Somethings you should never be good at, cramming included. But in the event that it's your only hope, at least you can prepare to be unprepared.

First of all, cramming is NOT a substitute for proper studying, and it robs you of long-term mastery of a subject. However, it is a substitute for taking an F. If you are ever going to cram properly, there are some things you need to know.

To begin, find out your personal learning patterns. Are you a kinetic, audio, or visual learner? There are tests and resources to help you find out. Usually, a person is a combination of all three types, but it's best to know which is the dominant one. Do you study best in the morning or evening? Do you retain more with or without distraction? No one studies the same way, so monitor yourself now to find out what environment is most conducive for you when cramming.

Now it's the morning of a final and guess what? You're cramming. Analyze your immediate needs. If you are hungry, tired, need to take a shower or call somebody, make sure you decide which ones to take care of before cramming and which ones to put on hold. That way, when you are trying to memorize Freud's stages of development your mind is not thinking about the cookies in the kitchen or the e-mail you desperately need to check.

Dedicate your cramming time to soaking up information, not beating yourself up or dreading the test. Yeah, you should have studied. Yeah, the test is going to be hard. There's nothing you can do about that now, all you can do is cram. And cram you shall.

As far as retainment goes, repetition is key. The more times you can go over the notes and material, the deeper it will go into your memory. Just make sure you are actually comprehending what you are reading and how it pertains to what will be on the test. It's good to throw in a 60 second break here and there, but get right back into it. Do it over and over and over.

This is the part where you recognize and utilize your learning type. KINETIC: move around. Give gestures to answers. Lay out a hopscotch formation and put an acronym in it. Get creative. AUDIO: speak to yourself, asking questions and answering them. Imagine your teacher articulating the answers. Record your notes and listen to them while you study. VISUAL: Draw diagrams, Google pictures, visualize the physical meaning behind a concept.

Flash cards, old-school as they are, are a huge help because they use all the learning styles, writing and flipping the cards (kinetic), reading what's on them (visual) and saying the answers out loud (audio). You can easily study them on your way to and right before the test.

TIP: to use flash cards for proper studying, keep index cards with you in class or while doing the assignments, and every time you come across something that might be on the test, make a flashcard for it. Then, when it's time to study you already have them made. In the week before the test, take them out occasionally, like during commercial breaks or on the bus. Remember, repetition is key.

Now you are taking the test. Don't be discouraged. Clear your mind. Take it one question at a time. What you know you know; what you don't know, there's nothing you can do so don't think about it. Give yourself time to remember things. And vow to study harder next time.