It works sometimes and doesn't other times. Ive had a few study groups in the past year and they all weren't helpful in studying. It usually just ended up being a social group rather than a study group.
You might be studying with the wrong people, or using a study group too early in the process (when people don't take the upcoming exam seriously). You should try previewing your lectures. Chances are your professor puts his lectures up on Blackboard or Canvas before class. Download them the day before and take a couple of minutes to run through things. Nothing fancy just look at stuff, check out the images, etc. Get an idea of what you're gonna be learning. Go to class...this might not be that useful to you, as I know plenty of really successful students that don't go to class. Personally, I do better when I go to class. Try being engaged in the lecture, and if you preview the lecture you probably will be. I think the most important thing in studying is to review material the day it was discussed in class. So when you have a break or you're at home, go over what was talked about in class. Copying your notes over is only so useful, it might help short term memory but you need to engage your mind in multiple ways. So diagram things out, rewrite them a different way, start making connections across your lecture. Do this the day you learned it as you'll have a leg up on most of your peers. After that, it's just consistently going over the material... Your aim is long-term potentiation. Go to TA sessions, office hours, etc. I'm a person that shies away from professors but man up and go if you have questions. Also, with almost anything you study in undergrad, the material is pretty standard across the country/world. Google concepts you need help with. You'll find tons of useful information, and maybe stuff you don't need to know for your test. But the idea is to see and condense the material in many ways so that it really sticks. And if you spread all of this out over the course of a week or two (however frequent your tests are) you'll have plenty of time to have some fun during the day as well. If only I followed my own advice.
Try to eliminate as many distractions as possible. Study in the library or another quiet place and cut down on media, family and friends. It's a short term sacrifice, but eventually you'll see a reflection in your grades.
I guess I'm in the minority but I absolutely could not study without the TV on. I had to have distractions around me.
