Why practice tests should be the first and last step in the studying process.

I'm sure you've all seen the bumper stickers or posters that read, "I'd rather be fishing." If I were to stick one of these on my car I'd supplant fishing with golfing. You might choose "singing," "eating" or "grooming my chia pet." Regardless of what activity you'd rather be doing, it's pretty safe to say that activity isn't studying.

Whether or not you consciously ask yourself before hitting the books, the paramount question when studying is "How can I maximize the time I spend doing this?" Or, in other words, it's all about efficiency, baby.

In my humble opinion it all starts and ends with the practice test. When you sit down to study, you have a good idea of where your strengths and weaknesses lie, but that doesn't mean you should head straight to your notes to solidify what's lacking. Start by taking a practice test (usually provided by your professor, textbook publisher or frat brothers).

You may realize that while you find the material on circuits to be hazy, the test questions on circuits all progress similarly. Spending a short amount of time with the method employed to solve these questions will get you to where you need to be. Think of it as inductive versus deductive studying.

So start with the practice test, understand what you need to focus on, do what's necessary to grasp that material, then take a second practice test (or even re-take the first one). If you can complete all of the problems without assistance or peeking at the solution page, you are good to go. If a certain problem still trips you up, repeat steps 2-4. Consider yourself enrolled in the Brian McKnight school of studying.

Just make sure you don't fall victim to the practice test trap.

Are practice tests your go-to guy for studying? On the contrary, think they are overrated? Share your thoughts!