Be reasonable and understand that there are some tests you simply can’t cram for. Certain subjects, biology, for example, involve a lot of processes that cannot be learned in one night. You can still try to cram for this kind of exam but your best bet is to at least have two cram sessions starting two days (or more) before the exam rather than trying to learn the entire process in one night (which has historically led to nervous breakdowns).
Sleep before the test, even if only for an hour or two. Students with even a little bit of rest test better than those who are all hyped up on Red Bull and Mountain Dew. There’s always the risk of falling asleep in the middle of the exam if you haven’t slept.
Realize you probably won’t get an A-plus. It isn’t impossible but, if you’re trying for a 4.0, you probably shouldn’t be cramming for exams at all. Cramming is the activity of the average college student, the one who prefers partying to intellectual discussions.
Allow yourself at least 12 hours before the exam begins to study. Try to allocate some of that time for sleeping.
Gather all of your written notes from the class and arrange them in a way that makes sense to you. Chronological order is preferable according to the date the notes were taken.
Go through the notes and underline important names, places and dates. In other words pick out all the nouns. Using a highlighter helps. Using a second sheet of paper, write down and underline the noun and write the most pertinent and relevant facts that are associated with that word in shorthand. For example, perhaps your notes contain a paragraph such as the following (which is completely made up so please don’t take it for fact): Ancient Greeks used foxglove, digitalis, as a medicinal plant. It is used in many heart medicines. The name foxglove originates from the appearance of the plant being similar to that of a fox if it were wearing gloves. You would change this to: Foxglove: AKA digitalis. Used by ancient Greeks. Medication for heart. Like fox wearing gloves.
Do this with all of the important subjects you can muster from your notes. It will result in an abbreviated version of your original notes, which may seem useless and tedious but there are two reasons this tactic works. Merely writing out the information a second time temporarily ingrains the fact into your mind. Secondly, the format creates an excellent way to test yourself. Once you’ve finished writing down all the nouns and facts use another sheet of paper to cover up the facts that you’re trying to remember regarding information about that particular subject. Essentially, when a professor is testing you, this is all you’re doing anyway: Remembering an obscure fact about a certain topic. To illustrate using the example above you would cover up all the information you’ve provided in short hand about foxglove and try to recite it by memory. If you can do this, you’ve learned the information to the extent that is necessary to pass the test.
Write your short hand notes out a second time, if necessary, if there are certain nouns and facts you have a hard time memorizing. Memorization is the key to cramming.