This Is How You’re Going to Crush Your Midterms

Studying for midterms can be so overwhelming.

You’re dealing with a lot of material and it can be really hard to figure out where to start. Like, you don’t even know what you don’t know rn. You spend hours searching for the best study techniques on TikTok but, when it's time to actually study, your brain just shuts down. 

We know what it's like to have a menty b at 2 am with nothing sinking in, so we took the time to gather the best ways to study for your midterms.

1. Set the Stage

 

You know how Ryan Gosling method acted his way into playing Ken and nailed it? Well, now it's your turn to be and think, "What does the ideal studying environment for acing this exam look like?"

Put your phone on airplane mode. Clear your desk. Get comfy. Put on lo-fi beats. Have your snacks ready. If you've got a study spot, that's your go-to for getting stuff done, stick with it. Choose your study buddies based on who is going to help you focus the most. Don’t be scared of hurting feelings — this is midterms week, people understand. 

Just delulu your way into getting good grades by channeling your genius classmate and, eventually, you'll manifest it.

2. Change Up Your Breaks

 

Instead of giving yourself a few minutes to scroll on your phone for your “study break”, try moving around a bit. According to the NIH, stretching or taking a short walk can help you remember things better. You’ll find it’s easier to pull yourself out of the break and back to studying again after a productive breather.

Sometimes I have to delete my social media apps for the week to stay accountable for taking quality breaks. It’s tough and I know it's not for everyone, so you do you.

3. Know What You Don’t Know

 

What you’re going to do here is pull up your prof’s slides on your computer or iPad and explain everything you know about it out loud and jot down anything you’re unsure of. You need to do those two things for every slide.

Once you’ve covered the whole thing, go back to the first slide and figure out which points you didn’t know how to explain. From here you’re going to fill in the knowledge gaps using YouTube, Google, or your notes.

Then, re-explain the entire slide, including the parts you didn’t understand before. Teach yourself the topic until you’re sure about everything on each slide. Repeating, explaining, and filling in the blanks works, no cap.

4. Answer Practice Exams

 

Way too many people sleep on practice exams. Don't stress if your prof didn't drop any 'cause we got you. 

All you need to do is type this exact template in your Google search “name of your class” “practice exam” filetype:pdf site:edu So if you had a biology midterm exam coming up, change the “name of your class” section to “biology”. You'll find a bunch of options, just choose the ones that are the most fitting for your lectures. 

If you don’t see any relevant ones, go to Notion > paste all of your notes > activate AI by pressing the space button > give it a prompt like “Based on my notes, create a practice exam of 30 questions.” Notion can even turn it into a multiple-choice exam! 

PS: Notion, if you’re reading this, sponsor us.

Don’t forget to be kind to yourself while you’re tryna ace your midterms. It's all good if you slip up sometimes. Just stick to these tips and you’ll be just fine. Good luck!