We come to it at last– the final exams of the semester. Lord of the Rings pun aside, you’re all probably scrambling to get ready for the dreaded ending week of college, finals week. And you’ll forgive me if I tell you it’s good to panic–at least a little bit. Finals, while not exactly the same for every professor and class, more often than not hold great weight for your grades, and making sure you do your best is paramount to your success during your college experience. So while you don’t need to worry yourself to death over preparing for your final exams, you do need a healthy sense of fear and anticipation to keep you on track and focused. That said, finals week does not have to be just sessions of frantic studying, compulsive procrastination, possible crying bouts, and binge eating. There are proverbial silver linings to the dark ominous cloud of finals week, ones that you need to understand and participate in so that your mental well-being stays intact.
So you’ve got your schedule for your finals during the last week of college. You know exactly what day and what time each exam or project or whatever is at, and you roughly know what you need to do to prepare. Plan your studying habits accordingly. If there is a test earlier in the week that will determine a greater part of your grade than another, devote more time to it. If you know an essay you have to turn in is going to take a considerable amount of time to complete, set aside extra time each day so you can finish it. A major part of finals week is planning; making sure you know when your finals are and how you go about studying or gearing up for them can make a huge difference in what you can accomplish.
Take care of yourself! It can be easy to give all your time to studying and writing essays during finals week, and while that is important, make sure you’re giving yourself some food, drink, sleep, and hygiene to keep you fresh. Believe it or not, a good night sleep, a nice meal, or a hot shower can really pick you up during a long stretch of studying. As clichéd and tired as that may sound, it really can do you a world of good in the long run. Just because it’s finals week doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice your sanitation and personal health along the way.
One final piece of advice may seem counterintuitive, but hear me out. Let’s say you have a final on Saturday, the last day for finals and the last day of the school semester. You may be thinking, ‘of course, just my luck to get the very last day. Now I have to wait all the way until the end of the week before I can go home!’ While it is true you’re stuck here for the week, this could be an opportunity for relaxation. I don’t care what class you’re in and which professor you have, you will not be studying every waking hour every day for some exam. With that in mind, treat yourself right. Watch movies, read books, listen to music, do whatever you can in your downtime to both relish your free moments and to keep yourself mentally sane.
While there are a lot of finals week advice and tips coming out around now, it always helps to have a little reminder now and again. We can get so caught up in our school work that we let everything slide by. For your finals, make sure to do the best you can, but also make sure to keep yourself at peak condition. Remember, Christmas is right around the corner!