Study Planner
This free study planner turns your exam date, weekly study hours and topic list into a week-by-week schedule. Pick an exam preset to fill in the official sections, build the plan in one click and get learning weeks, review weeks and practice-test checkpoints you can print or keep in your browser.
Your plan will appear here.
| Week | Dates | Focus | Hours | Practice test |
|---|
How to Use the Study Planner for Exams
The study planner for exams needs four inputs and one click. It works backward from your exam date and shows the finished plan as a table you can print.
- Pick your exam from the list, or leave “Custom exam” selected.
- Enter your study hours per week (1 to 80).
- Check the start date (today by default) and enter your exam date.
- Edit the topic list and press “Build My Study Plan”.
Your inputs are saved in this browser, so the plan is still there when you come back. Nothing is uploaded or shared.
Study Schedule Maker Inputs
The topic list is the heart of this study schedule maker. Enter one topic per line, and put your weakest topics first, because the earliest weeks get the first topics on the list. Choosing an exam preset fills the list with that exam’s official sections, which you can then reorder or split into smaller topics.
Weekly Study Planner Template View
The result is a weekly study planner template with five columns: week number, dates, focus topics, study hours and whether to take a practice test that week. A summary line above the table shows the number of weeks, total study hours and number of practice tests. “Print Plan” prints the table with your exam name and date as the title.
Daily Study Planner View
The planner schedules by week rather than by day, which leaves room for busy days. To turn it into a daily study planner, divide the week’s hours by the days you can study and give each day one focus topic from that week’s row. With 8 hours a week and 4 study days, that is 2 hours a day.
How the Schedule Study Planner Builds Your Plan
The schedule study planner follows a fixed set of rules, so the same inputs always give the same plan.
| Weeks until the exam | Learning weeks | Review week | Final week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | All weeks | None | None |
| 3–5 | All but the last | None | Last week |
| 6 or more | All but the last two | Second-to-last week | Last week |
Your topics are divided evenly across the learning weeks, in the order you listed them. A practice test is marked on every second learning week and in every review and final week. The review week focuses on mixed review of weak areas and a timed full-length practice test; the final week on light review, flashcards and a final practice test, then rest before exam day. A short last week gets proportionally fewer hours, because the plan ends the day before your exam.
Study Planner Spaced Repetition
The planner spaces your work at the level of weeks: every topic is learned once, then revisited in the practice tests and in the review and final weeks. Research on the spacing effect, including Cepeda and colleagues (2008), found that reviews spread out over time beat cramming. For day-to-day spaced repetition of facts, add our flashcards online maker, which schedules each card with Leitner boxes.
Study Planner With Timer
The planner itself has no timer. Pair it with the exam countdown, which shows a live timer to your exam start time along with the weeks and study days left, and use a simple phone timer for focused study blocks within each day.
Exam Study Planner Presets
The exam study planner includes presets for the exams covered on this site, from the SAT and ACT to the NCLEX-RN, CompTIA A+ and the ASVAB test. Each preset copies the exam’s official content areas into the topic list, so your plan matches what the real exam tests. State DMV and state real estate tests are not in the list; use “Custom exam” for those.
Finals Study Planner
For finals, use the planner as a finals study planner by entering each course as a topic, or each unit of your hardest course. With three or four weeks until finals, the plan gives you learning weeks and a final review week. Our guide on how to study for finals covers how to split time across several exams.
Study Plan 1 Month Before Exam
A study plan 1 month before the exam usually gives you four or five weeks. The planner uses all but the last week for topics and keeps the final week for light review and a last practice test. With 8 hours a week, that is around 32 to 40 hours of study.
Study Plan 1 Week Before Exam
With a study plan 1 week before the exam, the whole week is a single learning week covering every topic. Keep the list short, put your weakest topics first, and take one timed practice test midweek so you have time to review the mistakes.
Study Planner Example
Here is a study planner example for a student starting eight weeks before the SAT with 6 hours a week and the two SAT sections split into four topics: Algebra and Advanced Math, Geometry and Data Analysis, Reading (Information and Ideas, Craft and Structure), and Writing (Expression of Ideas, Conventions).
| Week | Focus | Practice test |
|---|---|---|
| 1–6 | Topics in list order; with four topics over six weeks, two topics get a second week | Weeks 2, 4 and 6 |
| 7 | Mixed review of weak areas, timed full-length practice test | Yes |
| 8 | Light review and flashcards, final practice test, then rest | Yes |
Use our SAT practice test for the practice-test weeks and compare your section scores each time.
Study Planner Template
Once you print it, the plan works as a reusable study planner template. Tick off each week’s topics, note the practice-test score in the margin and move any topic you struggled with into the review week.
Study Planner for Students
This study planner for students is free, has no sign-up and runs online in any browser. It suits high school and college students preparing for entrance exams or finals, and adults working toward a certification. For more help with pacing, read how long should I study for a test, how to prepare for exam and our other study tips for exams, then pick a test from our free practice tests.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is a Study Planner?
A study planner is a schedule that spreads the material for an exam across the time you have left. It sets a focus for each week, budgets your study hours and reserves time for review and practice tests, so you can see early whether you are on track rather than finding out the night before.
How Do You Make a Study Planner?
List your topics, weakest first, count the weeks until the exam and decide how many hours a week you can study. Spread the topics across the early weeks, keep the last week or two for mixed review, and add a timed practice test every couple of weeks. Our study planner builds this schedule for you.
How Do You Create a Study Planner for an Exam?
Choose your exam from the preset list so its official sections become your topics, then enter your start date, exam date and weekly hours. Reorder the topics so the weakest come first and press Build My Study Plan. Print the result or come back later, because the planner remembers your inputs in this browser.
Are Flashcards Effective?
Yes, flashcards are effective when you use them for active recall and review them at increasing intervals. Research summarized by Dunlosky and colleagues in 2013 rates practice testing and spaced practice among the most useful study techniques. Flashcards are best for facts and terms; pair them with practice questions for applying knowledge.