1. Start Early! – This is the most important one. The internet provides plenty of ways to waste your study time, but you’ll be happy you stayed away from Netflix and Reddit when the final finally comes.
2. Study in Chunks – Your brain works best in 50 minute intervals. You may feel studious after your 6 hour study marathon, but a tired brain doesn’t absorb information like a fresh one. Take 5-10 minutes breaks every hour to make sure you’re making the most of your study time.
3. A Clean, Well-Lighted Place – Studying in bed may sound like a good idea, but once you’re in bed, so will a nap. Find a place that works for you. It should be somewhere where you can focus, spread out your notes, and get in a studying groove. And if you get sick of one place, switch it up!
4. Know Your Teacher – Ask questions, take notes, review old worksheets. Figure out what your teacher thinks is important because that’s what will show up on the final.
5. Study Alone – Start with what you don’t know. Review your old tests, quizzes, and homeworks, and take notes on what you missed. Then spend some time on your own with each of these topics. Write down any questions you have because the next step is…
6. Study in Groups – Once you’ve figured out your own strengths and weaknesses in each subject, form a study group. Here you can ask questions you had on your own and answer some of your study buddies’. Explaining concepts and hearing them explained in new ways will strengthen your understanding of the material.
7. Exercise – Exercise increases blood flow to the brain, and you may need all the brain blood you can get for finals week. It’s also a great way to take a break from book to soak up some sun.
8. Sleep – It may be tempting to cram all night, but
it may not help as much as you think. Give your brain a rest! When the night before the test comes around, be confident in the studying you’ve been doing all week and get some extra sleep.
Do you have any friends who seem to breeze through their finals? While your friends are chilling out, are you stressing out?
How do they do it!?!
They know something you don’t know.
Don’t tell anybody, but I am about to let you in on a big secret. This secret will quite literally change your life- it can make you healthier, less stressed out, and happier.
Here’s the secret to properly preparing for finals: stop cramming.
That’s right, to ace your finals and to be less stressed out about them you need to stop cramming. Cramming up to the last minute pulling marathon all nighters is an inefficient and unhealthy way to study.
Instead of cramming, you need to spread out the work. Starting now, you should take a bit of time (not too little but also not too much) to begin reviewing old notes, problem sets, and exams. The key is for this to be a regimented and manageable review process. If you stick with it and do a little bit each day you will not have to do a lot the weekend before your exams.
The bottom line is that you are going pay now or pay later in terms of preparation.
You can coast now and “pay later” with caffeine-fueled evenings reviewing a semester’s worth of materials in a few days. This is the “drinking from a fire hose” approach. Not fun.
Or you can “pay now” by doing a little bit of preparation each night and spreading out the workload into something more manageable. Being well rested and healthy indisputably helps you perform better exams, this approach of spreading out the work means you will be able to cover more material in a smart way.
An additional benefit of being ahead of the curve when it comes to preparation is if you come across any questions you can ask friends or instructor for extra help and advice.
As Mark Twain (or maybe Agatha Christie) once said, “the secret to getting ahead is getting started.” There is no time to wait, start this process now without the unhealthy late-night heroics, and your mind, body, and report card will thank you.
It’s that time of the year again… that cliche statement.. “the most wonderful time of the year”… Ok, not really… but it is FINALS SEASON.
This month will be one of the busiest weeks for our offices!! PV takes finals this week, followed by Torrance and Manhattan Beach and then Redondo Beach!
We are in communication with RUEF about doing preparation for finals week so e-mail the principal with your support!
This weekend we will be going to both West (Friday 3 to 6pm) and West (Saturday 9am to 12noon) for free Finals Tutoring.
We hope our 7th grade students are having fun at science camp this week.
We were at Peninsula High and at Palos Verdes High for about 5 hours! This past weekend the Study Hut went to both Peninsula High and Palos Verdes High to work with their AVID programs. We had about 10 tutors that volunteered to help out and tutor in all different subjects.
The Study Hut will be open on Monday January 20st – Martin Luther King Jr Day – since schools have off that day.
Please contact the correct branch to schedule appointments with us. Redondo Beach (310)540-5888, Manhattan Beach (310)546-2408, El Segundo, and Newport Beach.
All our students have worked very hard this semester and we are anxious to know how everyone does on finals!
Once finals are over the students in Manhattan can start to prepare for Ski Week the 2nd week of February!
As the year comes to an end, and the holidays are just around the corner, students and tutors alike spend more and more time wishing for the holidays and less and less time burrowing into books and texts. Unfortunately, Mira Costa’s finals are set just after the winter break. The combination of a prolonged break and the holiday festivities predictably will result in temporary “senioritis” in all grade levels. This manifests itself in last minute cram sessions in the days, hours, and minute’s right before finals. Not only that, many teachers will assign lengthy projects to be done over the break. And, just like studying for finals get crammed in at the last minute. This can be avoided with good time management and staying on top of your kids class work. Be aware that finals are coming up and what projects will be assigned for the break.
To accommodate this relaxed state of being carried over from Thanksgiving and the upcoming winter, Study Hut is now brimming with a plethora of new tutors, all ready to make sure our students stay on top of their academics, even through the winter season. We will make sure that your kids are still working and finishing those pesky winter break projects and upcoming finals. Come in and check out our magnificent Douglas fir and our vibrantly crimson poinsettias, the festive Christmas decorations and lights, and the array of stockings representing each and every tutor in the Hut. Study and still enjoy the holiday spirit!
It happens all too often: we pour ourselves a cup of coffee, sit down in front of our computers and books, ready to study, but find ourselves staring blankly at the blinking cursor. When it comes to studying, a lot of us don’t even know where to begin. This is not an issue of motivation; it is simply that we have never learned how to study. Sure, teachers give us all the information we need in class and we take copious notes, scribbling dates and facts down in our notebooks furiously. But what do we do when it comes time to remember all those little bullet points at the end of the semester? At the Study Hut, we specialize in the science of how to study. It may seem trivial, but we have found that most students really have no idea where to begin when it comes to preparing for exams. Unfortunately, this is something that can damage your grades irrevocably. Often final exams are worth fifteen or even twenty percent of your final grade. So what should you do, you might ask. Here are a few pointers to help you stay on track:
1) Flashcards are your friend. Sure, they’re annoying and seem to take forever, but just think: most of the time, once you’ve finished actually writing them out, you already remember them!
2) Define your terms. The best way to instantly forget something is to not understand it to begin with. When you are learning about a new concept or reviewing an old one, have a dictionary close at hand. That way, when you read over a word that doesn’t even look like English, you can figure out what it means and make it stick.
3) C.M.T.W.F.Y.: Create Mnemonics That Work For You. When you are desperately trying to remember something and it’s just not happening, try some mnemonics. Often times, if you create a silly song or jingle, the information will permanently imbed itself in your brain. Don’t believe me? This writer learned the quadratic formula over a decade ago and I still remember it perfectly. Why? I learned it to the tune of “Pop Goes the Weasel.” It may sound stupid, but it really works!
Of course, nothing can replace one-on-one tutoring for educational roadblocks, but with these simple tips, you should be on your way to A’s. Final exams can be scary and intimidating, but there is no reason why you can’t seize the opportunity to boost your grades! So go pick up your pencils and crack open those books! Good luck and happy studying!
The four weeks between Thanksgiving and the winter holiday break can be the toughest lap of the academic race for many students. Everyone loves to buckle down and cram for the “last lap” before Finals in January, but this “second-to-last lap” in December is brutal. With tons of distractions, from family coming into town, holiday shopping, and making sure to enjoy the holiday spirit, it comes as no surprise that many students have a tough time focusing on their tests and assignments.
But this is not the time to be distracted. In fact, this is the most crucial season of all. These four weeks are a perfect time for teachers to play catch up. Oftentimes, teachers will try to cram in two full chapters or units during this brief period, and the effects on students’ grades can be tremendously impactful. Some students will be distracted and choose to focus time and energy on interests other than school. These students will pay the price come January, and many grades will be far too low going into the break to be brought up. Other students will realize the incredible opportunity in front of them. They will buckle down, hit the books, and earn excellent grades on the tests, quizzes, and assignments offered.
For math classes, including geometry, algebra, trigonometry, and calculus, the methods and concepts discussed this month will probably be the toughest content you will see on your first semester Final Exam. Keep this in mind, even if you are feeling overwhelmed by the material. If you can master these tough concepts now by studying in advance and working with your tutor, your holiday break will be significantly less stressful, and your Finals preparation in January will be a much easier process. This holds true for other classes too, including history, Spanish, English, biology, chemistry, physics, and even your elective classes.
The days have gotten shorter, the air has gotten colder, and the department stores over at Del Amo are starting to bust out their most maddening Christmas mixtapes. You all know what that means: the winter season is almost upon us and our first semester is wrapping up. And along with promises of presents, great food, and the company of loved ones, the holiday season brings with it a much needed break from school. However, it isn’t time to start relaxing just yet. In addition to the fact that most of you will be spending all your time applying to college or studying for final exams anyway, your classes are still very much in session. It is very important to utilize this time and stay on top of your studies. We both know that it’s tempting to start throttling back on your work already, but ‘ain’t nobody got time for that.’ You’ve got to finish strong. At the risk of sounding like somebody’s grandpa, “you’ve got to keep your nose to the grindstone”. No one still living today has any idea where that phrase comes from, but we all (sort of) know what it means. The hard work isn’t officially over until the last bell lets you out on the last day before break (whenever that may be). The consequences of slacking off now may not seem grave, but every little bit of effort counts. Right now, your teachers are scrambling to fit in everything they haven’t taught you for whatever reason. The final part of the semester is always the most hectic. To me, it calls to mind the time when my Physics teacher tried to teach us all of nuclear physics during the half-day period on the day before break. Talk about needing a major study session! Don’t be asleep at the wheel when this (inevitably) happens to you! Keep working, and finish strong. Remember, the friendly tutors at the Study Hut are always here to help your prepare for your final exams.
Study Hut generally maintains a relatively steady state of operations, seasonally — fortunately, this all changes when our students slam into the Great Wall of Finals. I see students coming in with varying degrees of academic success and perceptibility, which consequently creates a general state of panic and chaos in the majority of students that come in for extra tutoring. While it may seem as if this pinnacle, this cummulation of efforts, is far too all-encompassing to
be manageable, the truth is, none of this will matter tomorrow, or the next year, or the next century. Conversely, in respect to you, the student, everything matters with what you do today, and studying for classes during this hectic time is, rightly, what you must be doing. Study Hut’s role in this system is to facilitate your studies, guide you to answers to questions, and, most importantly, give you the confidence and ability to ensure you function properly at the right moment — test taking time.
I believe that, while some students do require extra tutoring and that others require a confidence chat in between sessions, studying is, clearly, the correct step. We, the tutors at Study Hut, will do everything we can to make sure you are ready for whatever test comes at you — more or less. When you feel as if everything is coming down on you and that things
are simply overwhelming your ability to retain all that information — come on, an entire year? — just remember to breathe, just breathe…
The week of finals for a number of local schools is finally upon us and many students are scrambling, studying and stressing to make that last ditch effort to either improve their grades or make sure to keep them up. With all of this last minute studying and cramming for tests students will often time resort to eating and drinking whatever they can to keep them going and continue studying. However drinking three Red Bulls, two trenta vanilla lattes, eating an entire bag of cheetos and a Chipotle burrito to make it through an all night cram session is not the best strategy for succeeding on finals and keeping your body functioning at peak performance. While it may taste good and keep you going for the day, after this week is over the students bodies will be screaming in utter dismay at the stress and torture that students put themselves through during finals. Because we cannot climate the stress from the actual taking of the tests on ourselves, we need to make sure that everything else happening to our body is making it feel good and strong. To accomplish this the students need to eat balanced meals throughout the day and limit the caffeine intake , especially eating some kind of breakfast each morning before the days of the test because you wouldn’t be able to drive your car without fuel so what would make it possible to use your brain without the necessary fuel.
Another major problem taking away from students ability to do well on finals is the increase in internet use. With all the new social media and internet sites like Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, etc. students have so many new things to distract them from their studies than there was even 5 years ago. While it may not be effective to completely restrict the student from the internet because there are so many useful learning and study tools, it would be extremely beneficial to even just deactivate ones Facebook for the week of finals or even better the week before through finals to keep focus on the studying as opposed to their social internet lives. Finals can be a stressful week for everyone from students, parents, teachers and tutors, but by taking necessary and beneficial steps in preparing we can make it a little easier for us all and hopefully earn A’s
It’s mid January, which means all of our students have shaken off the long winter break – and it’s all-encompassing mental freeze- and are gearing up for their finals. Here at Study Hut, we’ve extended our hours and expanded our tutoring capacity to help our students tackle their logarithmic functions, combustion reactions, and preterit tenses before they’re tested on it for the last time this semester. We’ve brought out the big guns this finals season to make sure they’re reviewing what they know, filling in any gaps in knowledge, and gaining confidence in subjects ranging from Pre-Algebra to AP Biology, but are doing so in a comfortable environment. This past week, I’ve personally logged over 50 hours of just finals tutoring, complete with much needed Goldfish cracker and Oreos breaks.
Obviously students should be studying all semester long to keep up with all relevant concepts, but there is no substitute for getting some extra one-on-one tutoring right before the test. Our tutors are experts in many different fields of study, so the instruction the students get in here is second only to what they get in class (and sometimes even better).
I always make certain that building confidence is a focal point in tutoring my students, as well as emphasizing the importance of working a little every day. Tutoring is a lot like baseball practice: you don’t skip practice and then do a six-hour scrimmage the day before a tournament and hope to win. You practice your plays day-by-day and BAM! The day of the game you’re ready. Finals are the same – with daily practice, paying attention to homework assignments (those questions WILL be on the final), and then a solid review of the semester’s teachings (whether or not the teacher provides a study guide), you will be game-day ready. So, study up for finals, kids, and come into Study Hut for some awesome one-on-one tutoring to make sure you’ll hit it out of the park!
