Revision Tips to Survive Exam Season

Exam season can feel overwhelming, particularly if you’re not as prepared as you’d like to be. With April/May exams around the corner, your thoughts will no doubt be turning to whether you’ve done enough revision. If the answer is “no”, the good news is that you’ve still got plenty of time to get organised, solidify your learning and head into exam season feeling prepped and more confident.

So, whether you’re spending the Easter break in your Glasgow student accommodation or heading home to see family and friends, keep reading for our top revision tips to help you survive exam season.

Make a revision timetable

By the time you get to university, you’ll be familiar with the idea of a revision timetable. However, whether you’ve used one is another matter! If you haven’t yet, it’s worth taking the time to do it. It’s a useful tool that helps you to structure your time effectively, making you feel more in control, and therefore, less stressed!

When creating your timetable, aim for around 4-5 hours of study daily. Schedule the sessions for the times of day when you’re most productive. To stop you from feeling bored and losing focus, don’t concentrate on the same topic each day. Instead, spread each topic out into chunks over the week.

Change your environment

Sometimes something as simple as a different location can help to provide the extra impetus to study that bit more. Every room in our Glasgow student accommodation has a desk and chair for those in-depth study sessions, but if you’re struggling to focus after a few hours, it’s worth trying a change of scenery. 

Try meeting up with friends for a group session in the true student Study Zones or head to the university libraries. Even just being out of your room and among other people can help revision feel less isolating.

Take breaks

Breaks are an essential part of effective revision. Most of us struggle to concentrate for longer than an hour, so it’s important to incorporate short, frequent breaks to help us to retain focus and productivity. 

Try the Pomodoro technique: take a five-minute break for every 25 minutes of work, followed by a longer break after a couple of hours. (You can tweak it to suit your individual rhythm.)

Make sure all your breaks take place away from your desk. Move your body, get outside if you can, grab something to eat and drink lots of water!

Mix it up

Everyone has a favourite mode of revision. However, switching between different techniques will help you embed the information more effectively and stop you from getting bored. Alternate between note-taking, flash cards, past papers and mind maps. 

As well as keeping your brain engaged and strengthening memory retention, combining revision methods can help you identify areas of weakness that a single method might miss.

Listen on the go

Podcasts are a great way to engage with your subjects in a more relaxed manner, so they are a good option when you’re feeling a little jaded by traditional studying. Listening while walking, exercising or tidying your room can help reinforce facts and concepts without feeling like work. It can also help you to see topics from new perspectives and teach you different ways to think around your subject.

Don't get derailed by the holidays

Heading home for Easter? Some time away from your Glasgow student accommodation can be a great opportunity to recharge, but it’s important not to throw revision completely out of the window – it’s all about balance!

Set a few realistic goals for what you want to achieve at home (you don’t need to revise all day, every day) and build a flexible schedule around them. Make sure you have a quiet place to study while you’re there.

A bit of rest and some quality time with family and friends can give you the boost you need to return to university feeling refreshed and reinvigorated!

With luxury ensuite rooms complete with TV, desk and chair, welcoming communal areas and a packed calendar of social events, our Glasgow student accommodation provides the perfect place to work, rest and play. Want to find out more? Take a closer look: true student Glasgow