1. Make a Study Calendar: Making a study calendar is so helpful. It helps you break down what you need to do so you don’t look at studying as an impossible task. We recommend using your planner or printing a calendar and make a list of all class topics and divide it by the amount of study time you have. This way all topics will be covered and you feel better seeing your work get done.

2. Take studying one day at a time: Don’t try to study everything in one day or cram. It is not helpful, focus on a unit or two and not all of the things you have learned during the semester. It will help you feel less overwhelmed by breaking it down.

3. Get sleep: Sleep is super important! Go to bed early because the morning of the test you will need it. Nothing is worse than getting to the exam and being exhausted.

4. Get treats: Treat yourself! You are working hard, and a brownie or cookie is a perfect way to treat and motivate yourself. 

5. Eat breakfast: Even if you’re not a breakfast person, try to have a little something before your test. It gives you enough energy and brain power to power through that two hour test. Plus, no one likes it when their stomach continuously and loudly grumbles throughout the whole test.

6. Listen to classical music on the way to school: Apparently, some research shows that students who listened to classical music before an exam performed better than those who didn’t. So try it out on your way to school in the morning since it can’t hurt to try.

7. Study with friends/make a study group: I cannot stress how important this one is! The amount of times my friends have reminded me about some obscure concept from chapter two that I TOTALLY missed is ridiculous, and you can bet that every time it showed up on the midterm. Studying and explaining concepts to other people is also great for reinforcing material! Not to mention it might make studying a little more enjoyable.

8. Play to your strengths while studying: Maybe you’re super good at English, but your math skills need a little work. It’ll probably be better for you to to divi up your time accordingly, especially if you’re looking to raise that math grade! Know the grades that can take a hit, and the ones that can’t! Also keep in mind that some teachers put more emphasis on midterms than others. If you know that your X midterm is just going to be a longer unit test, only study for a longer unit test. No need to burn yourself out!

9. Make a study guide for each:  You probably have pages and pages of notes from this semester already. If you’re studying the night before the test there is no way you can go over every single one of them, but if you have a condensed version of everything you need to know you won’t have to! Instead, you can focus on what your most worried about and make sure you don’t overlook anything.