Why do I always cram?

The deeper reason students cram has a lot more to do with the emotions they attach to studying than it does to any perceived cognitive benefit. You cram because you don’t enjoy studying very much. In the beginning, it’s easy to procrastinate or avoid studying, because the threat of failure is distant.

Why should you avoid cramming right before a test?

While it can be tempting for students to put off studying until they absolutely have to, cramming for tests actually leads to more stress, lowered comprehension, and poor performance.

Is cramming before a test bad?

Cramming just before an exam can (in theory) allow you to remember information in the short term and enable you to take in enough information for the exam. However, this may will most likely mean that you’ll have no lasting connections to the knowledge, and you won’t develop any deep understanding of the information.

Is cramming a test good or bad?

That’s true. But crammed studying may have slightly better performance on extremely short time scales. In other words, if you cram a bunch of stuff right before the test, you may be able to remember it for a day or two. As a result, cramming can allow you to occasionally squeeze through classes you’d normally fail.

Do you feel like you haven’t studied enough for your exam?

Suddenly, it’s the evening before the dreaded date, and you feel like you haven’t studied enough, if at all. It’s time to cram all the information you can into your brain. We know that to do well in exams, you have to remember your material to then demonstrate your knowledge during the test.

How do you know it’s time to study for an important exam?

The date for an important exam is looming. You know you have to study for it. Suddenly, it’s the evening before the dreaded date, and you feel like you haven’t studied enough, if at all. It’s time to cram all the information you can into your brain.

How do you stay calm on test day?

The solution: If you’ve studied and you know the material, try to relax on test day. Think positive thoughts (“I studied for this, I know the material”) and practise taking deep breaths while you’re taking the test.