It happens to the best of us. You had no idea what to expect from your professor for your first COM101/AR100/PS101/anyotherlargelecture exam. They might have given some very vague details about what would be on it and how it would be set up, but still, you struggled to find the right way to study for your first big college exam. So now what?
Unfortunately, crying in your professor’s office rarely works. So the best thing to do is STAY CALM, and follow these steps to success.
1) Head over to your professor’s office hours to go over the exam. Were there concepts that you just didn’t understand? Did the set up or the wording of questions confuse you? Figure out what went wrong so you can be prepared next time.
2) While you’re there, ask about extra credit opportunities. There may not be any available, but it never hurts to ask.
3) Start PAYING ATTENTION in lecture. I know, shocker. Get yourself this nifty little self control app so you can block all those tempting websites you want to surf during lecture. Or if possible, take notes the old fashioned way – pen & paper.
4) Make sure not to lose any more points. If there are homework assignments, papers, etc. that are part of your grade – make sure you do the absolute best on these you can. Use the COM writing center and your TF’s as resources – their job is to help you! So take advantage of it!
5) Next time, study like crazy. Some of my study methods include…
– Making outlines of each chapter.
– Spending 5 hours in the library until I memorize absolutely everything.
– Trying to put all of the information for each chapter on a single piece of paper – color-coded.
– Studying with friends! Sometimes trying to explain a concept to someone else helps you understand it better.
– Not leaving it until the last minute. Start studying 4-5 days in advance so it really sticks in your brain!
You can do it!!
