Let me guess: You never actually had to study in high school, right? Good grades just landed in your lap like a present from the stork? That seems to have happened to a lot of us.

Now, suddenly, the stork of As has abandoned us in our time of need, and we have no idea how to actually study. So we go out and we buy Post-its in all the colors of the rainbow, expensive pens and highlighters and entirely too many note cards and hope for the best.

Unfortunately, hoping for the best is not a great study habit. More often than not, you’re going to need to at least glance at the study guide a few times before test day.

“Honestly, I have to wait until the day before a test to cram,” said senior Kelbi Morrow. “If I’m not pressured to study, I won’t. If I prepare in advance, I’m worse off.”

There are tons of ways students can study for a quiz, exam or the absolute worst: finals week. Among the most popular are cramming the night before or the day of, rewriting your notes until your fingers fall off, killing an entire forest by making an obscene amount of note cards and falling asleep on top of the study guide and hoping osmosis takes it course.

“I study in short bursts while watching TV or something a couple days before the test,” said junior Tyler Quinn. “I just look through my notes, figure out the things I don’t know and study them until I do. It usually works for me.”

What’s most important is that you find the study plan that works best for you. Whatever it may be, studying is an important part of college whether we like it or not. Try all the different study techniques out, preferably not the night before, and see what you’re most comfortable with. You’ll have A’s in no time. TAS