1. Cram several months worth of material...
We have all done this. Lets just admit this and move on. One of my guilty pleasures as a pre-health student is Khan Academy videos. Why go to a lecture when you can catch up on weeks worth of organic chemistry from the comfort of your home? Not saying skipping lecture is a good thing, but sometimes it must be done.
Even the less studious of us manage to turn into studying machines a couple days before an exam. I often see kids who hardly ever come to lecture, read books, or even take notes studying all day and pulling all-nighters the day before a big exam. Personally, my brain would explode (it just simply couldn't take it), but I must admit I applaud their cramming skills2. Beauty Sleep
With all that cramming we need our sleep. Sadly, a 20 minute planned nap almost always exceeds the hour mark and usually even the two hour mark. For those of us that love to pull all-nighters, a nap between study sessions is a must have. I've honestly never pulled an all-nighter, but I love to refuel in between intense 4-6 hour long study sessions with a quick hour-long nap.
3. Refuel
COFFEE. COFFEE. COFFEE.
If this isn't the biggest life saver I am not sure what is. To all those brave souls that prefer RedBull, I am not sure how you heart can take it. It is quite obvious the day before an exam or even during the day of the exam who refueled as they often can't seem to stay still in their seat and are the clumsiest most possessed looking human beings ever.
4. Questioning your decisions
Why did I go out last night? Why did I drink that? Why am I pre-health, pre-law...? Is this what I really want to do? There are thousands of questions that go through our mind right before we feel the stress of fast approaching GPA killing exams. Sometimes it is hard to continue despite the difficulty, but other times it makes you realize what you really love and are passionate about. You ultimately realize what will matter more in the long run...a good GPA or a party? For pre-healths especially, the choice is obvious.
5. Distracting yourself...every way possible
And of course. How can I forget? Distracting yourself every way possible. I always manage to find myself in the weird part of YouTube whenever I am super stressed. My go to types of videos are conspiracy videos, movie trailers, comedy skits, and life hacks.
My guilty pleasure is also Snapchat. The amount of times I have gone on snapchat to distract myself from the stress that is always present is too many to count.
