It’s that time of year every college student.
“It’s beginning to look a lot like finals.”
Final exams are here! The time to prove our brains through multiple choice and short answer tests. We must apply the knowledge we learned in presentations and project- you get the gist. It’s time for all-nighters, stress eating, and sometimes crying. Don’t you all worry your little heads. As someone who is the queen of stress, here are some lovely tips for handling final exams, and life as well.
1.) Breath!
One quote I like to live by is this: “You can’t do anything if you’re dead.” And that is the full truth. You can’t go to class, sit down at the desk and take the test if you don’t take a breather. Something one of my professors taught me (look at me applying my knowledge outside of the classroom. I hope you get to read this professor!) is a technique to breath and relax. You breathe in for four beats, hold for two, and breathe out slowly for eight. This is a way to relax to get ready for a presentation, and you can also use this when you feel overwhelmed with overloading information while studying. So breath, you can’t do anything if you’re not alive!
2.) Take care of your body!
Yes, there will be long nights and stress eating. I am currently going through it along with probably thousands of other college students. It’s okay to be a bit unhealthy here and there; but in order to do your absolute best, you must take care of yourself. For example, studying for straight hours on end is actually not effective to retain information. It strains the brain and you’ll forget almost everything in between the start and finish. Psychologically, our brains remember the beginning and end of presented information. So instead of doing hours, cut your studying time into increments of short time spans. So study for a half hour to an hour and take a small break. That way your brain can relax and really absorb the information until you start with more information.
Watch what you eat as well! We all know late night taco bell is satisfying in the moment - but in the morning, it's a total nightmare. If you need a pick-me-up, instead of grabbing an energy drink or brewing coffee, have a glass of water! Water is the best way to wake the body up and keep you attentive when studying or concentrating. Instead of munching away at a bag of Cheetos (which I LOVE so I understand you Cheeto-lovers), chew on a piece of mint gum. Gum chewing is scientifically proven to cut appetite and the mint wakes you up and stimulates the brain to remember information better. Even when you chew the same brand of gum when taking the test, you’ll remember the information from the night before!
3.) Get organized!
Getting organized is a huge stress reliever when it comes to final exams or in your everyday life. Most professors say you should prepare for the final in the beginning of the semester but let’s be real - how many of us actually do that? With that said, here are some friendly tips to get organized in a short amount of time. First, invest in a planner. I promise you it will fix everything. Whether you use it on your phone or a paperback, you’ll find that you’ll be less stressed because you won’t have to remember due dates and deadlines along with the all the information from several classes over several months. It’s the little things that make a huge difference.
Find out the times and dates for your final exams, and plan accordingly. What I recommend is list your classes from hardest and easiest, and plan studying times based on which subject you need to study for the most. Also, gather all your papers from each class, so you can look at all the information you learned, even the little doodles that helped you prepare for a small quiz (which might even appear on your final exam!). Go through your syllabus and look over your notes, quizzes, powerpoints, and even the small assignments to section off what is important to know and what is not. I personally like to use Quizlet to organize all the information I need to know, and use the flashcard application to study at home and on the go!
If you feel like you don’t have the time to do all of this, plan study dates! Study dates can help ease the pain of the boredom of note taking and the remembrance of a topic. Publicly speaking about something betters your memory of information. If you have some papers missing from a class, a colleague is bound to have it in their possession. And it’s okay to hang out with a friend to help you relax for a final. After all, in the workplace, one of the number one traits employers are looking for is teamwork and cooperation. By studying with one to three friends, you’ll be practicing for the real world!
I want to leave you all with some encouragement. Not everyone is perfect and will ace all of their exams. It’s normal if you’ve been struggling and are in need of help. It’s perfectly fine if you’ve stressed because you want to do well. It’s fine if you skipped a class because you needed to get some rest. It’s okay if you procrastinate here and there. It’s okay!
