I was never good at studying. I once got a 5% on a high school math exam that I legitimately studied for.
Still, I was dejected when I learned that I had bombed my Intermediate Accounting midterm. Several questions ran through my mind. Does this mean I will be a bad accountant? Will employers still give me a chance? Am I wasting my time studying accounting? How come my friends who study half as long as I did still ace the test while I study twice as hard and have nothing to show for it?
Turns out my classmates knew something that I did not. What they knew that I did not going into the exam was that I could study until Spongebob got his driver’s license, but if I was not studying in a way that let my brain absorb the information effectively, then I might as well have not studied at all. I had no clearly defined study plan and, as the saying goes, my failing to plan was planning to fail. Instead, I simply studied haphazardly until right before the exam, at which point I realized that I was in trouble and tried to cram several chapters into my head in the span of a single night. Unfortunately, our brains don’t work that way. By staying up all night, I was just spinning my wheels rather than actually absorbing the material. My study routine needed an overhaul.
The best students are not necessarily gifted or luckier than the rest of us. They simply know how to study smarter rather than harder. Even though I studied harder and routinely stayed up much later than my friend going over the material, his study habits allowed him to both master the course material more effectively and in less time than mine did. Success in your toughest accounting courses does not have to be reserved for the naturally gifted students. I’ll show you how to use a study strategy that will prepare you for your exam efficiently and give you enough time to have a good night’s rest before exam day.
Before class: Before each class, preview the material by reading the assigned chapter and making a modest but honest attempt at the assigned homework problems. At this stage, you want to go through the assigned reading in the textbook and focus on understanding the material conceptually. Then, try your hand at the homework problems. Don’t sweat it if you aren’t getting the problems 100% correct at this point—the goal of this stage is simply to introduce you to the material for the class, and you will spend more time solidifying your understanding in class and during your review.
During and after class: During class, pay attention to the professor’s explanation of the course material and the solutions to homework problems. If your answers did not match the solutions, make note of why your answer was different. For example, I always scribbled notes such as “Needed to dr. instead of cr. the Inventory account” on the homework problems that I got wrong. Finally, make sure you ask questions in class or during office hours on areas that you still feel confused. By definition, you can only review what you already know; when you can look at the homework solutions and follow them from beginning to end, you are on the right track.
Before the exam: Periodically review your class notes and revisit the homework problems that you did not answer correctly. Look over the notes on why your first answer was not correct, and then try to answer the problems you got wrong again. If your answer still is not matching up to the solution, make note of why your answer is different. Again, you do not need to be a perfectionist here—I got the same homework problems for leases and bond amortization wrong several times while studying for the exam! It was discouraging for me, but I always reminded myself that every mistake I made during review was a mistake I was less likely to make on the exam. Make sure you’re not just memorizing the answers to the problems as you review. When you are able to work through all of the homework problems with little to no errors, you are in good shape for the exam!
I have found the adage “treat your brain like a muscle” to be truthful. If you are trying to be healthy, you would not go to the gym and run on the treadmill for 10 hours without stopping, right? In the same way, going to the library the night before your exam and studying until the sun comes up does not allow your brain to prepare adequately (when I tried this, I felt like crap the next day and still bombed the exam). I have found more success with shorter, spaced out review sessions than I have cramming right before exam day.
Finally, many professors will either explicitly tell you or at least allude to what types of questions you can expect on your exam. During lecture, my Corporate Tax professor would drop hints such as “You know, this would make a good exam problem” or “I would definitely know how to do this for the exam.” Translation: “This type of problem will definitely be tested.” In my experience, professors tend to be lazy and model exam problems after problems that were assigned for homework.
If your grades are not where you would like them to be, evaluate how you prepare for exams and take action! Don’t be the guy who studies haphazardly for an exam, bombs it, and then uses the same strategy (ie no strategy) to study for the next exam. I can tell you from experience that it sucks to be that guy.
Still, I was dejected when I learned that I had bombed my Intermediate Accounting midterm. Several questions ran through my mind. Does this mean I will be a bad accountant? Will employers still give me a chance? Am I wasting my time studying accounting? How come my friends who study half as long as I did still ace the test while I study twice as hard and have nothing to show for it?
Turns out my classmates knew something that I did not. What they knew that I did not going into the exam was that I could study until Spongebob got his driver’s license, but if I was not studying in a way that let my brain absorb the information effectively, then I might as well have not studied at all. I had no clearly defined study plan and, as the saying goes, my failing to plan was planning to fail. Instead, I simply studied haphazardly until right before the exam, at which point I realized that I was in trouble and tried to cram several chapters into my head in the span of a single night. Unfortunately, our brains don’t work that way. By staying up all night, I was just spinning my wheels rather than actually absorbing the material. My study routine needed an overhaul.
The best students are not necessarily gifted or luckier than the rest of us. They simply know how to study smarter rather than harder. Even though I studied harder and routinely stayed up much later than my friend going over the material, his study habits allowed him to both master the course material more effectively and in less time than mine did. Success in your toughest accounting courses does not have to be reserved for the naturally gifted students. I’ll show you how to use a study strategy that will prepare you for your exam efficiently and give you enough time to have a good night’s rest before exam day.
Before class: Before each class, preview the material by reading the assigned chapter and making a modest but honest attempt at the assigned homework problems. At this stage, you want to go through the assigned reading in the textbook and focus on understanding the material conceptually. Then, try your hand at the homework problems. Don’t sweat it if you aren’t getting the problems 100% correct at this point—the goal of this stage is simply to introduce you to the material for the class, and you will spend more time solidifying your understanding in class and during your review.
During and after class: During class, pay attention to the professor’s explanation of the course material and the solutions to homework problems. If your answers did not match the solutions, make note of why your answer was different. For example, I always scribbled notes such as “Needed to dr. instead of cr. the Inventory account” on the homework problems that I got wrong. Finally, make sure you ask questions in class or during office hours on areas that you still feel confused. By definition, you can only review what you already know; when you can look at the homework solutions and follow them from beginning to end, you are on the right track.
Before the exam: Periodically review your class notes and revisit the homework problems that you did not answer correctly. Look over the notes on why your first answer was not correct, and then try to answer the problems you got wrong again. If your answer still is not matching up to the solution, make note of why your answer is different. Again, you do not need to be a perfectionist here—I got the same homework problems for leases and bond amortization wrong several times while studying for the exam! It was discouraging for me, but I always reminded myself that every mistake I made during review was a mistake I was less likely to make on the exam. Make sure you’re not just memorizing the answers to the problems as you review. When you are able to work through all of the homework problems with little to no errors, you are in good shape for the exam!
I have found the adage “treat your brain like a muscle” to be truthful. If you are trying to be healthy, you would not go to the gym and run on the treadmill for 10 hours without stopping, right? In the same way, going to the library the night before your exam and studying until the sun comes up does not allow your brain to prepare adequately (when I tried this, I felt like crap the next day and still bombed the exam). I have found more success with shorter, spaced out review sessions than I have cramming right before exam day.
Finally, many professors will either explicitly tell you or at least allude to what types of questions you can expect on your exam. During lecture, my Corporate Tax professor would drop hints such as “You know, this would make a good exam problem” or “I would definitely know how to do this for the exam.” Translation: “This type of problem will definitely be tested.” In my experience, professors tend to be lazy and model exam problems after problems that were assigned for homework.
If your grades are not where you would like them to be, evaluate how you prepare for exams and take action! Don’t be the guy who studies haphazardly for an exam, bombs it, and then uses the same strategy (ie no strategy) to study for the next exam. I can tell you from experience that it sucks to be that guy.
