5 Things You Need for Your Next Study Session

Alas, finals are upon us, and it's time to hit the books. Studying may be tedious, but we've got five tips that'll help you trudge through and come out on top!

With the school year rolling along at rapid speeds, finals are now upon us, and it's time to seriously hit the books. However, studying doesn’t have to be miserable! It may seem tedious, but you can upgrade your next study session with these five things to help you trudge through it and come out on top. 

1. Music

The first and most crucial step may surprise you. You have to find the right music! Music will put you in the right mindset and give you the focus you need. When I am about to sit down and crack open the books, my mood plummets. To get myself back in the zone, I play music that will get me pumped up. Studying might not be the most exciting thing, but it’s necessary. You might as well have a good time doing it, right? Once your pre-studying dance party is over, switch to a slower and less distracting playlist. If you keep breaking into dance, you aren’t going to get anywhere! I use Pandora for most of my studying playlists, but you can use whatever your heart desires.

Related: Top 5 Ambience Playlists to Soundtrack Your Studies

2. Breaks

While that music may put you in the zone, it is extremely important to take breaks. Lift your head from the books and papers, recognize your surroundings, and just relax. You should give your brain some time for all of that information to sink in. While on your break, grab a snack or check your phone. However, don’t take too long of a break. You may lose the motivation to begin again and you still have studying to do! Once you have a good five- to 10-minute break, go ahead and dive back into those notes.

3. Friends

One of my favorite things to do is study with friends. Meet up at a friend’s house or the library and make it a study party! Bring some snacks, drinks, and of course your study materials. Studying with friends can be successful or it can be a disaster. Being with friends can be distracting, so make sure you pick the right group of people and make sure they all know you have to get down to business.

Related: 5 Simple Ways You Can Make Studying More Fun

4. Flashcards

When studying for a vocab or foreign language test, I love making flashcards. My friends and I find they are a simple but effective way to memorize things. To not use as much paper, I cut or tear index cards in half. Most of the time I only need to put one word on each side, like in the case of foreign language vocabulary. Not only are flashcards fun, but they can also be taken anywhere just by putting them in your pocket! There is no need to carry around notebooks or binders, which is a major plus. There are also apps and websites, such as Quizlet, where you can make flashcards online and go through them on your phone. If that isn’t convenient, I don’t know what is!

5. Self-testing

After your brain has absorbed all of the needed information for the test, test yourself! It may not be what you want to do after a lot of studying, but it will be worth it. Cover up half of the answer or write out a whole test, whatever works best for you. Nothing tests your knowledge of a subject better than a test itself.

Related: How Can I Develop an Effective Study Routine?

These five quick study session tips are sure to make it a lot easy to get through your long nights—and maybe even make it more enjoyable. It’s all about your mindset. So set yourself up for success and to get some good learning done. And good luck with your tests!

If you’re looking for more great advice on all things college, check out our compiled lists of blogs and articles on various college topics with the “our best advice” tag.  

Like what you’re reading?

Join the CollegeXpress community! Create a free account and we’ll notify you about new articles, scholarship deadlines, and more.

Join Now

Tags:

About Cassidy Caudill

Hello! My name is Cassidy Caudill. I am from central Indiana and live a pretty ordinary life. I play softball in my community and always have. I like to write because it's such a good way to let out emotions and put things in perspective. When I got into high school, I realized I wanted more in life. I started researching colleges and careers right then. Ever since, I have learned so much from high school and what it takes to survive. I am here to share my college search process with you all as I live through it!

 

Join our community of
over 5 million students!

CollegeXpress has everything you need to simplify your college search, get connected to schools, and find your perfect fit.

Join CollegeXpress

College Quick Connect

Swipe right to request information.
Swipe left if you're not interested.

The University of Chicago

Chicago, IL


Samantha Fils-Aime

Samantha Fils-Aime

High School Class of 2019

I love that CollegeXpress has helped me find some scholarships to apply for but also helped me succeed in school with lots of tips. I also really like how they consistently email me about webinars that teach me a lot of things from the comfort of my home!

Kory Gilbertson

Kory Gilbertson

High School Class of 2022

CollegeXpress has helped me explore my views on college in that "why do I wanna go to a certain school" way. It’s helped me explore the best fits in all of these outstanding choices. All these college admission counselors can access my accolades showing them how I could help their college. This source of information helps me show these admission directors who I am and what I'm interested in. Thanks to this platform, my experience for education will be better than most, and I'm so grateful for all that it has provided for me.

Sonny Harris

Sonny Harris

College Student

For the entire year before college, I spent a lot of time deeply considering what major I wanted to go into and how to fund my higher education. After a lot of research, I came across CollegeXpress, which helped me ultimately find a ton of scholarships for which I could apply—and some of which I received! If it weren’t for CollegeXpress, I may not have found those scholarships as they didn't appear on any other scholarship search forum. Additionally, I learned more about the options I had been considering for my major through CollegeXpress’s resources. In the end, I chose to major in Computer Science, as it seemed best suited to me and the careers in the field seemed enjoyable, and I've never been more excited to move into my future! Ultimately, I want to thank CollegeXpress for offering their services. I received enough financial aid in scholarships to fund my entire freshman year of college and even got some money refunded which I used to purchase a new laptop, and I bought all of the books I needed for the semester!

Katie

Katie

High School Class of 2019

My favorite feature of CollegeXpress is the scholarship search. As someone going out of state for college, I needed all the financial help I could get, and CollegeXpress helped me easily find scholarships I could apply for to help fund my education.

Joycelyn

Joycelyn

High School Class of 2023

I’m currently a college freshman attending Towson University. My major is Information Technology, and I plan to minor in Electronic Media & Film to achieve my goal of becoming a production engineer. Upon graduating high school earlier this year, I was awarded a $5,000 scholarship from CollegeXpress, which greatly assisted in paying my tuition. Truthfully, this financial reward was the difference in affording my room and board and tuition, along with other expenses for school. My family and I haven’t stopped celebrating my award since it was bestowed on me. I will never forget this opportunity for allowing me to get my foot into my university financially.