The semester is quickly coming to a close -- you're unprepared, overworked and ready for a few months of summer. Before you get some serious rest and relaxation, you must tackle the worst (and best) week of the school year: finals. Worst? Obvious reasons. Best? You are one step closer to being done with those classes forever. Goodbye to the professor you didn't like or the confusing homework assignments you stayed up until the early morning to complete -- finals is a week of commencement, a "goodbye" and "so long" to the past. In order to crush your finals week and make it a breeze, follow these steps to make every day of finals week that much better.
1. Set a routine.
Okay, okay, your first 15 weeks of the semester may have been total flops, but the last few will be stellar. Ditch your previous routines of laziness and carelessness and start fresh. It's time to get organized! Plan out your final weeks of classes: What major tests/assignments do you have? When are they do? What do you need to work on now? What can wait till later? Answer these questions, then you can set a finals week prep routine.
2. Find your power foods.
With studying comes snacking -- discover what food fuels you the best. Coffee? Fruit? Chips (preferably not, but you get the idea)? Before finals week sets in, run to the store and stock up on your essential motivational-goodies, so you're fully motivated with a full stomach.
3. Ask questions now, not later.
At some point in your educational-lifetime, you've had the "Um..what?" moment during a big exam -- the "I don't remember this at all" or "Was this even on the study guide?" moment. Before you reach that point of despair, talk to your professors and read the study guides well ahead of time. If you don't get a study guide, go to your professor during their office hours and ask about the contents of the exam. You'd be surprised by what they may tell you.
4. Glance at the textbook.
Think of it as your nighttime, snuggling-in-bed read of choice for the next few weeks. Even if your professor rarely mentions or uses the textbook, you may want to take a few glances over the material. You never know what might appear on the test, especially if you don't have a study guide. Your few minutes of casual reading may save you a point or two on the exam. Plus, you make use of the $80 you spent on it in the first place.
5. Find a study group.
This group serves multiple purposes leading up to finals week. Now you have the knowledge of three or four people at your grasp. Study together, brunch together, celebrate together -- when the semester ends, you'll be lucky to have a new group of friends and a higher grade on your exam.
Above all, take the time to seriously focus on your studies. If you took the rest of the semester to have fun and ditch on your work, this is the "now" to kick everything into gear. Only a few more weeks until freedom, sunshine, and no more 8 am's. Good luck, undergrads!
