Cramming can be defined as the activity ofย studying intensively over a short period of time just before an examination. Almost all of us have done it. Pulling an all nighter just the night before the examination, trying to study as much as possible in as little time as possible, squeezing in topics and revising questions here and there, fueled with coffee, tea and maggie noodles.
I’ve seen people do it, and I wonder how they can keep up with it. I, for one, have never crammed for an examination like that. It’s not that I don’t think education is important, I just try to plan better and get a good night’s rest before the big day. I’ve gone to an examination feeling sickly and miserable, and you know what? It wasn’t good at all. Maybe cramming is just not my cup of tea.
But for the mighty stallions that regularly pull this stunt off, all is not flowers and sunshine. Doing this once or twice is fine but pulling off regular all night cram sessions during the exam/assignment season can seriously hamper one’s chances not only in the exam but in matters of health too.
Let me provide an example. A very good friend of mine had a very important thermodynamics test to take, passing which would mean good marks on the internal assessment which would make it easier to pass the external exam. This dude, realizing the importance of the test, studied hard, all night, and decided to reward himself with a power nap a couple of hours prior to the test. Guess what? He slept through the test, had bad internal test marks and went on to fail the externals as a result. Did cramming do him any good? I’ll let you decide that.
Now, even when one is awake and in the exam hall, a sleep deprived student is much less likely to recall the answers than a fresh one. One needs to understand that while studying so much might seem good, a lot also depends on what you retain in your brain. If you try to ‘cram’ too much information at once, the brain just can’t take all of it thus defeating the very purpose of cramming to begin with.
Another thing to consider here is the health ramifications of such a maverick lifestyle.ย Students who cut corners on sleep often adopt unhealthy eating habits. In most cases, college students subsist on empty-calorie, high-fat snack foods that don’t provide enough energy to function effectively (cue, the maggie noodles and sugary coffee). Furthermore, a change in schedule also leads to change in hunger habits, which makes people eat odd things at odd times, which can be very detrimental to one’s fitness and health.
Yet still, as far as students are concerned, nothing is more important than getting good marks while procrastinating till the last possible time. A lot of students do this on a regular basis and actually go on to do very well on the tests. Also, once college is over, they too revert back to a normal lifestyle and fall into a pattern. So maybe it is not all that bad.
Hence, in conclusion, while cramming for an examination may seem like a great idea to enjoy most of your days and still get good marks on tests, it really is not everyone’s cup of tea. One should be aware of the consequences of what could happen in the short term (like falling asleep during the exam) and long term (erratic hunger patterns) and decide for themselves whether they want to plan their regular lives better to include more studying time or just cram everything up in one night.
Do you cram for your exams? Did you use to? Tell me about it in the comments section below. If you didn’t, tell me why not. As always, I’m available to contact and please do follow me on Twitter.
Much love,
–SG
I agree, I just can’t cram!
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I don’t necessarily cram but I don’t spend time studying either.
I just crash read a few days and nights before my exams and it works perfectly.
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That’s much better really.
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Not meant for me either..
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Cramming is surely for the bravest hearts and toughest minds ๐
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I tried to cram and would always end up asleep over my desk when my alarm went off.
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Haha yeah that happens.
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Thus brings back memories of college. I was never good at rote learning, I was never good at studying ‘for’ the exams either. I had to understand the concept during the class itself or when I was casually reading else I would never be able remember a word. Concepts stuck with me, cramming never.
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That, I think, is the best way to go about it.
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I know that now. Wish I’d known that in college. I would have paid more attention in the class ๐
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I use to start preparing for my exams 15 days before, but then you know the ultimate shit that happens in engineering college when teachers give you important notes and bunch of photocopies 2 days before the exam. Now, what could a student do then. Only thing left is ” Jagrata” ๐
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Sounds like you were able to handle that very well.
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But, I managed to get more sleep than others.
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You know I slept a lot more during exam times than regular times. ๐
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well..such cramming isnt good for anyone ,I wonder if these people learnt something at all..๐
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Considering the state of education these days in my country, I don’t think they do.
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My Dear Friend Shining Gem your country is not the only place ,education is like that..The World is in a destructive state..
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I think you covered just about everything on this topic. Yes, I did cram sometimes because I was too busy being lazy on other days. Because there was still time! And when I would study ahead of time, I would forget some of the stuff, so I liked it to be “fresh”. But ultimately, most of the time, I would just say: “F**k it” and go to sleep. I did rather well in my formal education.
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Now that’s a humble brag. ๐
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๐
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It depends why you are cramming but it’s not the best way to preserve knowledge.
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Hey, I nominated you for the Liebster Award! More info here: https://chamomilemidnightrambles.wordpress.com/2018/01/31/liebster-interlude/
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I would start a month before the exams, reducing my lecture and seminar notes to bare facts on file cards for each exam subject. Then I would just plough through the lot, make sure i went to bed early the night before, eat a good breakfast and go in and give it hell.
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Its not advantageous better to try to understand .But I guess students have their own methodology .
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It depends. If you want to just pass the exam without performing upto mark then you could opt for cramming. Often it’s portrayed as a virtue but in long term it proves as detrimental for students. Therefore we should refrain from these activities which ultimately leads us towards procrastinating habits.
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Our system is such.
We all have done it.
Though a few try to break the habit.
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Cramming is an art.Sleeping for 1 hour before exam will help you in feeling fresh and remembering the answers(for short time).If you are hungry for knowledge then avoid cramming.I have learnt this last year๐.
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Cramming for examination is never a good idea. Though some aspects can be memorised. Thanks for sharing an important aspect of education.
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You’re welcome Peter.
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Best wishes!
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I’ve always held the same perspective as you: cramming really isn’t worth it. My roommates would pull all-nighters trying to cram for exams, and they would be half asleep while trying to complete the test.
It almost seemed like staying up all night before a test was a rite of passage so that one could be considered a real undergraduate student…
I’ve always preferred studying subjects for 20-30 minutes every day for weeks before the test. Re-reading and re-learning information multiple times allows the brain to really absorb information.
Studies show that studying for a few hours before bed, then getting a full 8 hours of sleep actually benefit students better than cramming all night. I don’t have links to the research, but we learned in my psych classes that the brain basically absorbs information that we only previously knew at a surface level the night before, so that we can recall it better the next day. So really, studying a little bit, then sleeping on info, ultimately means that students will get better grades on tests.
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You know, I really agree with you here. Although I myself didn’t study that much, but I’m glad it worked out so well for you.
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I did sometime ago. But now my perspective has changed.
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Good to know.
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Thank you
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I used to cram, thought I knew everything until the test was placed in front of me ๐
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Well at least you’ve learned your lesson. ๐
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Thanks for this post! I never pulled a single all-nighter in college or graduate school. I was always too anxious to get started with studying. I donโt judge those who did – thatโs simply their style. But any expert on memory will tell you that cramming is a terrible way to remember information. Information is best encoded with spacing between learning sessions. As you mention, cramming is also detrimental to the sleep one needs prior to an exam as well.
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Thanks for the affirmative comment Jesse.
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My boards this year…. And such stuffs๐๐๐๐๐ป๐ป๐ป๐ป๐ป๐๐๐๐๐
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I hope you mean that in a good way.
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Yes๐๐
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Cramming is certainly not a good idea. Goal of education is not to pass the exam or to score highest marks. Goal of education is to gain knowledge, wisdom and information. To prepare yourself for future challenges. Student should stop RATTA FICATION and start understanding things.
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I wholeheartedly agree.
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