We’ve all experienced that cramming and nauseating anxiety after realizing an exam has crept up on us. Perhaps our doodle-filled planners failed to remind us, or we were distracted by a Cops marathon on FOX. Whatever the case, there’s no time to panic when cramming. Scratch the crusty Easy Mac off your textbook, locate your highlighter collection and get to work. You may learn how to cram for a test easier than you think.HOW DO YOU STUDY FOR FINALS IN A WEEK?If you have a week to study for finals, create a plan to help you that includes a study guide and invest some time in a study group with those from your class. You may also talk to your professor before your test to clear up any questions you have. You may not be cramming for a test just yet, but you should be planning for it. Here are some tips.Create a study guide. This is your checklist for what you need to know, and it may help you gauge your progress over the next week. Write down the important points, terms, formulas, and major concepts you know may appear on the test and cross-reference these with where they’re mentioned in your textbook or notes.Make a study group. Get together with other students in your class and talk through the information you don’t understand. Explaining concepts to each other may help the info sink in, and it isn’t as intimidating as asking a professor or TA. Be smart when choosing a quick study group and avoid all-friend study cells. They may easily turn into all-night social sessions.Make flashcards. Write terms or questions on one side and an explanation on the other. Then quiz yourself, being sure to occasionally shuffle the cards to make sure you aren’t just memorizing the order. Keep these cards with you all week so you may flick through them during workouts or downtime.Visit your professor. As scary as it seems, professors and TAs are often more approachable than you think. They may answer questions and fill you in on lectures you may have missed (or dozed through). Have your questions prepared before you go so you don’t waste their time.Summarize your notes. Read through your class notes and summarize them on a separate sheet of paper. Many of us take notes using choppy phrases, which may be easily overlooked while skimming a notebook during a quick study session.Draw it out. Create spider diagrams of major concepts with lines connecting to related terms or information. You may also make a storyboard or timeline for historical data and scientific processes. Putting the facts in a drawing may help you visualize and retain the information.Read the assigned text and highlight important points. Then summarize the highlighted material in each section on a Post-it note and stick it to the page. Summarizing the information in your own language may help you to understand and remember wordy text. You may also use study apps that may help you with your exam.Pursue the topic more fully online. It may help you to do some extra research beyond what your professor has spoken about in class. Sometimes more information may help you to have a better view of the topic. Dive in to learn more.Have a conversation about it. Set up some time with your professor to discuss the content. Sometimes having a conversation rather than just a lecture may help make a difference.HOW DO YOU STUDY FOR A FINAL EXAM IN ONE DAY?If you have just one day, you are likely cramming for a test. That may not give you a lot of time, but if you use flashcards, review your notes, and focus on the topics that are difficult for you, you could get in everything you need to do well on the test. Here are some tips on the best way to cram the night before an exam.Make a few flashcards. You won’t have time to create a card for every term, but it may be helpful to make some of the important concepts. They’re great to have on hand during a limited test prep time because you may whip ‘em out while you’re waiting in line, in between classes, or at a stoplight.Review your notes. Highlight major points your professor emphasized in the lecture and write down a quick summary of each class period. Recalling the lectures may remind you of the information, and putting the info in your own words may clarify cryptic notes.Study what you don’t know first. You’ll be much more motivated at the beginning of your quick study marathon, so use it to your advantage. Work out tricky concepts and review complicated chapters in your textbook before your attention span goes south.Find a study buddy. A duo may be helpful when last minute cramming questions arise. You may work problems out together and keep each other accountable when you’re itching to be distracted.Focus on problem areas. You may have some of the content already in place. You get some of it but not others. As you learn how to cram for test taking, remember that it is always important to focus on the areas you do not know with more intense focus. Just do not put too much time into these areas and leave out the content that you just need to review.WHAT DO YOU DO AN HOUR BEFORE A TEST?With just an hour before your test, you could review your notes one more time and ask any questions you have. It is also smart to arrive early to class and spend some time trying to focus your mind. You may find that it is easier to focus on staying calm than cramming for the test.Focus. You’re going to need some hard-core concentration for this cramming session so shun distraction with a quiet study spot and a Red Bull.Locate your notes. Skim them for the major points your teacher stressed in class. Highlight or underline important info to remember so you’ll be able to find it quickly just before class.Scan the assigned reading. Look for highlighted portions and take note of section headings. Refresh yourself on the information but don’t spend too much time poring over minute facts.Get to class early. Listen to what the people around you are talking about and try to absorb the information they’re throwing around. Don’t focus too much on the details; just try to grasp the big picture.Take a deep breath. At this point, you know the information you need to know. Try to focus on just getting that information in place. If you are stressed, you may not do well on any part of the exam.Pray to your deity of choice. If worse comes to worst, you may need to enlist supernatural help.Study Tips for CollegeStudying tips like those listed may be very helpful for you on learning how to cram for test. However, it is a great idea to have some additional skills for studying that could help you do better. Consider these tips:Learn to break down content into bite size pieces. That way, you are not trying to review everything at once but in small portions at a time. Start a dialogue. If you do not understand something, do not stress over it. Instead, reach out to your professor or a study group. You may need to look at a topic in a different way.Take time to pace yourself. A great way to cram the night before an exam is to spend that time reviewing the content you have already studied for in the previous weeks. Trying to do too much at once only frustrates you. Try to get practical with your material. For example, try to look at a new resource that may explain the topic a bit better to you. Or, you may want to look at it from a practical point of view.Invest in study guides and tools that may be able to help you. For example, you may want to do some research online to find a group on the subject. You may also turn to other studies to engage with the content through question and answer sessions.