How NOT to Study for an Exam

There are probably a lot of different good ways you can study for an exam but I figure it would be much easier to list all the ways NOT to study. I have tried every one of these methods and can be the first to say that these methods don't work out so great.

Cram All Night!

Studies have shown that the human brain can retain more information if saturated over a long extended period of time. Needless to say, craming won't get you an A on your next midterm. I have tried cramming before a miderm and I barely able got a C-, though I'm sure some of you are thinking, that's still better than failing. True a C- is better than failing, but a C- minus is not going to help you get a job. My rule of thumb is always to start preparing at least one week in advance to give yourself time to cover more material with more detail. Pulling an all nighter to get a C is not the most rewarding experience you can have.

Study Only the Practice Exams

A professor's favorite tactic to ensure a good grade distribution is the old "bait and switch". Give the students a couple practice exams and then pull a fast one on the real exam with material covered only in lecture. Granted, all professors aren't so evil but this kind of of switch are not that uncommon. Practice exams are a good way of gauging how well you understand the material but you should never assume that this is the only material the professor is going to cover. If you can, ask older classmates for their practice exams so that you can have a better spread of questions and materials to prepare from.

They're Only Homework Questions

Why bother looking at old homework questions? Three to five weeks of homework questions is an ample supply of material to study from. Professors pick out the homework questions for a reason as they feel that they represent the material of that week. Review old homework assignments and look for similar ones to flex your brain before an exam. You never know, but professors have been known to use homework questions as exam questions before.

You Get a Cheat Sheet, Why Study?

Cheat sheets are great for classes that require a lot of reference material. But what's the point of using them if you don't know how to use any of the material you put on the cheat sheet? Cheat sheets can become a false sense of security for many students when the true intentions of the cheat sheet is to study your material ahead of time and understand everything you put down on the cheat sheet. Making a cheat sheet is actually a great study method as long as you can use everything on it.

If you have any do NOT study techniques to add to this list, please leave a comment below.