How to Study Last Minute_ For Finals

Hi everyone, in today's video I want to do kind of like a different take on my how to study last minute video. A few of you pointed it out that it kind of didn't help you because in that video I was referring to like midterms or small tests you may have, but quite a few of you said that it would be more beneficial if I did a how to study last minute for finals video because let's face it, we've all been there, we've all lacked time and needed to rush to get those grades and oh my god, hopefully pass. So without further ado, in today's video I want to focus on how to get your stuff together and how to get prepared for a final exam if you have two or three days max to study. Now before I start I want to point out that if you take really good notes in class and if you take really good notes on your textbook throughout the semester, this is going to be much easier for you, but let's pretend like you didn't do that and let's just pretend that oh my god, you woke up, your exam is in like 2-3 days and you're freaking out, what are you going to do? So now that I have you all in context, I'm going to share with you my 4 tips that have helped me personally survive finals with little time. Now the first tip I have for you is plan your time, organize your time, if possible hour by hour, like you need to be organized, you need to know what you do because the number one thing that contributes to a bad grade and to freaking out when you have little time to study for a final is that you feel overwhelmed, when in fact there's not that much to do, like read notes, read chapter notes, that's it, bam. But plan your time, it is not a waste of time to plan your time, it never is. So take down a piece of paper, say day 1, 2, 3, this is what I'm going to do. Now what I suggest you do is day 1, read everything, like just right off the bat, just get familiar with the material, day 2 is active learning, so making lists, and day 3, if you have a day 3, is test yourself and repeat, like reread the lists one last time, full on, binge read them for an entire day and you should be a-okay for the final. That's how I suggest you plan your time, but it's really up to you, you know your rhythm more than I do, but that's just my suggestion. The number 2 tip I have for you is to step away from the textbook, unless you took really good quality notes on that textbook, do not open it, cause you will freak out. If you didn't read the textbook, it's not the time to read it now. So usually when you open the textbook you're like oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god, close it, you don't have time for it, you need to focus and actually register some material here, so close it, put it away, and just focus on your class notes, on your slides. If you know that there's gonna be some stuff from the textbook, but you didn't read it, take the textbook, at the end of each chapter there should be a summary of the chapter, read the summaries of the chapters, and at the end there should be like a, at the end of each chapter or at the end end end of the textbook, there's usually key words or key terms and definitions. So if you really need to know things from the textbook, but you didn't read it, read the textbook summary and the textbook key words with definitions, those are gonna help you out. Don't start reading the textbook, too long, no time, don't panic, summary and key notes. The next advice I have for you is pretty like, time consuming I would say. I would start doing this either at the end of the first day or in the beginning of the second day, and that is once you familiarize yourself with all the material, make a list of key terms, of key dates, of important people, of formulas. This list is gonna take all that unorganized, full, chunky, heavy material and narrow it down and make it clear and concise. So definitely make a list, like write a key word, write a short definition, no more than one phrase, don't start writing paragraphs for each key word. One phrase, it's supposed to trigger in your mind that that means that, that means that. In the exam, what's gonna happen is you're gonna have, obviously, a bunch of questions, but in those questions you will find key words or terms that should be on your list. If you know those, you can either answer the question like, perfectly, or at least understand the question so you can like, apply street knowledge and try to figure it out to the best of your abilities. This is what happens when you study last minute, folks, but hey, at least you have a fighting chance. So like I was saying, my next point for you, if you have three days to study, is on the third day, test yourself. So make yourself little tests to see if you actually understood or if you actually really well memorized the key terms, or at least if you know, eh, kinda what they mean. This is gonna help you quite a lot because it's gonna rev up your brain, it's gonna be like, okay, this is how it's gonna look like on a test, and it's gonna make you calm down a bit and boost your self-esteem a little bit if you studied well. If you didn't study well, that is also an indicator to tell you where you need to study some more, because you need to be quick about it, and you need to know, okay, that part I know, this part I don't know, so I'm gonna focus more on this part. By all means, if you don't have that third day to test yourself, hey, learn that list, learn it, and it's gonna go well, don't worry. And the last point I wanna make is to, very importantly, it's pretty easy, but no one does it, let's be honest, and that is, don't panic. When you study last minute and a big final that's worth, like, 70% of your grade is coming, you're afraid, you're freaking out, I know, but this doesn't help you at all. Calm down, make the planner. That's why I suggested to you to plan your time in advance, because that way you'll know exactly what you're supposed to do, and you know that you're not, like, procrastinating or not doing anything, you know where you are, and this is gonna help you relax. It's very important that you calm down and don't panic. Keep calm and study on, because this ain't the time to freak out. What that's gonna do is that you're gonna forget things, you're gonna be all over the place, the material won't make sense to you, and your brain will just be like, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, that is a form of distraction. Your emotions are a form of distractions when you study. So it's very important to breathe, make that list, say, okay, today I have to do this, this and this. I will do it. And I will relax. If, by all means, if you're having a panic attack, or if you're feeling way too stressed, take a break. Give yourself an hour break, or, like, go out, change your ideas just to calm down and then come back. Your brain needs to be relaxed, especially when it has to load up on information in very little time. So that's it for today's video, guys. I really hope you enjoyed it. I hope it was more helpful than the first one. So yes, I do listen to your suggestions, and if you have anything else you would like me to do, just let me know in the comments down below. And I will see you in my next video. Please don't forget to give a thumbs up to this one if you liked it, and subscribe to me if you like what you see. Bye, guys!