Joseph Ferguson ’16

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Finals week can be the most stressful time for a student, whether you’re a freshman in high school or a senior about to graduate. Here are some tips to follow as finals week approaches. The earlier you prep, the more likely you’ll b to ace your exams from start to finish.

A major key is a study guide. While many teachers provide a study guide, creating your own can help you understand the material even better. Outlining the important information you need to learn can be helpful, both as you create the guide and as you refer to it when you actually sit down to prepare for an exam. Your teachers’ review sessions offer vital information on exam format, content, and concepts. So by visiting these you can fill out your study guide better and have an idea of what your teacher will put on the exam. It may also help to do this with friends or fellow classmates. Evaluate whether or not studying with others will be beneficial.

With finals comes a lot of stress and anxiety, which often seem uncontrollable. Yet you can dull this pain through meditation, prayer, talking to friends, rest, and scheduling.

Through prayer and meditation one learns to control these stressful thoughts, embrace them, and create solutions instead of more pressure.

Talking to your friends can help get a lot off your chest and possibly come up with a plan to conquer the finals. Working with a fellow student you trust, you can pick up good study habits and build a friendship.

Rest is an essential to your overall health and should not be neglected during a time like this. Finals week is going to be intense, and one already has to deal with school work, but getting rest eases your mind and helps you think more clearly.

Scheduling a healthy amount of sleep finals week and the weeks leading up to it can benefit your grade dramatically because sleep deprivation takes a toll on your mental and physical health. A solid schedule for studying as well will eliminate a lot of pressure. By mapping out your days, you discover exactly what you need to do and when you need to do it. The key is discipline because falling off the schedule can lead to procrastination.

These tips finals can help finals become a less hostile time of year. Instead of floundering, you can ace your finals and hopefully your classes as well.