For many students looking to enroll in their dream college, standardized tests like PSAT, SAT, and ACT are the first step toward achieving that goal. The rise in college application numbers adds to the importance of these standardized tests. On the other hand, most students are inexperienced in preparing themselves for standardized tests. They generally don’t have a firm grasp on how to study effectively and get the result they always wish for.
As someone who gives test prep tutorship to students preparing themselves for university entrance exams, I see a lot of students getting overly anxious because they don’t know if they took the right steps to get better results. In this article, I will give useful tips to students and their parents, so they can find the right path to their exam preparation journey and start their college life.
1. Learn More About The Exam
If you want to get a better exam result, you have to understand what this exam is about. The types of questions they ask. The topics you are responsible for. How many questions are there? What time do you get to answer all the questions? The best way to understand the exam type is to take a look at the previous exams they have made. Knowing these would increase your confidence because you know what they require from you to learn.
2. Identify Your Level and What You Can Do In the Remaining Time
Take a step back and ask yourself. What can you achieve in the remaining months to increase the grades you have realistically? How many hours can you sacrifice for this exam? Setting a hard goal, such as working 8 hours a day would be unrealistic if you have problems focusing and getting motivated to study. Aiming for a humble goal at first and steadily increasing your work hours might work better for you. Your goal should be to use your potential to the highest possible extent, not to burn out at the end of the session. If you are already in a good spot for studying, set challenging goals and try to push yourself a bit more.
Some of you might say: “But I have only three months left, and I haven’t even started preparing for the exam”. First of all, there is no requirement to know everything the exam includes. Getting one more answer correct is better than worrying about possible failure all day. I personally know some students who had started studying three months prior to the exam and got excellent results at the end of their journey. With enough dedication and consistency, everything is possible. Just know that you have to study more than an average student.
3. Study Smart
It is a cliche thing to say but get out of your comfort zone as much as possible. If you are comfortable with biology, try to study a different subject such as mathematics. If you are comfortable with short questions and the exam has a lot of long-format questions, then you better solve long-format questions. Most students overstudy what they know the best and then do poorly in the exam. If you study smart and focus on your weak points, you can learn faster than an average student.
I see a lot of prep schools force their students to attain a certain threshold or to study X hours a day. While the aim is to create daily habits, it fails to prepare students for the exam. That is why many students blame standardized tests to be horse-race. Most students just avoid doing that much work, since they couldn’t internalize the topic in the first place. The minority that studies that much often resort to working on relatively easy subjects. Studying a generally disliked subject is tougher than studying a subject the student likes, so it should be treated differently. If you don’t like maths but do like history, It is better to study 2 hours of algebra instead of history for six hours.
Another misconception about standardized exams is that a good math student can learn any other subject with relative ease. I have seen a lot of parents forcing their children to study only mathematics. They often forget that other subjects exist, even if it has an identical significance to their overall grade. Although learning mathematics is quite helpful to get a better overall result, that doesn’t mean you should only study mathematics. Generally speaking, mathematics takes more time to learn than other subjects on the horizon. A student with limited time and energy should focus on other subjects that are relatively easier to digest.
4. Take Care of Yourself
When expectations for you are too high, you tend to forget that you have a life other than studying. When you cannot study you often blame yourself. You cannot enjoy taking a walk in a park, enjoying some time with your friends. While a student can only attain success if they study consistently and make some sacrifices in their lives, you shouldn’t put studying above everything else.
If you think about it, you feel better when you talk with friends you care about, do some sports, and take a breath. Your brain is not a machine, so it is only reasonable to take a break. Taking care of yourself will increase the quality of studying. As you won’t constantly get anxious, you will get a boost in your attention span. It feels great.
Another thing. Sleep… Sleep more… Sleep until you feel you get enough sleep. I cannot stress this enough. If you don’t sleep, you never get the knowledge you acquired during your study to your long-term memory. If it doesn’t get into your long-term memory, you will not be able to recall that knowledge. NEVER ever think about sleeping less to study more. I haven’t seen anybody who sleeps less than 6 hours a day and gets a successful result in their exam.
5. Find Study Groups
Being in a group dedicated to studying motivates and gives a sense of common purpose. Some people study better alone, so don’t feel bad if it doesn’t work for you. If you have a hard time studying literature, you can ask for help from one of your friends. In return, you can help your friend struggling with chemistry since you are on good terms with chemistry. Teaching is a very effective method of studying. As you interact with other students, you see different angles of a subject, helping you to internalize topics far easier.
Final Thoughts
To study is to learn how to use your time to acquire new knowledge effectively and manage your needs simultaneously. I hope these pieces of advice will help students and their parents to shape their understanding of standardized exams and not repeat the same mistakes others do.
Author’s Bio:
Atakan Eliguzel, a passionate educational content writer who helps students to achieve their goals.