aka my study methods/processes(?) as someone who only recently figured out how
disclaimer: this might not work for everybody, this is just what works for me
gather relevant materials (textbooks, old notes, handouts)
watch video lectures/rewatch recorded lectures on the topic
outline the basic overall concepts of the topic
fill in with relevant details when you write notes
summarize those notes and do a "report" on the topic, as if you're teaching it to other people
optional: practice answering with a timer
check answers and review mistakes
repeat 5-8 until you get a high enough score
pros of method 1: effective
cons of method 1: takes too much time
gather relevant materials on several topics
answer practice tests on topic 1 with open notes
answer practice tests on topic 2 with open notes
after a significant amount of time/after finishing all the topics, go back to topic 1 and answer without any notes
cycle the same through the remaining topics
pros of method 2: faster than method 1
cons of method 2: you might not have enough practice tests
method 3: the crammer's way
rewrite a summarized version of the notes from what you remember
compare what you rewrote and what you summarized
repeat 3x the things you missed
keep rewriting until you can accurately recall all relevant information
do the same "reporting" thing as if you're teaching the topic to other people
pros of method 3: great with theoreticals
cons of method 3: not great with application-heavy subjects like math
method 4: fuck it we ball
listen to video lectures on 2.5x speed
pros of method 4: the fastest method, great if you're in a pinch
cons of method 4: stressful but only if you're a coward