Pre-Comps and How To Study For Them

A familiar scene unfolds: a student sits at his or her desk, desperately flipping through piles of notes, textbooks, handouts, and tests trying to cram for the high-stakes test that takes place the next day. Except, this test is one of the pre-comprehensive exams, also known as the Pre-Comps.

Last-minute studying is never recommended when it comes to the Pre-Comps. A gradual review is best, and the night before should be used by relaxing and having confidence – stressing out can impact performance negatively. Usually, the teachers hand out study packets to students or post them on Schoology, so those can be really helpful, too.

Another good study source is the Peer-to-Peer tutoring sessions that happen every Monday lunch in room 124 and Friday office hours in room 131. There are tutors for every subject, and they are always happy to explain material to other students.

The Pre-Comps apply to every subject except for PE and electives. Each subject consists of a Common and Native portion; the Common is given to all BASIS schools and the Native is made by the class’s teacher. The Common is always completely multiple choice, while the Native can be any format the teacher selects. Time limits depend on which subject it is.

The Common is usually not too difficult since it essentially goes over the more basic topics that are must-knows. These are the questions that have appeared repeatedly in practice packets and review quizzes, so definitely review those. The Native really depends on the teacher’s preferred test format. Looking at previous tests and quizzes can help prepare for that.

Study guides that teachers often give out have been really useful for me – even if they’re not required.

Usually, I find the History test more difficult than the others because it focuses on memorizing people, dates, and events. For that, I normally read the textbook and notes, although sometimes it’s hard to absorb. When that happens, watching a video on the topic can be helpful (I recommend Crash Course). Sometimes, I like to think of history as one incredibly long and detailed story about human beings, and although it doesn’t always work, it’s occasionally useful – a plot can make everything make a lot more sense.

For World Language, I practice problems for each different topic. In Latin, there’s translations, culture, grammar, and vocabulary. I find flashcards the most helpful for vocabulary, though there can be a lot for half a year, so I tend to group them in the textbook’s units and go from there. In grammar, declensions are groups of nouns that are declined in a certain way. Conjugations are essentially the same thing, but with verbs. They can be easily taken care of using the website Magistrula; it allows conjugating verbs of any tense, voice, and conjugation, and allows declining nouns of any declension.

All the STEM subjects (math, biology, chemistry, physics) also require plenty of practice. The best way to study math is to go over various different problems in each topic repeatedly, so that it’s ingrained in memory. Same goes for biology, chemistry, and physics, since there are an overwhelming amount of topics in each subject. Going over them in detail one by one typically helps me the best, and then the week before, I skim through all of them to make sure I remember.

English in particular is rather difficult to study for – grammar is never my strong suit, and analyzing text can be challenging. For grammar, the textbooks always help if there are ideas that are confusing. Analyzing a novel or in-class reading definitely requires knowing the point of the story. What is it trying to say? Why does it matter? It’s always a good idea to figure out different themes, central ideas, instances of symbolism, etc. and how they’re important to the plot. This helps when writing an essay on the reading.

In general, I think it’s best to do as many practice questions as possible for any subject. Again, studying at the last minute is never a good idea, especially for subjects that need more attention and cover more content. Actively engaging when studying is important too; it really helps in processing the information.