[Mallika]

Hi there,

Thank you for coming to TeenHelp to share how you feel. Your experience is completely valid and something many college students go through all around the world.

I did decently well in college and so I can share some study tips with you. You still have some weeks till your finals. Having 6 classes is quite a normal load for a college student. In other words, improving your grades is still very much possible. You are capable of it, if not you wouldn’t be in college. Right now it is going to be just about priorities, so I suggest doing the following:

1) Prioritise your studies over other commitments till your finals. If you’re involved in extra-curricular activities, you might want to withdraw from them for the time being (you can always go back to them after your finals; they’re important too!).

2) Know what is required of you. Prepare an Excel or Google sheet and note down each of your classes on one column. In the next, note down the type of assessment required for each class. For example, does a final for one class require you to write essays? Or is it an MCQ? The reason you can do this is to allow you to focus on precisely what is required. For example, if a final requires you to answer only 2 out of 3 questions asked, you can save revision time by studying a few selected topics instead of the entire curriculum. If it's an MCQ, you probably have to study the entire class' content.

3) In your Excel sheet, make a note of the various study materials you could use for revising each class. For example,
Molecular Biology: lecture notes, tutorial worksheets, lab notebook
English Literature: XYZ books, lecture notes, mid-term test answers
etc.

4) Make a day-by-day study schedule. The idea is not to cram, but rather allocate bite-sized chunks of revision material to be covered on each day leading up to the finals. This has been my mantra - I didn’t study 12-14 hours a day even once during college. Rather, I studied 3-4 hours each day for a few weeks leading up to the finals and this tricked worked well.

5) Doing past exam papers - this is an extremely powerful tool. Perhaps talk to your tutors or professors and get your hands on your class’ past year papers (finals). Time yourself and complete the papers as though they are the real thing. This is perhaps one of the best ways to study.

6) Reach out to your tutors and professors. If you want to bring your grades up, it might really pay to visit a professor/tutor/TA and ask them for advice on improving your grades specifically for their class. This is effective for another reason - they might drop hints on what might actually be tested. If that happens, you know what to prioritise on when you revise.

7) Take time out to unwind. This might seem counterintuitive especially when you’re under the impression that there’s so little time on hand. But in reality, getting some me-time each day will actually boost your productivity. 3-4 hours of diligent revision each day + relax at the end of the day is what consistency is all about. That will make coping and preparing for your finals much easier.

Hope these help! Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions!