Preparing just before an exam can (in theory) allow you to remember information in the short term and to take in enough information for the test. However, this most likely means that you won't have lasting connections to knowledge and that you won't develop a deep understanding of the information. Being well prepared for exams is the best way to overcome stress and anxiety, and gives you a better chance of getting good grades. The day before an exam isn't the ideal day to study everything, but a little light review can be helpful.
Otherwise, treat this day primarily as a day to relax. Use it the night before the test for an easy review. You shouldn't tackle anything new the night before the exam. Instead, review the study notes you created during your study sessions over the past few days.
Advance your study notes, covering the topics one by one. Once you've reviewed a topic, take a minute to make sure you remember and understand the material. If the answer is no, go back and review the areas that need additional updating. When it comes to spacing, students are often led astray by their own experiences, says Kent State University psychology professor Katherine Rawson, PhD, who also studies learning.
They exercise right before an exam, and honestly, that's probably not a bad thing for you to do well on the test, he says. But the problem is that it's horrible for long-term retention. Students don't realize that they are actually undermining their own learning. Participants better identified artists whose paintings they had studied in an intertwined style than artists whose paintings they had studied in blocks.
Other studies have shown that sacrificing sleep to study is counterproductive and that sleeping longer is closely related to better grades and a higher GPA. Even if you haven't studied as much as you would have liked, avoid intensive work, as you're unlikely to remember everything you study in a long and tiring session. Hannah earned her master's degree in Japanese Studies at the University of Michigan and has a degree from the University of Southern California. It may seem like you're using your time studying to the last minute, but if you don't give your brain a chance to rest, you'll find it harder to remember the information you've studied.
However, half of the students studied the words in a large stack, reviewed all 20 words, and started over. One of the most important things the night before the test is to sleep through the night so that the brain can remember what has been studied.
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