10 ways to ace any exam

I decided to actaully write something half way serious for a change. (no i'm not on drugs) I figured this will be my community service to the pre-med world for the upcoming fall. It took me 3 and 1/2 years to master this technique. And thru much trial and error I have come up with the 10 things you need to do to ace any exam. Some of these are purty obvious....but then again you are a college student and don't know shit. When's the last time you saw a college student do something that actually made sense...............exactly, so shut up and listen.

1. GO TO CLASS. Wow, who woulda thunk! Maybe if you would go to class one and a while you would have a clue as to what the hell is on the exam. I usually had about 5 classes in a semester and there would be at least 2 classes that I went to just for the 3 exams. I wouldn't recommend it, unless you either have a photographic memory OR it's some pussy fine arts dance class you took as a blow off class so you could have fridays off.

2. STAY AWAKE IN CLASS. I give you that at times this can be damn near impossible. Figure out a way to stay awake.....there's always a way. Slam a red bull during class or sit next to the extremely hot chick (or guy) in the class. Go to the bathroom and throw cold water in your face or just excuse yourself and run around the building a few times. Do whatever works.

3. TAKE NOTES. This is huge!! They don't have to be pretty, just scribble them down. If you don't have notes then you're fucked. It's as simple as that. This one covers that whole paying attention thing cause you have to pay attention to take notes. Even if the class has reached the level of crazy ass retarded boring, just try to pay attention and get the notes. You can still half zone out and get all the notes. I used to do that all the time. As a general rule of thumb, write down everything the prof writes on the board or on a power point. If you get a talker (talker= some crazy bitch who rambles on incoherently like they have uncontrollable diarrhea of the mouth) Just try to get the main points. The prof will probably repeat the main points or pause after a main point for writing. I recommend just one notebook for each class cause it's simple and you don't confused your tiny little minds!!

4. IF YOU MISS A DAY, GET THE NOTES FROM SOMEONE. You'd be suprised how much shit you can miss in a day. I had days where I just couldn't drag my ass outta bed to get to class. Either that or I was skipping it to go drink some frosty brews at the ballgame! Whatever the reason, remember to cover your ass and get the notes. I'm too damn lazy to rewrite what someone wrote, so I would ask to borrow their notebook for a few hours, walk to the library and photocopy their notes from their notebook!! Easy and simple!! Plus, it's a great way to meet a cute girl (or guy) in the class. Every once in a while, you can ask the prof for notes and they will give them to you.

5. ASK QUESTIONS. If you don't get something, just ask about it in class. If you ask about it while you're in class then you won't have to hunt down the answer in a book later. Also, you get points with the prof for asking questions. This will help you later when you have a borderline grade on something or when you need a recommendation letter! Plus, participation is usually a portion of the grade anyway. Chances are the question you ask in class will show up on the test somewhere which just means easy points for you!

6. READ THE BOOK. I can't stress this enough!! Read the damn book, it's not that hard!! It doesn't take that long either. Most exams have material from the lectures and material from the book that they don't go over in class. By reading the chapter you not only refresh the material in your head, but you also cover the stuff the prof doesn't go over but is still on the exam.

7. MANAGE YOUR TIME. If you do any of these, do this one!! This was my key to A's thru college. Read the book ahead of time. If you do a half a chapter or a chapter a day, you stay ahead of the class, you give yourself time to go over shit you don't get, and you avoid having to cram for exams. Don't wait till the night before the exam to study for it. Even if you think it will be easy. You wouldn't believe how good it feels to be a chapter ahead of the class in all of your classes. Never behind and never stressed. It eliminates virtually all the stress of cramming and all that jazz. For example, if I had an exam in two weeks which cover material from 4 chapters, I would read a chapter a day or a chapter every other day. This way it would leave me at least 5 or so days to study for the exam. My method is to read the chapter kinda fast and highlight the important stuff. I then go back and study the highlighted stuff and I study my notes. I also do practice problems if necessary. Once I read and highlighted all of the chapters I would start studying for the exam two days before. That gives me two days to STUDY (not start reading and then study). By the time the exam roles around you'll be a pro.

8. STUDY BY YOURSELF IN A QUIET PLACE. Believe it or not, but studying with other people doesn't work. You end up sitting and talking about random shit like where you're going to go out this weekend or about why Paris Hilton is such a skank. Also, studying with music doesn't work either. You cannot memorize things and listen to music at the same time. You're brain can't handle it. You brain needs to focus on what you're putting into it, otherwise you won't remember the material the next day. Find a quiet spot where you work best. I'm really picky about where I study. I need like mood lighting and everything. Go whereever you can be the most productive. (Not Starbucks!) Just trust me, if you do this you'll get shit done faster and you'll know more than other people--because all the other people are pissing away their time studying in starbucks with their friends not getting anything done. Hang out with your friends later doing something better....like doing kegstands half-naked!!

9. UNDERSTAND IT. It is by far way better to learn and understand the material than just trying to memorize it. If you understand the material you will ace every exam because if you ever get a tough question you can reason through it. Plus, if you understand the material, you won't have to spend so much time studying the material, it will just come naturally. I know there are some classes where that's just not gonna happen. In these cases, memorize the shit like there's no tomorrow!! One more thing....don't forget that all this stuff is gonna come back on the final, so if you understand it, the material will come back to you so easy and you won't get that "oh my damn, i'm gonna mess my pants" feeling!!

10. TAKE BREAKS. No one expects you to study for 9 straight hours. I give myself a list of stuff that I need to get done that day and I try to get it done as early as possible. This way I can screw around at night and do what I want (i.e. try to pick up women with horribly cheesy pick up lines)! Referring to #7, if you do a little every day, you save yourself alot of hassle. Anyways, take a break whenever you find yourself rereading the same line 4 times and still not knowing what it said. Grab a bite to eat, a 20 minute power nap, or talk to a friend for a bit. It gives you a refresher so that you can keep truckin!!

I assure you that if you do these, you will get an A on all your exams!! Once you get that A, you will be happy knowing you're doing what you came to do, and that you're probably making the rents happy too. Once you get a few A's and use these good study habits, it will become second nature!! By following these basic guidelines, you will actually be spending less overall time studying and have much less stress!!

One final note, once you're done with the exam....go fuckin' party cause you earned it!! Good luck and happy studying!!