Every student’s worst nightmare is to fail all their exams. Everyone has fears about not performing perfectly in school and not living up to their full potential. This includes the “brightest witch of her age": Hermione Granger from the classic Harry Potter series. However, based on the books, the unofficial fictitious patron saint of studying, Hermione, has had few less-than-magical tricks for every college student.
1. Do all the readings and take notes. Hermione was known for always eagerly raising her hand to answer questions about the readings. Coming prepared for class and feeling confident and somewhat competent feels amazing. There is a method that can help get you almost to this level. Read through the reading once without any pressure to retain anything, just so you know the important points. Then, read through again while taking “sloppy” notes, focusing on the accuracy of the information, but not the organization. A regular pen and paper works for this. Finally, rewrite your notes (which will help with memorization) while organizing it, rewording it, and, if you like, add a little style with nice gel pens, ornate penmanship, and a special notebook.
2. Form a study group. Hermione always would study with Harry and Ron. Even though they were never as studious as her, she used the opportunity to have a symbiotic relationship. She would test her knowledge by teaching them, and they would be able to learn from her. Having a productive, comradely group allows everyone to feed off of each other’s positive energy as well as everyone getting all the work done. Your Ron and Harry will thank you for this one!
3. Keep track of time and plan efficiently. Hermione’s time turner is what every stressed out college student’s dreams are made of! Tragically, we mere muggles only have the present. A popular time management strategy is the pomodoro system. You work for 25 minutes on your studies as focused as possible. If anything comes to mind that is not related to your studies, like grabbing a snack or responding to a text, write it down on a post-it note. Once your 25 minutes are up, take a 5 minute break. This is great for studying for long periods of time. An extension that works amazing on Google Chrome that uses this system is lanes.io. You’ll be able to be more productive in a shorter period of time! Very Hermione approved.
4. Be passionate! Hermione did so much studying because she was genuinely ardent about the subjects she was learning. There was a reason she dropped Muggle Studies despite doing extremely well and threw herself into potions despite finding it so challenging. Remember why you are doing such hard work and what the reward for you is. On the other side of the coin, Hermione was always involved outside of academia, including dangerous adventures in the Forbidden Forest, knitting clothes for house elves as a part of S.P.E.W., and brewing polyjuice potions. Don’t let your studies dominate your whole life. Pursue your passions boldly.
“No, I’m not going to work at the Ministry of Magic, I’m hoping to do some good in the world!”
