Finals are the college version of doomsday, but along with finals there are also midterms and other exams. Time management and effective study techniques become crucial to surviving the onslaught of college exams.

Be prepared. Ask any college professor or graduate and he or she will say cramming is not the best way to study. Instead of studying three days or even a week before the test, make studying a regular habit.

The key to remembering everything is in preparation for the test, said Craig Zywicki, program coordinator for the Academic Success Center.

Read the textbook. Most students underestimate the value of reading the textbook for class.

At the beginning of a class a syllabus is given to students. These include reading material and topics for each lecture.

Read the material before going to class. Since professors may cover material quickly in lecture, an understanding of the material before class helps students keep up with the fast pace.

Reading the material again after class can help students further process the information if the material is difficult.

Stay organized. It is important to keep track of all the exam dates throughout the semester.

Plotting dates for exams will provide you with the big picture to know how exam dates will affect each other, according to the Academic Success Center website.

It is typical for a student to be facing three or four tests in the same week depending on class schedules. Staying organized will help students be more time efficient throughout the semester.

Have 10-minute study sessions. Everybody has those 5 or 10 minutes throughout the day they don’t know what to do with. That 10 minutes waiting for class to start could be used to review material. Reviewing notes, making note cards or summarizing notes can all be done in the extra time.

Learn, don’t memorize. It is harder to learn the material and understand the concepts of the class than it is to just memorize words, phrases and equations, but professors expect it.

“I would suggest trying to generalize the concept or thinking about the concept into a very different situation. Don’t memorize anything,” said Valentina Salotti, assistant professor of finance.

Also, many classes and degrees build on top of each other. Students learn a concept in one class and then are expected to apply it in another class. This is especially true for math and science majors.

To learn more about preparing and studying for exams go to the Academic Success Center’s website at www.dso.iastate.edu/asc. The center offers a variety of handouts on the website. Students can also request a tutor or academic counselor from the center.