Studying Tactics to Help Your Brain Retain Information When Preparing for an NCEES Exam

If you're preparing for an FE, PE, or SE NCEES exam, you've probably recently been searching for the best studying tips. 

Psychologically speaking, it's important to find tactics that help your brain retain information better or to learn concepts better. We've broken out 3 studying tactics and tips that will help your brain retain the information needed to pass your chosen NCEES exam: 

Table of Contents

1. Quiz Yourself Prior to a Study Session

2. Switch Up Your Studying Environment

3. Avoid Long Study Sessions

1. Quiz Yourself Prior to a Study Session 

It's common practice to test yourself after a study session to see what you've actually learned. While that is still a good practice, quizzing yourself before you actually start your study session is extremely beneficial. By quizzing yourself prior, you will be able to gauge what information you retained while not studying. The results of the pre-study quiz can also help determine what you need to focus on in that specific study session. Finding an online quizzing tool for an NCEES exam is a great way to quiz yourself prior to a study session. 

2. Switch Up Your Studying Environment 

Are you one to study in just one place? Perhaps at the same desk or at the same coffee shop? While familiarity may seem like a good thing while studying, studies have shown that studying in differing environments can actually help you psychologically. 

By changing your study environment periodically, you're allowing your brain to retrieve the same information, but in different environments. This helps program your brain that the information it is retrieving in different environments must be important. 

3. Avoid Long Study Sessions

If you're one to study hours upon hours at a time, your efforts may not be as rewarding as you think. You may think that by studying in large chunks, you are covering a large amount of material. This is true, but it's not likely that your brain can retain much information after you study for hours. In layman's terms, don't overload your brain! 

Instead of trying to cram information in a longer study session, try studying for only an hour at a time. In fact, neurologists found in a study that the hippocampus region of the brain encoded brain synapses much easier when a subject studied in smaller intervals when compared to a subject studied for hours at a time. 

So, instead of studying for 4 hours at a time, for example, try studying one hour at a time with 20-30-minute breaks in between sessions. During your study breaks, take a walk, watch TV, or eat a snack- pretty much dedicate your break time to allow your brain to rest. 

For more FE, PE, and SE exam advice, make sure to check out our Facebook page for weekly tips. 

3 Tips on Maintaining a Good Life-Study Balance When Preparing for an NCEES Exam

Eat. Work. Study. Sleep.

Eat. Work. Study. Nap.

Work. Study.

Work. Study. Study. Study. Study.

Does the above scenario sound familiar? If you are preparing for an NCEES exam, we get that studying can take up a lot of free time. In fact, many students report studying for their FE, PE, or SE exams up to a total of 200 hours. That's a lot of time!

We get it. Passing an NCEES exam is extremely important for one's career. If you find yourself overwhelmed with studying and cannot find time for other important things such as socializing, eating a well-balanced meal, or exercising, your overall mental and physical health can be negatively affected. It's important to find a good balance to not only ensure you stay happy and healthy, but to also ensure optimal studying. 

To help fit studying into other activities to help give you more time for fun things, check out our list of ideas below:

Table of Contents

1. Study at the Gym

2. Create Notecards

3. Take an Ondemand Exam Review Course

1. Study at the Gym

If you find yourself sitting at a desk all day while at work and while studying, it's important that you get up and move. In fact, the American Heart Association recommends that everyone should exercise at least 150 minutes per week. 

A great way to study at the gym is to print out FE, PE, or SE course notes (or bring a tablet to the gym to view online) and jump on a treadmill or an elliptical.

Maintaining exercise will help your overall energy levels and keep you in-shape. Also, research has shown that exercising increases activity in the hippocampus, a region in the brain that stores and controls memory. 

2. Create Notecards

Having study material that is easily portable is great for someone who is always on the go. Creating notecards is a great review in itself, as it forces you to write down concepts. If you do make notecards, you can squeeze study time while you're riding the bus, taking a coffee break, or review the deck right before you go to bed. 

If you work during the day, a great study strategy would be to take 5 minutes every hour to review some notecards.

3. Take an Ondemand Exam Review Course

Whether you are taking an FE, PE, or SE exam, taking an online Ondemand exam review course allows you to study anytime and anywhere. By signing up for an Ondemand review course, you are able to watch recordings of course lectures at your own pace. Watch a lecture video while eating breakfast, while on the subway, or during your lunch break.