The clock is at 7:45 your heart beat increases. You can feel it coming: the realization that you have been in this class all year and can remember absolutely nothing makes your muscles cringe. You begin to have a pounding  headache, and later you are handed that number two pencil that you can’t even grab correctly because of the sweat of your palms.  Your mood goes from concerned to completely panicked.

Preparing for exams is always stressful, but there are steps you can take to make sure you are as ready as possible. Although many do have the right intentions when starting this process there are many techniques that make the difference. This techniques are what make the result of acing or falling an exam.

Distracting Factors:

Although studying is mostly a matter of discipline, there can be other factors that prevent you from getting the grade you want when taking the test. It can be something that we don’t see or don’t want to notice. Its individual for each that’s why we have to take time to analyze what distracts us when we study.

Tatiana Velez, TCS 11th grade student, tells us how phones are one thing that is  believed to be the biggest distraction.

¨My cellphone, Netflix, and according some people music, but for me music is perfect it actually helps,” said Velez .

They occupy hours of our time and when we study and hear them beep it has become instinct that we immediately look at them. This is why we should take an initiative to turn them off, put them on airplane mode, or if you believe you might need it just turning of notifications makes a mayor change.

What we don’t see

There are many that study but still don’t do well and ask themselves over and over what can they be doing wrong. There are many ways in which people learn some are visual, auditory, or tactile. Theses tree factors all affect the way people prefer to study and what works for them.

“Flashcards, and reading they help me memorize and are so important for when iIstudy,” said Velez.

Velez classified as visual learner recommends to use flash cards and to read more since is a technique that has worked for her and others that understand more visually. There are other techniques such as retaking notes, watching videos, or even using colors to classify can help.

“Also very important is asking the teacher questions, many have doubts and prefer to leave them unresolved then ask,” said Velez.

Asking questions especially when you are lost is always the way to go. Just remember that the teachers know what’s on the test and will give you correctly.

Botero Columbus School high school student reminds us why it’s so important to relax before a test especially if you are confident that you now the material. Studying is very important but also having confidence when taking the test may change the outcome of your grade.

“(The key is)Making sure that your not too stressed, because if you go into an exam stressed you’re going to forget everything just relax,”said Tatiana Botero.

Managing our time :

The amount of time you study depends purely on the way you organize your time and the classes you have.

Conchita Escobar 11th grade student at The Columbus School gives a great point when saying that to manage studying and avoiding unusefull cramming organizing what we have to study for is key. Notice what you have to study for beforehand and which are your weakest points to dedicate more time to. This may be a great tip for many as we all struggle in different subjects depending on our abilities.

” I make sure a week before the finals I organize myself and review the subjects beforehand,” said Escobar.

Environment:

The environment for concentration is completely different for each individual.Some prefer to study in groups, at a library, cafe, or friend´s house. And there are others that perceive working at social places and with other people as a distracting factor.

Velez gives us her intake on how she prefers to study and tells us that for her a distracting factor is her bed. This is something that many don’t see but can be a distracting factor.

“In my house preferably at a desk. Never on my bed because I will fall asleep,” said Velez.

“Being in a quiet place and specially having everything around me organized helps me concentrate,” said  Escobar.

Organization is key. You may have heard this phrase before, and when studying its completely true. Keeping your work space neat and tidy may help you remove the clutter from your mind and make conservation effortless.

 “Studying takes discipline and it’s about getting the stuff done when you have to get them done,” Botero.