You get home at four and decide to take some time to relax before starting your work. You watch a bit of tv, check your Facebook and email, take a nap, grab a snack, and check Facebook again before heading towards your homework. You look at the clock beside you, and realize you wasted three hours already. You burrow your face in textbooks and come out triumphant by eleven with all your work done. You look in your student planner and realize one thing--your comprehensive exam in calculus is tomorrow! Although we are often told to review our work each night so that we don't fall behind, it's true that 90% of us never do that. With that said, cramming is left as a last resort.
-One thing you should figure out is whether you are a night or day person. I have to say a night person has a clear advantage here--they are able to last through the night without much trouble. If you are a day person, be ready to have lots of caffeine and sweets by your side, you may need it.
-As we all know being tired affects our memory and concentration. Don't be surprised if it takes a lot longer to get things down.
-Have an alarm near your side at all times. You don't want to fall asleep while studying, right? Set a new time for it every hour so that it will ring when the time comes, awaking you if you dozed off. I personally take small naps throughout the night if I'm cramming for anything. They usually last about 5 minutes each, and although everyone thinks I'm crazy for doing it, it also helps me feel better.
-Read your notes, go through each little thing over and over until you have a pretty good grasp of it. Test yourself every time you move on to new things. Keep your mind working!
-Keep the room cool. Turn the fan or air conditioning on. Wear shorts, wear nothing! There's nothing worse than being in a stuffy room, that'll make you drowsy for sure.
-Personally, if I don't have four hours of sleep to have before I leave for school, I don't sleep. I find that if I sleep too little before school, I end up being sleepier in school. If I don't sleep, I feel fine until near the end of the day. Get to know yourself, that's just me (and almost makes no sense).
-If you really do care, use those extra 30 seconds between activities to review. You never know, maybe something you look over will be on the test!
During the test, make sure you have a mint or gum with you. Mint helps the mind think more clearly, and with the shortage of sleep, anything that can help is worth a try. Good luck!
