How can I memorize things faster for exams?

You're not doing less than them — you're doing the wrong operations. Re-reading and highlighting FEEL like studying but barely touch memory; recognition ('this looks familiar') masquerades as recall ('I can produce this'). Exams test recall. The mechanical fixes, ranked by evidence: 1. Active recall — close the book, write/say everything you remember, THEN check. That effortful retrieval is literally the event that strengthens memory. Convert notes into questions; study by answering them. 2. Spaced repetition — revisit at expanding gaps (1 day, 3 days, a week) instead of massed cramming. Same hours, distributed, can double retention. Anki automates the scheduling for fact-dense subjects. 3. Feynman technique for concepts — explain it aloud as if to a 12-year-old. Where you go vague is precisely what you don't know yet; re-learn exactly there. 4. Interleave topics within a session rather than 6 hours of one chapter — harder-feeling, better-sticking. Brutal but true rule of thumb: if your hand isn't writing answers or your mouth isn't explaining, you're probably performing studying rather than doing it. Your competitive friends aren't smarter; they're retrieving while you're re-reading.