Andrew Rho | December 13th | 4 min read
IB exam periods are stressful times. It’s a gruesome time where coffee becomes your best friend and studying becomes your life. It’s the last barrier between you and that golden IB diploma. As an IB graduate that scored a 43 on my examinations, I have been asked countless times how I’ve been able accomplish this feat. It amuses me how many people think it takes an extraordinary level of intelligence and time to do well on the tests. Telling you from first-hand experience, I promise any IB student can follow the simple steps I took. With May 2020 examinations coming up soon, here are five priceless tips for IB students that want to do their best.
1. Make a Plan
As an IB student, you probably already know that time management is essential for success. Staying organized and making a plan of attack for these tough exams is critical. Even if you don’t stick to it, just making a plan will help you see things from an eagle’s eye and help you put things into perspective. Moreover, making a plan will make the studying process more automated and time-effective. You will be able to focus on the task at hand without having to worry about what you’ll do next — because you’ll already know. Making a schedule that incorporates tasks along with deadlines can be even more useful. Also, make a schedule that gives each subject the right amount of time. Not all of your exams will need the same amount of preparation. Finally, make sure to prioritize your tasks. Everyone’s different, with different priorities and ways of tackling them. However, making sure you’re aware of those priorities — and plan accordingly — will prove priceless.
2. It's all about Balance
Burnout is a real thing. When studying, make sure to schedule small breaks between your study sessions, as your mind cannot focus for long. Follow the 90/10 rule. Study for 90 minute periods and take 10minute breaks — actual breaks — to recharge your brain. Using your break to do something energizing, like going for a walk, or eating an energy-packed meal, will prove very useful to refuel your brain and body.
Moreover, when it comes to the night before exams, make sure you relax. You might do a quick review, but try to loosen up your brain muscles, maybe do a little meditating. This will ultimately help your brain focus and be at peak performance during your time of exams.
3. Practice makes Perfect
First, give the topics you are studying a quick overview. By now, you should not be looking at every subject as if it’s something new! Trust yourself. If you finished your Mock exams already, take the feedback from your tests and see which areas you still need to improve and focus on them.
Dedicate more time to solve actual exam questions, utilizing question banks, study notes, and practice exams to improve your weaknesses. By doing so, you’ll also become a lot more familiar with the format of the exams and IB-style questions. This will ultimately make you faster in solving problems, ensuring that you have sufficient time management skills to finish a paper within a limited time.
4. Remove ALL Distractions
I cannot stress enough how crucial it is to remove ALL distractions. That includes your phone, notifications, TV, and social network. We are all human, and humans are weak when it comes to giving-in to pleasures. If you think that it won’t do harm replying quickly to a group chat or checking your Instagram — you’re wrong. Ultimately, it might lead you down a distraction spiral that could cost you hours of precious study time. Remember that your TV series, programs, and movies can wait. With today’s technology, you can easily watch all programs as many times as you wish — once you’re done with your exams!
5. Take it One Exam at a Time
Give every exam paper its own share of focus and time. Don’t try to juggle a-little-of-everything — it never ends well. Instead, focusing on one task and exam at a time will help your brain immerse itself in the subject and suck things up like a sponge. Try not to dwell too much on an exam that you think you haven’t done well on or feel like maybe you should study for two things simultaneously.
Ultimately, these are some challenging tests. However, studying smart and using your time effectively will undoubtedly help you. Stay motivated and give it your best. In the end, always remember that these are just some tests — nothing life-defining. I wish the best of luck to you as you embark on your IB-exam studying.
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