As finals week approaches, college students everywhere are scrambling to finish studying for an exam, a paper, a final project, or all three. In just a two-week period, most students are dealing with the stress of multiple major deadlines in every single class. When we think about the stressful culture of final exams, it is important to reflect on the fact that finals week is not equally as stressful for every student. Certain groups of students face structural disadvantages that make the end of semester workload particularly challenging. The explanation is not simply that some students don’t study as much or have poor time management, but it is often that other factors can create unequal conditions.
College campuses are very diverse environments, often having students coming from all walks of life. Different cultural, economic and social backgrounds make our campus the unique place that it is, but it also means that not every student has the same life responsibilities. Many students have external responsibilities that add extra weight to their already heavy workload. First generation college students, who are often juggling work responsibilities, family obligations and pressure to prove themselves. Low-income students, who carry the weight of financial stress and often work full-time jobs. During finals, those work hours do not typically decrease. There are also students who have caregiving responsibilities. There are many examples of college aged students that are responsible for caring for siblings, older family members and sometimes children.
In addition to added stress to students, finals week also puts extra pressure on student services. Tutoring centers, professors and advising offices are often overloaded during finals week. This leads to even more limited support for students in extenuating circumstances. Besides this, deadlines can often be very strict. Although many professors are willing to accommodate, compacting everything into a two-week finals period leaves little wiggle room for everyone.
In many academic settings, especially during finals, students are often expected to adopt an endurance-based approach. Pushing hard through stress, sleep deprivation and long hours of studying is usually required if you want to be successful. Instead, universities should put more emphasis on a wellness-based approach, in order to prioritize student health, balance and sustainable habits while still promoting learning. Spacing out major deadlines instead of clustering them, encouraging self-care during finals and providing mental health support values student well-being instead of testing how much they can endure. Shifting to a more wellness-based approach will help every student, but it will especially help those who are in extenuating circumstances or have demanding responsibilities outside of school. Being a supportive environment means supporting every student, and it is important to remember that equal treatment is not the same as equitable conditions.