The beginning of December marks the beginning of the end, for exam week is coming. Forget about sleep and other responsibilities; the weeks after Thanksgiving are far too busy and stressful for such trivialities. One of the reasons why exam week is so terrible is because there is often a chance for failure, though this possibility is a lot more pressing for some than it is for others. But fear ye not, for I have discovered the secret to passing every test in college. It is (*drumroll*): to study!

Now, before you think I wrote this article to troll you, let me explain: as someone who spent the majority of her high school career worrying about passing tests and struggling to maintain the grades I wanted, I’ve since learned from my mistakes and have been on the dean’s list for all the semesters of my college career. Below I discuss some of the tips and tricks that have helped me pass every test I’ve taken my college career thus far.

Study harder, not longer

One of the most frustrating things about studying for tests is that people can still fail tests even though they’ve devoted hours to studying. If that’s the case, it means you are not studying the right way. Maybe your friend can pass by skimming the textbook chapter, or maybe you have a friend who doesn’t even study and gets an A? Unfortunately, everyone’s brain is different. This is because there are different types of learners -- auditory, people who learn by listening, visual, people who learn by watching, and tactile, people who learn by touching and doing. In order to get the best results, your study techniques should represent what your learning style is so that those hours you put in actually pay off. You can take this quiz, published by educationplanner.org, to see which learning style applies to you, and what kind of study habits will benefit your learning style.

Don’t let your textbooks get dusty

Remember that book you spent hundreds of dollars on at the beginning of the semester? Do yourself a favor, and open it. You don’t even have to read it front to cover -- just look out for headings and bold and italicized words. It also helps to read the first and last sentences of each paragraph to get a general idea of what the section is talking about. If that sounds like too much work for you, be savvy and find a chapter outline on a note-sharing website. If you’re not going to read the entire chapter, be sure to look at the review questions and learning goals because that can help you pinpoint what you were supposed to have taken away from the reading.

Going to class

This should go without saying, but lecture can get boring, and it’s tempting and easy to skip class. Nonetheless, there are a lot of things that you can’t get from just looking at the PowerPoints online. When the professor verbally goes over the PowerPoints, sometimes they say things that aren’t in the PowerPoint, or repeat certain points. Odds are that these things will be test questions, and you wouldn’t have known that if you didn’t go to lecture. Not to mention, you are paying thousands of dollars, or even going into debt for class time, so if you don’t go to class you’re wasting money.

Nobody said studying for a test is easy, but sometimes it is the only way to pass. So the next time that you have a test, have no fear! Now you understand the secret to passing your next one!