Throughout the year, but especially at this time of year, it seems like all you do is study. Studying is probably the most constant thing in college. You know no matter what class you have, you’ll most likely have to study at least once during the semester. Here are some tips to help you get through the many studying hours.
1. Find good studying place. It doesn’t matter whether you lock yourself away in your bedroom, go to the library or go to the park, just make sure it is a place you can focus and won’t be distracted. If you get distracted around people, go to the library or hang out in your closet with a light. If too much quiet drives you crazy, go to the park or your living room. Going along with this, make sure the place is comfortable because you will most likely be there for a little bit. But not too comfy, you don’t want to fall asleep while reading your textbook. 
2. Listen to some music. I highly recommend listening to music while studying. It makes it so it’s not completely boring, but helps you focus and keep your mind rolling. If you’re studying a language, listen to music in that language. If you’re doing homework where you have to write a paper or read over some stuff, listen to music scores (I highly suggest The Lord of the Rings one) or classical music stations on Pandora or Spotify, that way you still have music, but the words aren’t distracting you. If you’re doing something that doesn’t require too much thought, throw some T-Swift on your iPod and sing along while you work. It’s also scientifically proven that music helps you too.
3. Take breaks. It’s scientifically proven that taking breaks while studying helps you retain the knowledge. I generally like to study for a bit, then watch an episode of something on Netflix or read a chapter of my book then study for longer then watch Netflix or read more. It’s an ongoing process. I think the ratio is 15 minutes of break to an hour of studying. We all know that it usually ends up the other way around.
4. Don’t cram. If you cram, you’ll forget everything right after the test and it might come in handy when you actually get a job. Plus you’ll also burn yourself out if you stay up all night studying before the test. Study for a couple days before the test, take breaks and get a good nights rest the night before. 
5. Study groups. When you first get to college, you might think they are weird and unhelpful, but they are actually really fantastic. I suggest setting up a study group for classes that you know will be tough, but also for ones that you might find easier so that you can help others understand what is going on as well. Plus, explaining things to others actually might help you understand it more as well. Also you get different view points/explanations so something might click better than what the teacher was saying. They are wonderful things.
That’s basically all you need to know to get through those terrible studying times in your school career. Good luck and may the force be with you.
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