Hello everyone,

Last week I had to get minor surgery to get my wisdom teeth removed (no fun!), but being out of school for a couple of days allowed me to focus on something that is important in my college process right now (beyond keeping up with the school work I missed that is).  So what did I do? I studied for my SAT and ACT! I am taking both of them soon so I can weigh out what scores to send to colleges.  One thing I regret is not taking them or my PSAT last year.  Because of that, I am going into this round of testing a little blind, and I will not have enough time to take each test more than once.  So I am writing about study tips for all of those like me that have to make the most of the next month or two, as well as those juniors out there that have a little more time to hone their study habits. While I have previously written a blog with some study tips, I discovered some new ones that have helped me and I figure some of my readers may find this information useful.

There are a million ways to study for SAT's, ACT's, mid-term exams, finals, and any other test or quiz that you can think of (ok, maybe not a million, but there are a lot!), it all just depends on what gets you to focus. One way many people I know use to focus is flash (index) cards. Flash cards can be used for a lot of different studying strategies. You can use them to study vocabulary or important dates by putting the word or date on one side and putting the definition or event that happened on the other. You can also use them to remind you of key points that you want to make during a speech or classroom presentation (I know that I am nervous sometimes standing in front of people and having my notes to glance at can help calm my nerves and keep me on course).

Funny sayings can also be used to help you remember something. I'm sure many of you had to learn the PEMDAS rule in one of your math classes-“Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally” (or something along those lines) to help you remember what order to do your math in. The same concept can be applied to vocabulary words or just about anything else.  If you create a silly sentence, you may be more likely to remember it not only for your vocabulary quiz, but maybe even for years to come!

Another strategy may be to re-write notes or facts over again if you learn or remember better by writing things down. Repetition helps many people retain information.  Or perhaps you could teach someone else the concept you are trying to master.  You can’t teach someone else something that you don’t know yourself, so you would be re-enforcing the information. 

You can have someone ask you questions that you prepared (with the answers of course) if you remember better when you say it out loud. You could also make a game for you and your friends or classmates to play to help you study. Games can be a really fun way to learn and it will keep you interested so you won’t get distracted from your studying. And because it’s fun, you may even forget that you are studying (an added bonus!)

Like I said there are a million different ways to study and memorize information, you just need to be creative and think of things that will help you; we are all different!  What are some tried and true study tips that have worked for you?

Happy studying,
Meryssa