Finals: every college student’s nightmare. Finals are the only thing between you and the best time of your life: summer vacation. Although there’s no set way to make finals week the easiest week of your life, there are some tips and tricks that may make the week a little bit easier for you. In today’s post, I’ll take you through some of those tips and tricks to make college finals week ~bearable~.
1. Study Guides
Now, some professors are angels and will give you a study guide of material that will be on your final weeks before your final exam. On the contrary, some professors don’t and say that the final exam is cumulative, leaving you up to your own demise. If you’re unsure of what is on your final, email your professor or check your syllabus! Your class syllabus typically has all of the topics you’ve learned in one place! Go topic by topic and look for important notes and examples in your notebook, textbook or presentations. If you remember seeing a piece of information on a previous test, write it down! Jot all of this information down on multiple pieces of paper, label them by class and staple them so you don’t lose them! I would recommend getting started on your study guides right after your last test for that class. That way you know all the information and the rest of class time is mostly spent reviewing what you’ve learned. When it comes time to study, you know what will be on the exam and you won’t waste time!
2. Studying
If all of your study guides are created, it’s time to start studying! I would start studying about two weeks before your final. This gives you ample time to relearn any material you forgot and to make sure you retain all of that information. Of course, if you’re struggling in a class or two, I would say maybe take more time studying for those classes and extend your studying period to about three weeks before your final. Start off by studying your hardest course. This way you can email your professor with any questions you have and relearn any topics you had issues with. Go over all of your tests, quizzes and homework if you need a refresher of the material. Now, some days you won’t feel like studying one specific subject all day (trust me, we’ve all been there). If this happens to you, make an alarm for a couple of hours so that you can switch the courses you are studying for. This keeps your brain going and helps you not go insane staring at the same material all day. I would put a maximum of three courses to study per day just so you don’t overwhelm your brain, and you don’t start meshing material from one class with another because that’s not good!
3. Miscellaneous
If you’re really struggling with some material (like specific rules or equations etc.) write them out on flashcards! Take some flashcards and write a question on the front and the answers on the back. This is a great tip to use because on the day of the test you can quickly go through the flashcards so that the material is really fresh in your head! If you don’t have flashcards, use Quizlet! Quizlet is a great way to test yourself on the material in fun ways, which makes remembering it all the easier! Another tip is for when you’re creating study guides. I love to color code my study guides because it helps me remember things better! Finally, get a good night’s rest before your final! Please DO NOT pull an all-nighter, it’s not worth it! Wake up with plenty of time before your final, make sure you have a big breakfast and study for a little bit before the test starts. Always keep a bottle of water with you, some extra pens, pencils, erasers and whiteout, as well as a calculator and any other material you need.
Well, there you have it– some tips and tricks to make finals week a little bit easier. Everyone dreads finals week but trust me, it goes by really fast. It marks the beginning of summer so make sure you work hard so that you can relax all summer! Again, stay safe and you got this! I know you guys will ace all of your finals!