It’s finally December, and naturally, my roommate and I are gearing up for the holidays. Both of us brought back obscene amounts of Christmas decorations from home for our room, we have been watching ABC Family’s 25 Days of Christmas special like it’s our job, and playing Justin Bieber’s new Christmas album on repeat. With the holidays just around the corner, it’s a little difficult to remember the real reason why we are sticking around school for another two weeks: finals. Finals are a stressful time for everyone, and they can be especially overwhelming for freshmen who have never experienced college finals before. Well, fear not fellow freshmen, because here are a few tips that will hopefully help you ace those finals, so you can begin to celebrate the holiday season with no worries about grades or school.
Make a Schedule
The first thing you should do before finals week approaches is make a study schedule for yourself. Write down when you are going to study, what class you are going to focus on, and most importantly, stick to it! Also, include on your schedule the dates and times of the actual final, so you know where you have to be and when. This way, you won’t be stressing at the last minute about the locations and times of your tests.
Start Early
Procrastination always sounds like a good idea, until you are pulling an all-nighter studying because you didn’t give yourself enough time to be prepared. Make sure you plan ahead and allow yourself enough time to give thorough attention to each subject you have a final for. Believe me, you will be grateful when you will be able to get a good night’s sleep, and aren’t up late studying the night before your tests.
Take Care of Yourself
Sometimes, during finals week, we can get so focused on getting all our studying done that we forget basic things, like eating or taking a shower. For the sake of the person sitting next to you during your finals, take a break from cramming to take a shower. Also, don’t forget to eat well and get enough sleep so your brain can be functioning at its full capacity. Maybe even sneak in a workout here and there to de-stress and burn off some calories from all the late-night pizza and Chinese food.
Take a Break
It’s a proven fact that our brains can really only pay full attention to something for 50 minutes at a time. Make sure that when you are studying, that you take small breaks here and there. Go for a walk, grab a cup of coffee, work out, or go do something you enjoy. Getting your mind off finals for just a little bit will help you relax and be able to go back to studying with a clearer mind.
Hopefully, these tips will help you all get through your first college finals unscathed! Happy Studying!