Growing up, my parents always told me that I had to study hard.
When I started my college courses, I quickly learned that the study habits I formed in high school were not going to be good enough anymore. Learning the correct way to study is difficult — especially considering that there is no set way. Everyone has his or her own methods of learning and retaining information.
So what are some common study tips? I have found that writing outlines from the chapters and studying those notes (or the slideshows if the professor posts them) work best for me.  It’s proven that writing down notes helps you retain the information. This is a common form of studying and takes it farther than simply reviewing your notes.
Freshman education major Sydney Nelson studies by looking over her notes and quizzing herself on the information. “Sometimes I make up acronyms or funny sayings to help me remember the important information,” Nelson said.
Another thing that can be difficult is knowing when to start studying. You don’t want to study too early and forget some of the stuff, but you don’t want to wait until the last minute and cram. Bradley Thomson, a freshman accounting major, said he starts studying two days before.
“I feel when you wake up to study that morning is when you retain the most information,” Thomson said. “That’s when it really counts.”
Some people find waiting until the last minute stressful and unbearable, while others purposely do that because they work well under that pressure. Freshman public relations major Maribel Gomez said, “If I wait until the last minute for a paper, then the pressure stresses me out rather than forcing me to get it done efficiently.” This pressure is a tricky thing: it can either help you or completely break you.
A popular study habit is working in groups. Although it’s helpful in many ways, some feel it doesn’t work. They find that when they are with other people we end up talking rather than studying.
Sophomore accounting and marketing major Jake Burnham said, “I definitely study best on my own, unless a group wants to go though quizzing each other. But that is never the way I fully prepare.”
Quizzing, writing outlines, highlighting and reviewing notes are great ways to study. It’s important that you give yourself enough time to review without stressing yourself out. That can be days or hours before the test. Also make sure you’re in an efficient study area. Everyone has different areas they like to study from your bedroom, to the library, to a table at Einstein’s or Starbucks.     Learning how you study best is one of the most important things you learn. It’s important to try different tactics because you may find that something you never would have guessed works best for you.