You can get an ‘A’ by studying the night before, or you can get an ‘A’ by diligently tending to your work all semester.
The fact that the outcome is the same seems to imply that the path doesn’t matter.
But what about when the exam is over?
Study the night before and I guarantee that every piece of information you crammed into your head will be gone inside of 60 minutes post exam.
Study consistently over the semester, and your retention of the material will remain with your forever.
And that is a sizeable difference.