pretest strategies?

<p>What do you guys do before the test? Do you study till the last minute or relax for an hour or so? Just wondering...</p>

<p>Depends on how good I feel about the subject matter. If I think I have everything down by 10 PM, get a lot of sleep and relax before it. If I think I'd be better off cramming until 3 AM than getting a good night of sleep, then I'll do that.</p>

<p>The hour right before the test, if I am free, I'll look over stuff for sure. I always feel like I catch something last minute that ends up on the test so it seems worth it to me.</p>

<p>If the option is available, I will always study up until about 15 minutes before the class begins.</p>

<p>anyone ever make stupid mistakes? I'm always making really small mistakes which screw up the whole problem. It's relaly frustrating, I was wondeirng if this came from overstudying, lack of sleep, etcl..? I mean I see ppl cramming until the last minute pulling all nighters and still get A's. I try to get atleast 7 hours of sleep before the test though.</p>

<p>I've found that the most important thing is to make sure you're confident/relaxed during the exam- and IMO, this comes with really understanding the concepts...like really really well rather than knowing how to do certain types of problems- that way you don't panic/freakout and consequently, lose complete concentration or forget everything you've learned. Nothing beats putting a lot of time and effort into the homework(struggling through the problems without help even if it takes days to get the answer) and reading the textbook/notes so that you really grasp the material enough to do any 'type' of problem that you encounter on the exam. </p>

<p>I think you should have finished studying the day before the exam and then go over the stuff the day of- all nighters f**k you up mentally and you just wont be able to do the best you can on the exam- you won't remember some key things that you've studied and you'll feel slightly drowsy. But if you've really slacked off the weeks before the exam then you'll have no choice and you'll probably be better off staying up...I'm going to stop doing that next semester though</p>

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anyone ever make stupid mistakes?

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</p>

<p>hehe... Virtually everyone does at one point or another. The key, as racnna alluded to, is to go into the test with a calm, clear mind. I also try to have a mental checklist that I go through in my head while I am waiting for the test to come my way. The mental checklist allows me to recall my "game plan", general concepts, etc...</p>

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I'm going to stop doing that next semester though

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<p>Spoken like a true procrastinator. :) We all set out with that goal! I haven't accomplished it yet.</p>

<p>yeah i know. I've been saying that since my first semester in college...but this time i'll really TRY....</p>

<p>Sit towards the front. If you sit in the back, you can be distracted or overwhelmed by the number of people in front of you quickly flipping pages, writing things down, looking stressed out. If you sit in the front few rows, you can't see anything but the blackboard so there's not much to distract you from the test.</p>