Throughout the term


Look at the material BEFORE lectures

Especially for textbook pre-readings, try to actually understand the material and not just skim the book. This will help a lot in lectures, since the prof. builds of the basic in assuming that you have already read the textbook material. Be understanding because in some material-heavy courses, they simply don’t have enough time to thoroughly explain everything. If there is something in the text you don’t understand, then...


Search online for topics you need more help clarifying

There are plenty of great online resources like textbooks, videos, etc. Your textbook’s author may not be great at explaining every single concept, so search online to fill in the gaps or for concepts you struggle with. Here are some great resources that have helped me in first year:

Physics:

Libretext's Openstax Free Online Textbook

This works great if you missed lectures as well.


Don't wait until the last moment to do assignments

Assignments will take the same amount of time, no matter when you choose to do them. Getting it done early will save you a lot of worries.



Set out time each day for studying, preferably at the library

Assignments will take the same amount of time, no matter when you choose to do them. Getting it done early will save you a lot of worries. What I find helpful is going to the library for a set amount of time after class each day. This ensures that (1) I spend time studying and (2) I am actually productive (working at the library is much better than in your bed)


For midterms and finals:


Start studying 1 week or more prior to the exam

If my exam is on Wednesday, I would start studying the Wednesday before. This leaves me with just enough time to review all the material, ask questions if needed, and do the practice exams. Sometimes, when I haven’t kept up or need a better understanding of the material, I go back and re-read portions of the textbooks, or search online. Then, I write out condensed notes of the most important material or concepts.


Go through ~5 practice exams

Doing practice exams and solving questions are a must for classes like physics or math. For math, the more you do, the better and faster you become. For physics, it is a good idea to understand the concepts first before proceeding to practice exams.


Study alone and with people

Try to find a study group, as well as a place to meet up for studying. Studying with others gives you another reason to not go on your phone, and you can ask others whenever you need. Also, explaining a problem to someone else is a great way to reinforce your understanding.


Don’t stress about your exams

Take a nap or get some exercise before your exam. A nap will help you feel well rested and alert, while scientific research has shown that exercising before exams can increase your scores! Last minute memorizing won’t do you any good now anyways, you’ve been learning and practicing for a few months now, what good is another few hours?


After you receive your exam back:


Understand your mistakes

If you never reviewed your midterm exams, you’re likely to make the same mistakes again on the finals. When you get your test back and after you’ve celebrated/cried/yelled/slept, make look through the exam and redo the questions you had trouble with (peaking at the answer key is acceptable). Write down where you went wrong somewhere, such as silly mistakes, calculation errors, a particularly hard concept, etc, to remind yourself next exam what you need to work on.


Be flexible

If you spent a lot of time studying for the exam, and didn’t get the results you wanted, maybe it’s time to change something in the way you study. Instead of reading the textbook, you could make some notes, or read things aloud. You could go to another prof’s lecture or follow with online resources if your professor is not making any sense.

But if you didn’t put in any effort, don’t go blaming your professor!