In high school I never knew how to study properly; I was always doing things last minute, rushing my assignments and waiting till the last second to prepare for exams and projects. I would "wing" a lot of things, and luckily it usually ended up working out for me. However, once I got to college I realized I could not keep the same poor, ineffective study habits I had in high school. I don't think I ever really studied for a test/exam until I got to college. I was hit with this realization after my first round of exams second semester when I started taking more difficult classes. First semester was fairly easy because the only content-heavy class I was taking was chemistry; my other classes did not require as much brainpower to understand concepts; I was still working hard but I was not mentally stressed out trying to grasp concepts. Second semester I was taking physics, chemistry, statistics, animal reproduction and corresponding labs all at the same time so I had more content to get through with less time allotted to each. Second semester before coronavirus became an issue was also competition season for my dance team so I was especially short on time.

After failing my first physics exam, I realized I had to get it together and figure out how to study effectively and make the most of my time. I would say the biggest thing that helped me with studying was planning in advance and putting an end to my cramming sessions. I would get so stressed when I realized that I only had a day or two to prepare for an exam and my high levels of stress would hinder my ability to study properly and take in all the information I was reviewing. Planning my content review in advance really helped me fully understand the material I was studying. I also had less stress because I knew what I would be studying and when. Everyone's way of studying is different but once you find your niche, classes become a lot easier. I would recommend trying different methods of studying or studying with different people to find how you operate best.