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Help studying for a biology degree at uni

So I’m currently in year 2 Neuroscience and am very overwhelmed with the amount of content I have to revise for my exams. I only have about a month to study and revise as my exams start at the start of May 😭😭 Does anyone have any tips or tricks they use for a degree like mine?

Reply 1

BCU Student Rep

Official Rep

Hi there,
As a third-year radiography student, I completely understand how overwhelming things can get. Right now, I’m balancing exams, OSCEs, my dissertation, and placement, all while being tested on knowledge from the past three years.

At the start of the academic year, I already felt overwhelmed, and that feeling hit again last month as deadlines started approaching. One thing that really helped me was realising that I needed to take things step by step. Initially, I tried to juggle everything and felt alone in all of it until I reached out to my lecturers, who are the ones who design the exams, so they know exactly what’s expected. Don’t hesitate to ask them:

• What should I focus on to be successful in this exam?
• What’s the best way to prepare?

Their guidance can make a big difference.

In first and second year, I had to learn a lot of anatomy, and one technique that helped me and has worked for me since secondary school is active recall. I’m also a visual learner, so I making visual material of different anatomical structures and created my own notes instead of relying solely on online resources.

I found that making my own revision materials really helped—things like:
• Flashcards
• Mind maps
• Posters with lots of colours

By actively engaging with the material, my brain started associating topics with the way I revised them. For example, if I made a mind map on a topic, I’d recall, “Oh, I created a mind map for this!” and that would help me remember the content better. The same thing happened with flashcards—I could recall information based on the activity I did.

I hope this helps! You’ve got this—just take it step by step.

Mercy
BCU Student Rep