College is great — until midterms and finals. If you’re a first-semester freshman, finals can present an even more pressing challenge. College finals are supposed to be harder than high school finals, right? And your grades in college mean a heck of a lot more, too. Your GPA can make or break your chances of receiving college-funded financial aid, landing an internship or staying in school. For some people, just the thought of a test fills them with dread. How do you survive them, then, if you’re stressed out and don’t know what to do?
Figure Out When Finals Are
Scheduling seems to go out the window when finals roll around. If you normally have class at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, your final could be held on a Monday at 3:30. Every semester, the school publishes a finals schedule that lets you know the date and time of your scheduled final time. If you write these down, you’ll be able to figure out which finals to prioritize first and which you can wait a while on. The schedule also helps you plan rides a bit better, as well. If you don’t drive yourself, let your ride know when you’ll be done with finals as soon as possible. That way you can reduce other sources of stress and focus on your studies.
Some classes may not meet during their scheduled time at all. Though your professor will most likely mention this at some point, always be sure to ask if it’s not clear.
Find Out What Type of Final It Is
Different classes will have different types of finals. Many will require final projects with presentations. This, to me, is often the least stressful kind, because you can start your final project and its supplements at almost any point in the semester. Essays, if you’re used to them, aren’t bad either. They’re easy to breeze through most of the time, as long as you don’t get distracted frequently like I do. Final exams are the worst, especially the cumulative ones. It’s too easy to second guess yourself even after you’ve studied, and besides that, they’re generally a lot less fun than other kinds of finals in which creativity is allowed — or even encouraged.
However, not everyone thinks this way. Many people would prefer tests to essays or group projects. My advice is to figure out which you can deal with the best and focus on that one last, schedule allowing. Getting the rough stuff over with first will save you time and stress in the long run, especially if you save the easy bits for last.
Know Your Resources
I talked about this in my tips for freshman article, but the same remains true here more now than ever. If you need help with anything, ask the right people and you’ll get it. Not great at essays? Ask the Writing Associates. Hate final projects? See if your professor, tutor, or teaching aid can help. Test anxiety? Workshops are held each semester that will help you deal with that, too. Take things slow and do them in “chunks” — little bits at a time and in ways you know you can handle. Small, achievable goals in all of these things are the way to go.