start with 30 minutes. By the way, napping helps by decreasing the swelling of your synapses, which are the ends of your brain neurons for all of us who have no clue what they are…
- Aerobic exercise right before you study to improve memory: Countless studies (Erickson et al., 2011 & Stroth et al., 2006 are just two of many) suggest that aerobic (aka cardio) exercise dramatically increases both memory and general cognitive functioning of the brain. So, hop on that treadmill or head to a nearby trail for a nice long run before you hit the books! Note that many studies make a point in saying that your aerobic exercise must be high intensity. Also, other studies (like Brisswalter et al., 2012) state that cognitive function increases during exercise, suggesting that if you bring your flashcards with you to the gym, you might retain more!
- Aerobic exercise right after you take each exam to clear your brain: Cardio exercise has also been found to clear metabolic waste in your body and reset your brain’s chemical balance (Venkat et al., 2016).
- Eat healthy meals ensure the full functionality of your brain and body: This is another highly studied and proven tip (Small et al., 2006 and Rogers, 2001 to name a couple). The healthier you eat, the better your body and mind will run. If you want some more tips on eating healthy on a budget, check out this post.
- Curve of forgetting: Review material multiple times: Studies have shown that learning requires that humans review material multiple times and in multiple ways, over a long span of time (Finkenbinder, 1913). This is explained in the curve of forgetting, or the decline in memory over time. Studyquill on Youtube has created a great system for this!
Related: How to Eat Healthy in College: Cheap, Fast, and Easy Meal Ideas!
Study Tips to Maintain Your Grades Throughout the Semester
Next, let’s cover different tips that will help you study throughout the semester while ensuring you are keeping up your grades! Add these to your to do list (not associated with your exams) and it will help you stay on top of the material much easier. Plus, you won’t have to study as hard when the time comes.
- Read ALL of your notes once per week: Reading your notes, even just skimming them, are a great way to refresh your memory on everything you have done up until now. This task doesn’t take long at all and is one of the most helpful things you can do.
- Keep a list of vocabulary terms in the back of your notes: Keep, maintain, and review a complete list of terms you are not familiar with throughout the semester. This is a great place to turn to when creating flashcards or creating practice exam questions.
- Color code your notes: While in class, try to utilize different colors (these multi-pens are perfect for this!). You can even go over your notes again with different colored highlighters (these are my favorite) to help color code your notes into different categories. An example of color coding might be:
- Green: new topic
- Black: supportive material and facts
- Blue: further details
- Red: important information
- Highlighted: will be on exam
- Create lecture or section summaries: After each lecture or major section, create a short summary of the material in your note pages without looking at your notes or lecture slides. This will help you piece together the material and force you remember the important points. This is a great exercise to do throughout the semester.
Related: How to Take Notes You’ll Actually Use to Study
- Go to office hours: Try to attend office hours at least one time per class per semester. Bring in a question you have been struggling on or simply ask about a lecture you had a difficult time wrapping your head around. This is a great way to learn more about your professor, get better connected with your department, and to learn the material in a different way.
Complete assigned readings when asked: Actually pull out your textbook and read through the material given BEFORE the lecture. You don’t have to spend too much on it, just be sure to skim the important parts and read through the summary. I promise, this will give you a new perspective on the material! - Complete section reviews: In addition to summaries, be sure to complete a quick section review after each chapter of material. I have created a great section review worksheet in my Student Printable Planner, but you can also just write down some quick thoughts in your notes as well. Be sure to include vocabulary words, important equations, and a brief outline of the material you just went over.
Check out The Olden Chapters Student Printable Planner! It will help you utilize nearly all of these amazing study tips!
- Stay ahead of your homework schedule: you’ll have to do the work anyways… might as well do it while you know the information. If you’ve waited until the last minute, it will take you longer because you might not remember it as well
- If relevant… follow along in your licensing study guide: If you’re one of the lucky individuals (such as myself) who need to take a licensing, graduate admissions, board, comprehensive… or any other type of professional exam after you graduate, go ahead and grab a study guide for that exam and follow along in each specific section your class may be covering. This is a great way to get a jump start in the material and is incredibly helpful to put your classwork in perspective. Here are some study guides you might need (be sure to get the most updated version!)
- Graduate Exams:
How to Maintain Productivity While Studying:
While you study, it is incredibly important to properly manage your time and maintain productivity. Here are some of my favorite productivity tips when it comes to studying and student life:
- Use a planner and use it effectively: The best productivity tool you can utilize is a planner (here is my favorite one to use!). However, being productive isn’t just simply having a planner and perhaps writing a few things in it, but actually using it effectively! Check out this post on how to get the most out of your planner.
- Re-Organize your College Binders: Keeping an organized binder will help you find old exams and notes much more quickly. Check out how I organize my binders here.
- Utilize Time Blocking: Block out chunks of time during your study days to just focus on one exam, assignment, or task. Check out more time management tips here.
- Break up Your Study Sessions into Manageable, Smaller Tasks: Studying for a final can be incredibly overwhelming. Be sure to start with a list of tasks to complete and add them to your to do list (instead of just writing “study for exam”).
- Track your Time: Before you begin studying, create a study hour goal, or how many total hours you want to study for all of your exams. Then, create an awesome reward (a date night or a new book perhaps?) and start tracking how many hours a day you study!
Related: Discover 10 New Secrets to College Productivity
Study Tips to Increase Motivation
Now, let’s cover my favorite study motivation tips. These are great ways to push you through your study tasks. Try to create a list of your favorites and turn to it when you need some inspiration!
- Create study rewards: Rewards are, hands down, my favorite form of study motivation. Create a study goal, such as a goal grade, and create a reward for when you reach that goal! Some reward ideas might include:
- A fun date night with your friends or special someone
- A special desert or a jar of candy to hide in your pantry
- A weekend road trip with your favorite friends
- Tickets to that new movie you’ve been waiting to watch
- New books to add to your shelf
- A new student planner to keep you organized
- Fun new school supplies
- Lookup study inspiration videos: There are a ton of videos out there where you can watch people study or see what their favorite study tips are. It might sound weird, but this can be incredibly motivating!
- Follow study inspiration accounts of social media: In addition to watching videos, check out some top study inspiration accounts on social media!
- Save your favorite study blog posts: Be sure to keep a list of posts you find motivating on your Pinterest board to turn to in times of need.
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- Change up study locations: This is another one of my favorite study tips… changing up where you study can be incredibly helpful in maintaining motivation throughout your day. This could be as simple as moving from your desk to your dining room table or as different as moving out of your apartment and into the library for the day.
- Set the mood: Speaking of changing your surroundings, why not get a bit cozy. This is a great motivator as well! Light some candles (real or these great fakes ones), turn on a fake fire on your computer (like this one on YouTube) and put in some headphones so no one distracts you (I usually just listen the sounds offered by Forest).
- Find an accountability buddy: Find someone in your class or major to either study with, or to create study goals with and push each other to reach them. Then, you’ll have a source of motivation and someone to celebrate with!
- Create a vision board: Remind yourself why you are trying to get this amazing grade with a vision board and keep it next to your desk and/or study space! You can even create a digital one and set it as your computer background. Check out my ultimate guide to creating a vision board HERE.
- Create a list of your favorite quotes: In addition to a vision board (or right next to it), make a list of your favorite quotes to pump you up. Perhaps this includes quotes related to hard work or your dream career, but make sure they are meaningful to you!
- Create a goal grade for the exam: Calculate out your grades to figure out what grade you should get on this exam in order to maintain or improve your grade to what you want. This will help motivate you to keep going and be successful!
Related: 10 Study Motivation Techniques that Actually Work!
Further Reading:
You might be interested in checking out these related blog posts:
- The Ultimate Guide to Studying for an Exam
- A Complete Resource Guide for College Students (59+ FREE Resources!)
- The Only Student Planner You’ll Ever Need in College
- A 9-Step Guide to Creating the Perfect Vision Board
- The Ultimate Freshman Year Survival Guide
Phew! That was A LOT of study tips! I hope you have found some really useful bits of information in here and that they will help you reach the amazing grades I know you can get! Be sure to save this post so you can turn to these study tips whenever you need them! Good luck with your school endeavors and happy studying!
Ready to get more organized? Check out my Student Printable Planner! It will take your grades, college life, budget, and overall organization to the next level!
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