As the Fall 2022 semester comes to an end, here are some helpful study tips from upperclassmen and faculty to help those that are struggling. This could also be very helpful for Freshmen who have never taken a college final before and need some guidance.
Biological Sciences Professor Dennis De Luca jokingly stated that students should just know everything, but realistically stated that students should take a look at their syllabus and understand their course objectives by studying their notes. This brings up the issue of what professors believe students should be able to understand by the end of the semester. Students should meet with their professors (or email them) and make sure they understand what their expectations are, so they can study around that.
Forensic Biology Junior Chloe Rosenberger believes that it is best to play one specific song for the entirety of a single study session as long as it does not distract you. She believes the song will end up becoming background noise and could provide enough entertainment without being too distracting.
Fifth Year Pharmacy (P5) Student Ciara Sauto believes that students should not buy the textbook or premade flashcards. Instead, she believes that students should either create their own practice exams or use those that are provided on the internet by past students so that they are more prepared for what type of questions the final exam might entail.
Forensic Biology Junior Katherine Gussenhoven said that each student should figure out what type of learner they are and stick with it. The four different learning styles are visual, auditory, reading/writing, and kinesthetic. Visual learners prefer to see diagrams and charts or act out their work in order to comprehend it. They tend to use different colors and symbols or highlight their notes to make aspects stand out more. Auditory learners like to hear their notes out loud or rewatch lectures. They could discuss their notes with another student or go through them again with their professor. Reading and writing learners read their textbooks and rewrite their notes into multiple-choice questions. Kinesthetic learners incorporate examples into their notes and see how their content relates to real-life situations.
If you need some help trying to identify what type of learner you are, here are some questionnaire websites such as the VARK questionaire, the EducationPlanner assessment, and the Arden University quiz. If these websites do not help, try out all of the types of learning to find whatever works best for you (it could be a mixture of the different types).