depends on the subject. just do whatever works. considering your first year, talk to other students (preferably bright ones) and see what they're doing for the subject. you can also talk to your tutors or lecturers and they should be able to give you study/organisational tips.
my method is to just read read read all semester really, and alsoo supplement the lecture notes that they give out with anything that i think is relevant.
it's like high school in a way but they dont really tell you whats going to be in the exam most of the time so your preparation usually has to be a lot more thorough than for high school.