How to Cram for Exams the SMART WAY

Summary

In this video, Amy from Valoran shares her expertise on efficient cramming, having achieved high scores on AP exams while balancing sports and sleep. She emphasizes the importance of focus, efficiency, and a stoic mindset to maximize study output. Amy outlines a strategy that includes getting the big picture, prioritizing concepts, targeting practice problems, addressing weaknesses, and maintaining sleep to ensure optimal performance. Her tips aim to help students prepare effectively for exams, even under time pressure.

Takeaways

• 📚 Embrace Efficiency: The key to successful cramming is to maximize output while minimizing input, focusing on the most important concepts first.
• 🧘 Stay Stoic: Maintain control over your reactions to stress, as external events cannot be controlled but your focus can be directed towards studying.
• 🎯 Prioritize Focus: Focus is essential for intensive studying, allowing you to absorb more information in less time compared to a less focused approach.
• 📉 Get the Big Picture: Start by understanding the overarching concepts and connections between topics, which helps in remembering and applying knowledge.
• 📝 Prioritize Concepts: Use resources to determine the weight of each concept and create a list in order of importance to guide your study plan.
• 🔍 Target Practice Problems: Engage with practice problems rather than general summaries, as they provide a targeted review of necessary information.
• 🔄 Active Recall: Use active recall techniques by reviewing or redoing questions to reinforce memory and understanding.
• 🚫 Eliminate Distractions: Remove distractions such as phones and music to concentrate fully on the study material.
• 🔄 Target Weaknesses: Identify and address areas of difficulty from past work to improve understanding and boost scores.
• 💤 Preserve Sleep: Avoid sacrificing sleep, as it is crucial for cognitive function and overall performance on the test.
• 🌟 Health First: Remember that health is more important than grades, and maintaining well-being is essential for effective studying and test performance.

Q & A

What is the main theme of Amy's video?

The main theme of Amy's video is to provide effective and efficient cramming strategies for exam preparation.

How did Amy manage to balance her academic and extracurricular activities while getting good sleep?

Amy managed her time efficiently, using her experience and learnings from cramming to achieve high scores in her AP exams, playing Varsity Sports, and getting into a top 10 University while maintaining an average of 8 hours of sleep a night.

What is the key to successful cramming according to Amy?

The key to successful cramming, according to Amy, is efficiency, which involves maximizing output while minimizing input.

What mindset is critical for efficiency during cramming?

A stoic mindset is critical for efficiency during cramming, focusing on control over one's reactions to high-stress situations rather than external events.

How can one increase the intensity of studying according to the script?

One can increase the intensity of studying by focusing on the task at hand, which allows for the absorption of more information in a shorter amount of time.

What is the first step Amy suggests to take when cramming?

The first step Amy suggests is to get the big picture by using a syllabus or notes to skim all concepts at a high level, understanding the story and connections between different concepts.

Why is it important to understand the 'story' behind a subject when cramming?

Understanding the 'story' behind a subject helps in connecting different concepts and remembering them better, as humans tend to connect and remember stories more effectively.

What is the second step in Amy's cramming strategy?

The second step is to prioritize concepts based on their weight in the exam, using resources to determine the importance of each concept and creating a list in order of priority.

How can practice problems be used effectively in the cramming process?

Practice problems act as a cheat sheet, highlighting the essential information minus the details. They should be used to target the most important concepts first, working down the priority list.

What is the purpose of targeting weaknesses during the cramming process?

Targeting weaknesses helps to address areas where one has previously made mistakes or struggled, which can have a significant impact on improving the score and boosting confidence.

Why is it important not to sacrifice sleep during the cramming process?

Sacrificing sleep can negatively affect performance and memory retention, making it crucial to strike a balance between studying and getting enough rest.

What advice does Amy give about health and grades in relation to cramming for exams?

Amy advises that health is more important than grades and should be prioritized, even during the stress of exam preparation.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Mastering the Art of Cramming for Exams

The script introduces Amy, a successful student who shares her insights on effective cramming techniques. She emphasizes the importance of staying focused and efficient, especially when time is limited. Amy suggests starting with a broad overview of the material to understand the 'big picture' and then prioritizing study topics based on their weight in the exam. She also highlights the significance of active recall and targeted practice problems over passive reading, as well as addressing weaknesses to boost confidence and performance.

05:00

🏆 Prioritizing and Targeting for Maximum Points

In this paragraph, the focus shifts to the practical steps for cramming. Amy advises starting with the most important concepts and working through practice problems to reinforce understanding. She introduces the concept of 'parallel recall' and suggests using answer keys for efficiency. Amy also stresses the importance of targeting weaknesses to improve scores and confidence. She warns against sacrificing sleep, emphasizing the need for a balance between study time and rest to maintain cognitive sharpness, especially for memory-based tests. The paragraph concludes with a reminder to stay focused and the offer of further support in the comments section.

Keywords

💡Cramming

Cramming refers to the act of studying intensively for a short period of time before a test or exam, often due to lack of preparation. In the video's context, it's presented as an inevitable scenario that the speaker has experienced and offers strategies to make it more effective. The script mentions 'cramming' as a situation that can't be completely avoided, and the speaker shares her experience and learnings from it.

💡Efficiency

Efficiency in this video is defined as maximizing output while minimizing input, particularly in the context of studying. The speaker is referred to as the 'queen of efficiency,' emphasizing her expertise in this area. The script highlights the importance of efficiency during cramming, suggesting that it can lead to better results with less time and effort.

💡Stoicism

Stoicism is a philosophy that focuses on emotional resilience and acceptance of things that cannot be controlled. In the script, the speaker quotes a famous stoic to illustrate the importance of staying calm and in control during high-stress situations like cramming for an exam. This mindset is crucial for maintaining focus and efficiency.

💡Focus

Focus is described as essential for increasing the intensity of studying, allowing one to absorb more information in a shorter period. The script emphasizes that focus is critical to the efficiency of cramming and provides tips on how to achieve it, such as eliminating distractions like phones and music.

💡Big Picture

The 'big picture' concept refers to understanding the overall structure or framework of the material to be studied. The speaker advises students to take a step back and get a high-level view of all concepts, which helps in connecting different ideas and remembering them better. This approach is used to avoid panic and to study more effectively.

💡Prioritize

Prioritization in the context of the video means arranging study concepts in order of importance based on their weight in the exam. The script suggests using resources to determine the weight of each concept and creating a list to follow during study sessions, ensuring that the most important topics are covered first.

💡Practice Problems

Practice problems are described as an effective way to study, as they provide a focused review of necessary material without the distraction of less relevant details. The script recommends starting with the most important concept on the priority list and working through related practice problems to solidify understanding.

💡Active Recall

Active recall is a learning technique that involves actively trying to remember information without looking at the material. The script suggests using active recall during practice problem sessions by reviewing answers or flipping through notes only when necessary, which helps to reinforce memory.

💡Weaknesses

Identifying and addressing weaknesses is a key strategy mentioned in the script. The speaker advises students to review past work and practice problems to find areas of difficulty and to tackle these areas to improve performance. This approach not only boosts scores but also has a positive psychological impact by increasing confidence.

💡Sleep

Sleep is emphasized as crucial for maintaining cognitive function and overall health. The script warns against sacrificing sleep for studying, as it can negatively affect performance. The speaker advocates for a balance between studying and rest, especially for memory-based tests.

💡Test-Taking Strategies

Test-taking strategies refer to methods and techniques used during an exam to maximize scores. While not the primary focus of the script, the speaker mentions a related video where she covers dealing with stress, guessing on tests, and other strategies to improve performance during the exam itself.

Highlights

The importance of efficiency in cramming for exams, especially when time is limited.

Amy's personal experience with high school success while balancing academics, sports, and sleep.

The concept of staying stoic and in control during high-stress situations to maintain focus.

Maximizing study intensity by focusing deeply to absorb more information in less time.

The strategy of eliminating distractions such as phones and music to lock in for studying.

Understanding the big picture by skimming notes and syllabi to grasp the overall story of the course material.

The advantage of connecting information through stories to improve memory retention.

Drawing connections between concepts to understand the 'why' behind each operation or step in subjects like science and math.

Prioritizing study topics based on their weight in the exam to maximize points.

Target practice problems as an effective way to focus on key areas that will yield the most points.

Using active recall to improve study efficiency by reviewing and redoing questions covering important topics.

The method of parallel recall and directly reviewing answer keys to speed up the study process.

Addressing weaknesses by reviewing past work and practice problems to identify and resolve errors.

The psychological benefits of targeting weaknesses to boost confidence and improve scores.

The importance of not sacrificing sleep, even when cramming, to maintain cognitive performance.

Balancing the need to study with the necessity of rest to ensure the brain is sharp for the exam.

The emphasis on health being more important than grades and the need to prioritize it during exam preparation.

Amy's encouragement to stay focused on studying and to seek support from the community if needed.

Transcripts

oh no not again no matter how hard you

try to stay on track sometimes the test

just sneaks up on you I've had this

happen many times we have so many

classes and extracurriculars that we

can't help but cram sometimes since we

cannot completely avoid cramming might

as well know the best way to cram hey

team it's Amy I was valoran and I got

fives on all 11 of my AP exams I also

played Varsity Sports and got into a top

10 University while sleeping an average

of 8 hours a night I'm hoping that my

experience and learnings from cramming

will make it easier for you take a deep

breath don't stress and have faith that

by the end of this video you will know

the most effective and efficient ways to

prepare for your exam no matter how

close it might be time to get focused

let's go when you're cramming the key

is efficiency someone called me the

queen of efficiency the other day so

thank you I love that title efficiency

is maximizing your output while

minimizing your input before we get into

the study actions the following mindset

is critical to your efficiency it's

important to stay stoic in situations of

high stress as a famous stoic said we

cannot control the external events

around us but we can control our

reactions to them so know you are in

control and the most important thing for

you to control right now and in the

hours leading up to your exam is focus

focus is essential to increasing your

intensity of studying this allows you to

absorb more information within 2 hours

than someone who who is not focused and

studying for 5 hours you know your own

situation so do what you got to do okay

just do it Nike throw away your phone no

music unless it's classical time to lock

in let's get ready to rumble let's get

ready to rumble now that you have the

right mindset it's time for the actions

the goal is to maximize the number of

points you get and these steps will do

just that number one get the big picture

it's really natural for students to

panic and try to study everything at

once so take a step back use your

syllabus if you have one and do a

shallow skim of all your Concepts at a

high level this is where I'll do a quick

flip through of my notes to remind

myself of where things are this will

come in very handy you'll see you later

always think about things you can take

advantage of to make things easier I

really like to take advantage of the

chapter summaries and again just skim

them at the start of my study basically

with this step of getting the big

picture you want to understand the story

as humans we connect to stories and

therefore will remember them better you

might be wondering but where's the story

behind biology or math the idea is to

draw connections between different

concepts and see how things all come

together the point of a test is not just

so you know these little bits of

disperate information when you grasp the

story similarities between things and

connections then it's easier to BS

things on the test you can scrape points

even if you didn't review every little

detail for example in in chemistry I

remember how I wouldn't know every

little thing about the gold foil

experiments but I understood the story

of how the model of the atom came to be

thus I knew the point of the Thompson

model In Rutherford's gold foil

experiments especially in those

explanation questions it was much easier

for me to overd deliver on my answers

and scrape up extra points for classes

like science and math the story is

really understanding the reason behind

each operation or step you're doing you

have to know why you're even doing it

when you do a step you have to tell

yourself I'm doing this because this

this way you can solve problems on the

test you never even seen before overall

if you want the easiest way to get the

big picture as you're studying something

always be asking so what what is the

point of this and make sure to answer it

of course to cram most efficiently and

effectively we must study what we'll pay

off the most to maximize our points

therefore step two is prioritize use any

and all of these resources to determine

how much weight each of the concepts

will have for example one concept might

be emphasized a lot more and there will

be five questions on it while another

concept only has one multiple choice

question on it write your list of

Concepts in priority order starting from

the highest weight down to the lowest

weight this list will be important for

you to do your subsequent steps of

studying you will be working down your

priority list of Concepts starting with

the first one you will study that

concept using actions 3 and four after

that you'll go to the second concept on

your list and go through actions 3 and

four then you'll repeat as you go down

your concept priority list so what is

action number three it is target

practice problems going deep into all of

your class nodes and your textbook and

writing summaries isn't very effective

but practice

problems these are basically like a

cheat sheet of all the things you need

to know minus the little details in the

textbook and notes this also helps you

not waste time studying every little

thing so just like I mentioned earlier

with action two start with the most

important concept on your priority list

review or even redo questions covering

that topic these practice problems can

be from your homework quizzes the back

of the book even question Banks online

if you're really short on time and can

explicitly do active recall here are two

things you can do to speed up your study

one use parallel recall or number two

Direct ly review the answer keys

remember how you skip your notes earlier

from action one instead of studying

everything that's because now you have

an overall idea of where things are

located in your notes or chapter

summaries while I'm targeting practice

problems and I want more details or I

want further explanations now I can flip

back into my notes and review them as

needed the questions lead my studying

while I use the notes as a supplement

not the other way around Action Four if

you want to improve move be content to

be thought foolish and stupid weaknesses

are huge opportunities because working

on them can make a lot more impact than

being a perfectionist on things that

you're already strong on thus Action

Four is Target weaknesses use any and

all of your past work and practice

problems to see what you missed go

through each of these missed points

errors mistakes one by one if you're

having way too much difficulty and get

stuck on a problem then move on to the

next weakness to be efficient you don't

want any bottlenecks disrupting your

flow of studying and you also don't want

that to be decreasing your confidence

the goal is to address as many

weaknesses as you can so resolve the lwh

hanging fruit first corporate lingo not

only does targeting your weaknesses

boost your score but psychologically it

has a positive impact too you will feel

better and more confident because

otherwise it's one of the worst feelings

to know that there are problems you've

missed before and you still haven't

resolved them those steps SL actions 3

and four make sure to be repeating those

for each of those Concepts in your

priority list number five please please

please listen to me okay do not

sacrifice your sleep I don't care how

much you feel like you need to study

okay the more you sacrifice your sleep

the more you're canceling out your

ability to perform well anyway you are

working down your priority list of

Concepts but depending on how much time

you have before your test you may not

get through all the concepts and that is

okay that's why you cover the high

priority ones first when it's getting

late you have to make a decision based

on your body and its needs the way to

think about it is you want to strike a

balance between staying up a little more

than you usually do to make up for your

lost time and giving your brain enough

rest to stay sharp especially if your

test is memory based please get some z's

I've never said that word before don't

take a hit on your health okay your

health heal is a number one thing and I

feel like people don't prioritize that

enough remember that your health is more

important than anything else in this

world including your grades okay no

matter what your parents say just

kidding your parents also want you to be

healthy prioritizing my health is also

why I could holistically accomplish so

many things have a social life and play

sports if I don't sleep enough I could

get a migraine and that would ruin my

chances of taking the test well anyway

good job take another deep breath and

remember it's just one test also remind

yourself that preparation leads to

confidence even so test taking is really

hard I understand the time pressure the

stress so even if you study well

sometimes it's really hard to get a good

score if you're not a good test taker

that's why I made this video where I

cover how to deal with stress how to

guess on the test and strategies to

maximize points while you're taking the

test itself keep it in mind if you need

it if you want to improve your test

taking but right now go to your studying

close YouTube and stay stay focused okay

lock in I'll see you a team if you have

any questions ask in the comments and

your lovely a team members will support

you and help answer good luck but

hopefully you don't need it bye