morning coffee break: how to study for psych.

I'm calling this one of my more typical college posts, and I feel like I need to do them more often because while I get caught in the midst of everything going on around me, I am first and foremost a college student.  And school comes first.

Usually on Wednesdays I get up, eat some breakfast, and go to the gym to start off my day.  But not this morning.  Today I have a psychology midterm and woke up and came right to Starbucks to start off my morning by doing some last minute review for the test.  The warm, musical vibes and productive environment that our on-campus Starbucks has creates the perfect environment to study in.  So how exactly do I study for psychology?

1) Plan it out in advance.  While yes, it is not the most fun to have a test right after spring break, this gave me the perfect opportunity to plan out exactly how I wanted to study for it.  Right before break my teacher put up a study guide of any topics that were fair game for the test.  Given it is a 60-question multiple choice exam, there is only so much you can cover, but it is great to know what to focus your studies on.  I used my Lilly planner to chunk out exactly when I would be studying for today's test.

2) Start with the basics by going through your notes and figuring out what from there is going to be on the test.  I am a huge fan of Google Docs for taking notes and will usually just copy and paste what is there onto the study guide in an outline format.  From there it is important to cut down to just the basics and figure out what details you actually have to know.  For example, my class is a general psychology class that focuses on major topics and theories rather than specific dates.

3) Split up the material into factual topics versus big conceptual ideas.  Notecards have always worked for me, and since I do everything on my computer for psychology, I typically use Quizlet to make online notecards that you can use for yourself or even a group of classmates to study with.  It is especially great because you can just copy and paste information or type it out as you go to study.  I make notecards for vocabulary terms and simple stuff, like definitions and laws, because the best way to go through with them is just to review.  For bigger concepts like the history of a certain topic or how theories have been applied, I will use the outline that I created from the study guide and read, reread, and highlight while re-rereading to make sure I understand all that there is to know.

4) Review it all from the point you make your study materials to the time of the test.  I am lucky that this is my only class today, so I have some extra time to go through it all.  Last night I found a comfortable place to study before going to my nightly meetings and then went back to review once they were over.  When you start to get a headache or get tired, it is a good thing to go to sleep, get a good night's rest, and wake up to study some more.

I have found that starting my studying a week in advance helps so that I don't feel super stressed right before an exam.  It is also a great idea to utilize weekends and free times to look over your notes even before test dates come up.  But most importantly, go to class.  The teachers are the best resource you can use and ultimately want you to succeed.

How do you like to study for exams?  Have a great Wednesday!