Maybe “cramming” isn’t the best method to study, but it surely works well enough when you need it to. Most college students are juggling 15-17 credits, internships, jobs, clubs and a social life – sometimes studying time slips away. If one thing is true about college students, it’s that none of us feel like we know how to study properly. We’ve all heard of quick-fix studying hacks – such as chewing the same flavor of gum when studying as when you are taking a test or putting your notes through Google Translate to hear them out loud – but be honest, have you ever tried those hacks?
The saving grace for our generation was Quizlet. The true heroes were your classmates that created a Quizlet straight from the class notes. Unfortunately, starting in Aug. 2022, Quizlet began requiring a subscription, and again, students quickly scrambled at the threat of a Quizlet-less test.
We’ve all been there: it’s Sunday night at 11 p.m., your midterm is at 9:40 a.m. Monday morning whether you’re prepared or not. Your professor’s voice echoes in the back of your head as seven to eight weeks of information merges into nonsensical phrases. Your notebook is half-full, a reminder to go back to the lecture slides to finish writing your notes, but of course, life got in the way. At this point, you begin to convince yourself that a good night’s rest is more crucial to your success than last-minute studying – but this is where cramming thrives.
If you’ve been attending class and doing your homework, the knowledge is in your head somewhere. Cramming serves as a refresher of all the information that has already been filed away. In fact, cramming is contingent on you generally paying attention and investing in your classes. Sure, cramming is only a method for short-term memory retention, but if the class in question is related to your major, I have a hard time believing that you’ll never transfer that knowledge to long-term memory.
When completing a degree program, you continually build on foundational knowledge to prepare you for a career where you will use that same knowledge daily. This repetition will not allow for anything to slip through the cracks. In no way is cramming a supplement to education, but it will at least get you good grades.
Cramming can take many forms. I have found speed reading my class notes and lecture slides to be really helpful in the minutes before a test. In some cases, you’ll get so lucky that one of the test questions may be word-for-word what was written on those slides. This works for all types of test questions: multiple choice, short answer and essay. If you have an essay question that you’re not confident in and you re-read the lecture slides, use the bullet points to outline your essay. You’ll be able to fill in the rest with your general understanding of the class material.
If you are not so lucky with the format of your test, don’t worry too much. The information you crammed is fresh in your mind and will be applicable to any format of test. Instead of seeing a semester’s-worth of information jumbled on the page, certain words will stand out; the lightbulb will go off, and you will be able to form connections between words, ideas and case studies.
So, as finals season comes upon us and you’ve found yourself delaying studying to the last minute, consider cramming as a last-ditch effort. At least in the end, you won’t be able to say you didn’t give it your best effort.
