Before summer, you have to run the Finals Gauntlet: the test of endurance and willpower that proves you worthy of your freedom.

As we all know by now, the amount of time that you spend stressing about finals is comparable to the amount of time that you actually spend studying. It’s tough to know exactly what to study for a class, or if the material that you go over will actually be on the test. But you can drastically improve your grades with a few minor adjustments — and a hefty helping of SLADER. (It’s good for you!)

Check out Part 1: How to Study in Advance.

Part 2: How to Study What Matters

It’s happened to all of us. Your teacher tells your class that parallax problems won’t be on the final … and then the one question that’s worth 15% of your grade is a parallax problem.

Starting to study can be overwhelming, simply because you’ve covered an entire textbook in a year. But don’t let the amount of material stress you out! If you stick to the Slader guidelines, you’ll be able to study what matters for your next final.

1. Break it down. Separate all of your work into two categories: the stuff that’s hard for you, and the stuff that isn’t quite as hard. Then you can go chapter by chapter, spending more time on the Hard Stuff. If your teacher gives out study sheets, look at what’s emphasized on it.
2. Check your old homework and tests. Teachers like to prioritize certain concepts. So if you have your homework or tests from Chapter 8, look at what your teacher thought was most important from that section. What was the last big question on your test from Chapter 5? That’s a concept you definitely need to cover.
3. Do the hard problems from the book. Look at the ones you weren’t assigned, and read over the explanations on Slader. You don’t have to do every one, but it’s likely that you’ll get a similar problem on your final. Just skim the explanations to see how the problems are done. (Once, I got a problem straight from the book that I had practiced before the test. It was awesome.)
4. Ask your teacher. We all know that teachers lie. “No parallax,” they say. But, all joking aside, your teacher can help you understand what will be on the final without giving too much away. Just be earnest and butter them up a little.

Agree? Disagree? Tell us what you think!