When it comes to taking an exam you have to be prepared well before the date of the exam. Your brain requires time to process the information that it is reading, so beginning to review the material at least a  week in advance will be beneficial to your test scores. You should take the time to organize all of the essential information into one place to begin putting it all into a study guide. Study guides will help to highlight all of the key information necessary to succeed. According to College Magazine, having all of your information in one place eliminates all of the smaller class focuses and allows for your brain to focus on the topics you need to study. 

The last thing you want to do is procrastinate studying for the  exam and be forced to learn all of the information the day before or the day of your exam. Your brain needs time to process the information, and allowing yourself extra time to plan study guides and receive help from teachers will increase the grade you receive on the exam. Charles Dickens says, “My advice is, never do tomorrow what you can do today. Procrastination is the thief of time.” Allowing yourself plenty of time to obtain all of the information you need for an exam is a skill that will be very beneficial to have. One of the worst traits you will find in education is procrastination. Time is everything when it comes to your brain learning new topics. 

When you are studying it is very easy to get distracted, so you need to make sure you are in an environment where you can focus. Everybody learns differently so if working alone is not helping you try working in a study group environment. Turning off your cell phone and all electronic devices can also be very beneficial when it comes to studying. Hearing background noises and receiving notifications can take the focus away from your work.  

While reviewing your notes for your midterms you do not want to be looking at all of your classes at once. Study.com believes that if you review your study guides class by class it will allow for your brain to focus and gather more information on the topic. Once you have learned the majority of the information from one class you will be able to move onto mastering the next. Once you believe you have a good understanding of each class’s material you can once again go over each topic and refresh your memory one last time before the exams. Study.com has  found that color coding your notes can help your brain to process the information easier and is more likely to remember it later on.

The most important thing when it comes to preparing for midterms is focusing on yourself and your own health. Although reviewing all of the information is important, if your body and mindset are not prepared to take an exam you will not do well on it. Study.com shows that not eating and drinking enough before an exam will result in worse grades on an exam. Many people believe that staying up late or pulling all nighters before an exam will give them some last minute memorization, but in reality not getting enough sleep is making it so your brain can not process the information it has taken in.