As finals week approaches, students should be prepared mentally and physically for the homestretch. The summer may be in sight, but you can’t truly enjoy it until every test is taken and every paper is written.
It’s easy to get stressed during finals, especially if you are cramming every night. It’s really important to get plenty of sleep, even if that means skipping your daily afternoon nap and swapping it with studying in the library.
Although you may be reaching for a Red Bull or stopping at Dunkin’ for a coffee, caffeine is actually not good for you, and can make you even more stressed while at the same time, giving you a hard time falling asleep. A student’s best bet is to study for a good solid hour, and then taking quick 5-10 minute breaks, this will help you stay focused and on task.
“I like studying in groups, other people are there to push me and not get so distracted,” John Gallagher, a senior electronic journalism arts major said.
Students can ask some of their classmates to get together someplace to study for finals to go over all of the material. Most likely, there are other students in your class who don’t understand the same material. Although this may work for some, some student’s actually find it beneficial to study alone.
“I am the type of person that needs to study alone. Study groups have always distracted me. If it is a class where I take a lot of notes, I rewrite the notes and read through them a bunch of times until I can thoroughly explain them myself without looking. If it is an exam with definitions I always rely on my handy-dandy note cards,” said Alison Ciaramitaro, a senior atmospheric sciences major said, “The trick is to stay on top of your work all semester and go into the final with a solid grade so you truly don’t have to worry. A little bit of effort goes a long way.”