How do you study

[Westerner]

Where do you find worthy study guides? Are these the ones you buy?

I have ordered text books for a ton of CLEP tests. I have two for both history topics. But goodness... it's a ton of information to force into my head.

I have this fear that I'll be studying and studying and assume I know the subject so take the exam and then fail.

I want to be confident that I'll pass but also have enough knowledge about the subject before even taking the exam.

There are SO many ways to study... how do ya'll do it so well and are able to take a number of tests in a weekend or in a month?

Thanks.

Practice tests will really help you here. After a few weeks of study, start taking them periodically, reviewing them to find your weak points and what you need to study more.

[gingerbeefE]

Here is the technique I use, everybody is different though.
I will first look up on youtube lectures on a certain area. I do not like lectures over 30 minutes though, Ideally ill find a series on the subject that is 10-15 videos at 15 minutes each.
Next I will go to the library and buy a practice clep book usualy anyone will do I am not picky, I will slowly read it all few sections at a time
Next I will pull up study guides and specific feed back from the IC forum, I will make a color code, If one person mentions it It will not be highlighted, two mention it I make it yellow, three mention it green and four is blue.
I will read and watch the above videos, when it gets close to test day 2-3 days. I pull up the DSST/ CLEP Fact sheet that breaks the test down.
I will copy and paste from studyguides to the factsheet and organize it under the catagories that they belong being sure to hit every subject in the fact sheet.


** forgot to mention that I will take practice tests every coupple of days to get an idea of strong weak points

[Jody7818]

I'm trying to learn new techniques because many of you study and test very quickly and get high grades. I feel like I'm missing something.

Thank you.

I know exactly how you feel, and I've often wondered how others are achieving these awesome results in little time. The best answer I can give you is that it takes dedicated time, devotion, and focus to accomplish these tests in a short amount of time. I believe you have to pretty much wipe your brain free of anything that will distract you while studying. I'm still working on this because I'm the type of person to bring work home and think about it often. I wish I could control this. Also, I think once you take a few of the tests and pass, you begin to get comfortable with it. I was extremely nervous prior to taking my first few tests. Due to this, I felt like I needed to devote more time to studying. Now, the nervousness is gone, and I'm very comfortable with sitting down and taking a test. My biggest issue is trying to remember the password for my DSST login...one of these days I'll write down.

Another thing...A lady on this forum recently finished her degree in a very short amount of time. From what I remember, she completed 40 credit hours in one month on Straighterline. She said that her life during this time was all about knocking out the credits to get her degree. I believe once you put your mind to this sort of dedication, knocking out a test a week becomes doable. You got to really want this. I'm trying to get to this point. Also...go read her story. It was very inspirational and motivating. http://www.degreeforum.net/general-educa...onths.html

I hope this helps. Good luck in the journey!

[clep3705]

When you take a practice test, do not guess. If you guess and happen to mark the correct answer by chance, then when you grade the exam, you could make the mistake of thinking you know that topic when you don't. Only answer the questions you feel highly confident of. The purpose of a practice test is to identify your weak areas.

Now when you take the real test, take your best guess and answer every question. On a real test, guessing is better than skipping over the question.

[sweetcrabhoney]

Thank you all for your much needed advice and guidance. It's extremely helpful and appreciated.

Thank you again.