TOP test prep advice (from a notorious (but successful) try-hard)

     If you clicked on this article, you are probably looking for the golden key to studying and preparing for tests. The one rule, the one tip, the one strategy that is going to change it all for you, and guide you to success, soaring marks, straight A's, 5s on all your AP tests, that 1600, that 36, etc.

    Well, let me tell you right now, that one rule doesn't exist. I'm actually going to hit you with what I think is the MOST important test prep tip right now - test prep advice is not made equal, just like people. Don't have blind belief or faith in any advice. Yep, I said it. People are made from infinitely different combinations of beliefs, experiences, tendencies, and neurological / psychological makeup. Don't let yourself fall down the spiral of confusion and despair because what works for someone else or even what seems like everyone else doesn't work for you. 

    The most important thing about academic advice, or any advice in general, is being able to apply and adapt it to YOU. As we go forward and I share the MOST SUCCESSFUL tips and strategies I adapted to my personal study habits and academic career, make sure to take everything with a grain of salt. And another grain of salt. And think about how the advice applies to your career, field of study, and personal habits.

    Make sure to try these tips before rejecting them, but don't treat any one piece of advice as a savior or holy grail, because the truth is that your academic career is all about discovering what works best for you.

    If you're reading this article around the time it came out (April 2024), you're probably preparing for test-taking season. Regardless of which step in your academic career you are currently in, know that your health comes first. Never put your safety and well-being on the back-burner for a score or a grade that you won't even remember in 5 years.

    And remember, these are my FAVORITE and most EFFECTIVE tips and strategies that have guided me personally to success.

PREPARE ON-THE-GO.

    Procrastination should be your biggest enemy. And this is coming from someone who is notorious for submitting essays and assignments at 11:59 PM. Here's the thing - your end result might be relatively similar, but the truth is you can save yourself a lot of stress, panic, and scramble for resources come test time if you are preparing along the way.

    This doesn't need to be extremely difficult. The most important thing is making space, time, and organization systems that guide you to success. 

    For example, one of the most challenging classes I've ever taken is AP World History this past year. As you can image, memorizing a millennia of information and patterns is no small feat. But even before we started diving deep into the key concepts of the class, I fleshed out a note sheet in Google Docs that contained tabs for each unit, sub-folders for each unit point, and a space for key notes as well as vocab terms. Come midterms or finals season, these note sheets that I had been dutifully (and sometimes blindly) filling in throughout the semester or year really showed their worth. While others struggled to go back through pages and pages of dispersed notes or slideshow material, I had already created a master list, day-by-day, with a clean breakdown of all the concepts and vocab terms. Taking this day-by-day resulted in me having a free master review sheet without any additional work, thanks to my pre-semester preparation. This will save you a lot of time.

MAKE AND REMAKE REVIEW SHEETS @ MULTIPLE STAGES

    While you have this master review sheet now, I also learned it is important to break things down further and further. I went from extensive notes on every topic and vocab word per unit, to a 10 word summary of each key point, to 5 words, to just the terms. As you keep narrowing down your focus, you will not only drill these topics in so much further, create various levels of review sheets, but you will be presented with the opportunity to work more on your ACTIVE recall (more in the next tip). When you are left with a short list of terms and concepts, that you have already spent extensive time outlining and drilling into your head, you give yourself the opportunity to slowly transfer more of that knowledge into automatic association and understanding rather than reading from the page. 

    By slowly easing yourself into not just memorization but deep understanding, you establish a more stable and longer lasting track record of memorization.

SEEK DEEP UNDERSTANDING & ASSOCIATION > MEMORIZATION

    This was a tip I always rolled my eyes at. Yeah yeah, understanding the concept was good and all, but wouldn't I be equally fine if I just worked to memorize it??

    Wrong.

    Especially as you advance in your academic career, test-makers are going to work to force you to apply your knowledge to new situations, and ask questions that require deep understanding. I'll never forget when I was asked a question on a math test that basically prompted us to explain why a certain mathematical rule change would nullify a certain equation. I had spent so much time working to memorize this equation and apply it only to the examples we had gone over in class that I didn't know a thing about WHY it worked.

    In comparison, as I tried the next unit to ask a plethora of questions and understand where the equation originated from, I was met with a question on the test that DID ask us to apply an equation to a new scenario - and I found that while I understood the equation and the concept, I actually couldn't remember the equation itself as quickly as I had before when I had simply focused on memorizing it. But the amazing thing is, while I had spent more time working to develop a deeper understanding of the concept rather than the equation, I could actually deduct what it was without having to work to strictly memorize it. Understanding the concept allowed me to find the equation manually through trial and error, not to mention apply it then to various other question types.

    When something confuses you or you can't see how it relates to other concepts, never stop asking questions. You should be able to explain each concept to a deep level, and know how to apply it to new situations. Watch youtube videos and example problems. Seek to understand what led to and resulted from the historical event, the art piece, the equation.

    By understanding what is around it, you gain a deeper understanding of the concept itself.

ASSOCIATION SHOULD BE YOUR BEST FRIEND

    This relates to the previous topic of understanding topics deeply, but is more of a shortcut.

    Something that helped me the most in comprehension is a focus on how things RELATE. How did this event lead to the other? How does this equation relate to this other one? I love mind maps for this - draw out these concepts and try to connect them all to each other in one way or more. When you are faced with that test, even if you see equations, situations, or problems / question types you've never seen before, those connections you will be able to draw from one concept to the next, or one question to the next, will allow you to identify the information and the approach you need to answer such a question successfully. 

I LOVE ACTIVE RECALL + BLURTING

    I could talk about the importance of active recall for years. You may stare at that note sheet for hours, but if you don't practice coming up with responses on your own, you're cooked. The way our brain responds to looking at notes and building connections can be deceiving. You might feel like you understand everything when actually, you are subconsciously dependent on seeing that information presented in front of you a certain way.

    This is going to work differently for everyone, but try out different strategies of active recall. Some of my favorites are...

• Make your own quizzes - guess which questions will show up and how you may see them presented
• Look for online quizzes on this subject
• Watch youtube videos on the concept and pause periodically to attempt to explain a topic before the video speaker does - then check your response against theirs immediately + repeat
• EXPLAIN TO SOMEONE ELSE - especially helpful when the person is willing to ask you additional questions and doesn't already know about the topic. Forces you to break things down to an elemental question and develop a deep understanding
• Make Kahoots / Quizziz challenges, have tournaments with classmates or friends

USE AI WISELY    

    It would be amiss to not mention the extensive impact of artificial intelligence on the current academic sphere. While I am quite frustrated with the growing dependence of students on ideas and concepts that are immediate rather than their own, I am not a blind advocate against AI. There are plenty of tools out there that supplement rather than damage your learning.

    Don't use AI to write your notes for you. This is key in developing initial understanding and introducing yourself to the topic. Don't use AI to make your flashcards for you. This is a missed chance for repetition and increased exposure. 

    Use AI to plug in your own notes / your teachers' course guides and create a multiple choice quiz. Use AI to find new and creative analogies and connections between various topics. Use AI to make studying more fun - maybe ask it to write a story about some chemical compound that will help you remember how it interacts with others.

    Be mindful of when you are using AI to help and further your intelligence, and when you are using it to offload work that is actually more beneficial when done on your own.

PUT THE DAMN PHONE AWAY

    I'd apologize for the language, but I feel that it is necessary to express the importance of this piece of advice. Do you know how much time the average persons spends on their phone in a lifetime? Use this link. Just do it.

    Bet you're horrified, aren't you?

    This isn't a post on how to reduce your screen time, but I just want to put this reminder here that inefficient and unnecessary screen time usage is incredibly impactful and can be detrimental to your overall focus and reaching your goals. You have endless potential, and reading this blog post on it's own demonstrates your dedication and desire to succeed. Don't sabotage yourself by letting that thin piece of metal distract you with notifications every few minutes or distract you from your current task with another one. 

    Delete those social media apps that aren't serving you. Have an effective DND method. Put your phone in another room. Find an accountability partner. Find your own strategy, but work towards reducing your overall screen time.

AGAIN - DON'T FOLLOW ADVICE BLINDLY

    Because it is the most important piece of information I can offer, I want to reiterate it's importance by both opening and closing with it.

    While I can confirm the tips above are what I owe my overall academic success to (including great test scores, perfect GPA, national awards, etc), I CANNOT guarantee they will work exactly the way they worked for me, for you.

    For example - my advice on active recall? I may love using maps for this strategy, but maybe you like lists. Maybe you like drawing pictures. Maybe you really really love flashards. While the idea remains significant, adapt it to your own mental patterns and neurological desires.

    I may enjoy using the pomodoro method adapted to 50 minutes on, 10 minutes off, because I like longer periods of work and am distracted by frequent breaks, you may be able to increase your stamina and time working by doing 25 minutes on, 5 minutes off.

    I hate listening to music with lyrics while I work, and always end up dancing or singing or daydreaming. Meanwhile, I have a friend who can't focus unless Justin Bieber is blasting in her ear. Neither one of us is more correct than the other - but the main point here is to understand how sound influences your focus.

    See what I mean? Each piece of advice contains a key point, a key detail, a key area of focus or strategy you can apply to find your own academic success, but doesn't guarantee you anything when applied without nuance.

    Most of all, remind yourself you are worthy of success and everything that comes your way. Take advantage of your resources, and take charge of your destiny, but allow yourself to take a breath and a periodic step back. Things take time. Take pride in your desire for success, and the amazing ideas that keep you up at night.

    I wish you success in every direction life takes you.

Signing off,

nexisphere