The first step to making studying a stress-free process is to PAY ATTENTION IN CLASS. I know that sometimes it can get boring, but if you don't take notes in class then you'll have to reread your text book in order to study for finals. If you are reading this and you are half through the semester and you haven't taken notes THEN GET STARTED!!! The more notes you take now, the less text book reading you will have to do later.
The next step is to gather all of the tests you took over the semester. In addition, you will want to grab the sheet titled "Final Exam Review". A lot of times, teachers will go over exactly what topics will be on the exam. If they don't then this is why keeping all of your tests is important because chances are that your teachers will ask very similar questions.
Now the studying can begin! I suggest that you start studying the topics that you know the best first, because you won't have to spend a lot of time studying it. You should study the topics that you have a hard time with last so that the information is fresh in your mind. The chances of you remembering the topics you know best for a long period of time are better than remembering a topic you struggle with for a long period of time.
After finishing studying a particular topic, close your book! Whether you're alone or with a friend, try reciting everything you studied. The best test to see if know something well is to teach it to a friend. If you can make them understand the topic, then you definitely know the material well. As you move from topic to topic, when you go back and review, don't just review that topic you just studied but all of the previous topics you studied. (For example, if you just finished studying Topic 3, don't just recite Topic 3, but Topic 3, Topic 2, Topic 1) A lot of times if you don't do this, you'll end up forgetting the information you studied first and this is when studying becomes very inefficient.
When you are done studying all of the topics, retake all of the tests! Make sure to fix all of the problems you got wrong, because REMEMBER, teachers usually reiterate the questions from the tests on the exam. If you have problems understanding a concept or keep getting things mixed up, GOOGLE IT! There are plenty of materials online to help clarify concepts. Especially when it comes to scientific processes (for example, the electron transport chain), videos can help! I remember studying for my biology exam this past semester. Videos are a short, easy way to memorize a topic!!!
The day of the exam, DON'T YOU DARE LOOK AT YOUR NOTES! A lot of times this can completely mess up your zen state of mind. Just be calm and walk in their with confidence. If you followed all of the steps above and thoroughly studied the exam topics, then there is no reason for you not to succeed!
