Studying is hard. That’s a fact for a lot of us. Sometimes you can stare at your notes for hours straight and still not understand a single thing you wrote. Sometimes you think you understand something, but you don’t know if you have things right because you might be overthinking. Sometimes you don’t even know what you do or don’t get. School is tough, and at some point, you need a way out.

Instead of sitting at your table with your books and notes splayed out agonizing over your inevitable doom that is your unit exam, you should see how you can get yourself to understand the material. And a lot of the time, you can’t do this by yourself.

With finals around the corner, having good and healthy study habits and tips is even more important than before. So here are some ways to improve your studying for finals (and also future exams).

Academic Resources

Staring at the same page for 2 hours straight is not going to get you anywhere if you don’t even understand what is on that page. Here are some resources that could help you get out of your stuck study spot:

1. Office hours: If your professors/TAs have office hours available, use them! They’re usually either posted on the home page of your class on ICON/Canvas or somewhere in the class syllabus. Office hours are a great way to ask questions to your teachers one-on-one. Typically, if you can’t make it to your teacher’s office hours, they give you the option to set up an appointment with them outside of the designated times, whether in-person or online. Personally, I’ve used office hours a lot for my biology class, especially when exams are near, and I feel like I don’t know if I’m studying the right material.
2. Writing Center: If you have a paper to write and you need help at all, or if you just want someone to read it over, you can make appointments or submit your draft online for review. Writing Center services are free!
3. Tutor Iowa: Need help in a specific class? Search for your class here, then make an appointment with one of the student tutors on campus! You do need to pay a fee for tutors, however, rates are different for each tutor.
4. Supplemental Instruction (SI): SI is a free group study session led by an SI leader. SI is only available to certain courses each semester, so check to see if your class is listed.
   1. Note: SI experiences are different for everyone. I’ve asked a few students what their experiences with SI was like, and while some students say it was really helpful for them, other say it wasn’t really the help they needed. I attended SI once myself for my biology class, and it was kind of helpful for a minute or two, but I needed extra help in other topics that weren’t covered during the session.

For additional academic resources, check out the “Connecting Students to Academic Resources” page!

Study Tips/Habits

I get it. Studying is difficult and tiring, especially if you have multiple exams within a short amount of time. Here are some study patterns I’ve found helpful while preparing for exams:

1. Find a study spot: Sometimes I get way too distracted doing work and studying at my dorm. Finding a spot just to study can be great for avoiding distractions and dedicating time to being productive. A study spot doesn’t have to be in a specific room; many of the buildings on campus have tables in the hallways, and cafes or coffee shops also make great spots. If you’re lucky, sometimes you may find an empty room in the library that you can use, although many of them are reserved beforehand.
2. Study with other people! You can study with friends or people in your classes. Studying with people can make you more motivated to be productive, and you also have people to ask questions to when you need help.
   1. A good trick I’ve recently started using is trying to explain the concept to other people. If you can confidently explain the material correctly to someone else, it shows that you’re proficient in it. This tip has helped me a lot for my last few biology exams!
3. Space out your studying: Starting early not only means you have more time to study, but you also have more time to find what you don’t understand so you can get it in your head better. As some of us have probably experienced, studying last minute and cramming everything in the day before is not a great strategy. Giving yourself enough time is maybe more important than you think it is.
4. Take breaks: If you’ve been looking at the same slides for 20 minutes straight with nothing good happening in your mind, a break might be what you need. It’s draining studying for long periods consecutively, especially if you’re studying multiple times a week. Taking short breaks can be a good way to not only stop what you’re doing for a bit but also refresh yourself both physically and mentally. Stand up, take a walk, drink some water, and refill your snacks. Anything to get yourself to get back to the grind.
5. Set goals for each study session: This can be done in different ways, but if I’m studying for a unit test, I like to dedicate each session to studying 2 or 3 chapters/lectures depending on the length. This can help you stay on track without overloading yourself with work.

For more study tips and habits, check out this article by Coursera!