It’s the most wonderful time of the year….FINALS! This isn’t the most exciting or least stressful part of the year, however it is a time where you can look back and appreciate how much you have learned in a single semester. Before you panic, take a moment to appreciate that you have gotten this far in your education! Being enrolled in college is a huge accomplishment and you should be very proud. In dealing with finals, it is best to take a calm approach. Panicking, stressing, and cramming will not do you any good, so hopefully by the time you are reading this, you are at a point where you can prepare in advance!
- Don’t wait until the review. The final exam review is typically 1 week before the exam, which doesn’t leave you much time to study among all of your other classes, projects, and assignments. If you write out a study guide or key topics that you discussed in class prior to the review, it will help to refresh your memory and help guide you for the exam prep. We often forget the information that we learned during week 1, so try your best to review those old notes.
- Take study breaks. If you begin studying in advance, you will allow more time to gradually learn and absorb all of the information. With that, you should allow yourself to take a break from studying to go get ice cream, take a shower, order dinner, or watch an episode of television.
- Put your phone volume on, but put it across the room. It may sound ridiculous to keep your phone volume on, but I’ve noticed that I always want to check my phone to see if I got any notifications. By turning your volume on, you’ll know when someone is trying to reach you rather than constantly being worried if you missed a text or call by having it on silent.
- Study with friends. Like all successful business partnerships, your partner will usually possess skills that you do not have. The same thing applies to study partners. They may understand a section that you need extra help on and the same can be said vice versa. By teaching a topic, you are also helping yourself reassure your knowledge and awareness on the topic.
Happy studying!
Ashley