Week Prior Test Prep Strategy
4-6 days before
Plan: Schedule in study time for the rest of the week.
Organize: Review your notes and compile a list of topics that will be on the exam. Highlight the ones you need to study the most.
3 days before
Visualize: Use mnemonic devices and mental maps to organize materials in your head.
Verbalize: Explain your notes out loud to yourself or to a friend. Familiarity is not necessarily comprehension!
Prioritize: Focus your study time on your weakest areas.
2 days before
Rehearse: If possible, take a practice test with the same constraints as the real exam. Simulate the time, resources, and surroundings as accurately as possible.
1 day before
Review: Go over any problems you struggled with on the practice test.
Ask: Don’t be afraid to bring your questions to a classmate, professor, or TA via email or virtual office hours. Remember: they’re here to help!
Test Day!
Warm up: Go over a quick practice problem to reacquaint your brain with the material. Do a problem you’re comfortable with—no need to take on a new challenge right before the test.
Relax: Take a couple of deep breaths before you begin.
Remember: We’re here for you all the way. You’ve got this!
Download a pdf version of this page
Week Prior Test Prep Strategies
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 License. You may reproduce it only for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: Center for Teaching and Learning, Stanford University.