By Malena Lopez, Staff Writer

If there is one thing to understand about college students, is that if you see someone crying into their laptop or book, let them be. That just means midterms and finals are here. As if paying hundreds of dollars on books and fighting about 15 people for a parking spot wasn’t enough, professors feel the need to test students on material that they stay sleeping on. 

As a procrastinating college student, pulling an all-nighter studying for an exam may sound like a great approach! It’s not. In fact, it is by far the worst. 

Here are seven hacks to make studying for an exam a lot easier: 

1. Sniff or chew: Don’t get too excited now. Certain scenes like smelling or tasting can have a great factor while studying. Spraying an unfamiliar scent while studying and before taking the exam can help trigger a person’s memory. This is known as state-dependent memory where memories are triggered or enhanced by a person’s current mood. The same applies with chewing gum. 
2. Color coding: Color coding notes helps stimulate visual memory and makes it easier to recall what was read.
3. Listen to recorded lectures: Listening to recordings of lectures does not leave out any information and helps engrave the material into the brain. To save time, double the speed of the recording. 
4. Review sample test: By googling site:edu[subject]exam several practice exams will pop up on that subject and are perfect for practice. 
5. Study before going to sleep: A study conducted by Harvard and Notre Dame proves that by studying right before going to bed, it will help stabilize the memories and information.  
6. Study in a group: Studying in a group will enhance the experience and will most likely get you to recite the material out loud. There is a 50 percent chance you are more likely to remember something if you say it out loud. Not to mention you can copy off your group members…Just kidding. Unless you’re an EE major. 
7. DISCIPLINE: It is no secret that we all get distracted by our phones or start googling the most random of things while studying. However, it is important to have self-discipline and stay focused while studying. If you are anything like me and can’t NOT look at your phone, then try using a program that blocks distracting sites or apps on your computer and phone. 

You’re not going to fail your exam by trying one of these hacks, so try them all! Good luck testing!