Free Excel template

Free exam study planner template

Q: Can I track study by week instead?

Yes. Add a Week column to the log with =A19-WEEKDAY(A19,2)+1 (the Monday of that week) and total hours per week with SUMIF on that column.

For high school and college students preparing for several exams at once, and for study groups and tutors who plan revision with them. Set a target number of study hours for each subject and log every session; the template totals hours per subject, counts the days to each exam, works out how many hours a day each subject needs and tells you whether that fits the time you actually have.

cellwise-exam-study-planner-template.xlsxExcel workbook · 5.2 KB · works in Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers and LibreOffice · no signup

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Preview and try it

This is the template's sheet, calculated by the same engine as the Cellwise app. Change any number to see the formulas react before you download.

	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I
1	Exam study planner
2	Today (as-of date)	Nov 2, 2026
3	Study hours you can spend per day	2
4
5	Subject	Exam date	Target hours	Studied	Days left	Hours left	Hours/day needed	% done	Status
6	Biology	Dec 8, 2026	24	6.5	36	17.5	0.49	0.27083333333	On track
7	Calculus	Dec 10, 2026	30	9	38	21	0.55	0.3	On track
8	US History	Dec 11, 2026	18	2.5	39	15.5	0.4	0.13888888889	Start now
9	Spanish	Dec 14, 2026	12	1.5	42	10.5	0.25	0.125	Start now
10	Chemistry	Dec 15, 2026	26	4.5	43	21.5	0.5	0.17307692308	Start now
11	English Lit	Dec 16, 2026	14	2.5	44	11.5	0.26	0.17857142857	Start now
12	Total		124	26.5		97.5	2.45	0.21370967742
13
14	Hours/day all subjects need			2.45
15	Daily plan check			Short by 0.5 h/day
16	Least-prepared subject			Spanish
17
18	Session date	Subject	Hours	What I covered
19	Oct 19, 2026	Calculus	2	Derivatives practice set
20	Oct 19, 2026	Biology	1	Cell respiration notes

How the formulas work

Hours studied per subject from the session log

D6=SUMIF($B$19:$B$40,A6,$C$19:$C$40)

Log every session below row 18 with the date, subject and hours. SUMIF adds up the hours for rows matching the subject in A6, so the plan updates as you log. The subject name in the log must match the plan exactly; a drop-down list (Data > Data Validation > List, source A6:A11) keeps them consistent.

Days left until each exam

E6=B6-$B$2

An exam date minus today's date gives the days in between, because Excel stores dates as day numbers. B2 is a typed date: update it when you sit down to study, or replace it with TODAY() in your own copy if you want it to move on its own.

Hours per day each subject needs

G6=IF(E6>0,ROUND(F6/E6,2),F6)

Hours still to do divided by days left. Calculus, with 30 target hours and the second exam, needs a bit over half an hour every day from now on. If the exam date has arrived, the formula shows the hours left instead of dividing by zero.

Does the plan fit your day?

D15=IF(D14<=B3,"Fits: "&TEXT(B3-D14,"0.0")&" h/day spare","Short by "&TEXT(D14-B3,"0.0")&" h/day")

D14 adds up the hours per day every subject needs. If that is no more than the time you said you can study (B3), the plan fits; otherwise it tells you how far short you are. TEXT formats the number to one decimal place inside the sentence. If you are short, lower a target, start earlier, or add time on weekends.

Find the least-prepared subject

D16=INDEX(A6:A11,MATCH(MIN(H6:H11),H6:H11,0))

MIN finds the lowest % done, MATCH finds which row it is in and INDEX returns the subject. In the sample it is Spanish, which has only 1.5 of its 12 hours done. Do that subject first in your next session.

Make it yours

Set targets from experience: past exams, how much material there is and how confident you feel. A rough target you adjust is better than none.
Weight the subjects that count most toward your grade or that you find hardest: give them a higher target and they automatically get more hours per day.
Color the Status column: select I6:I11, then Home > Conditional Formatting > Highlight Cells Rules > Text that Contains, type Start now and choose red.
Need more log rows? Insert rows inside the log (above row 40) so the SUMIF ranges grow with it.

FAQ

How do I make a study planner in Excel?

List each subject with its exam date and a target number of hours, log study sessions in a table below, and total hours per subject with SUMIF. Subtract today's date from each exam date to see the days left and divide the hours remaining by the days left.

How many hours a day should I study?

That depends on you, your courses and your other commitments, so this template asks you to set the targets and the hours you have each day. It then tells you whether your plan fits. If it does not, it is a sign to start earlier or rebalance.

Can I track study by week instead?

Yes. Add a Week column to the log with =A19-WEEKDAY(A19,2)+1 (the Monday of that week) and total hours per week with SUMIF on that column.

Functions used

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Updated November 2, 2026