Spring Semester is finally coming to an end! With only a few weeks left, that means there's only a limited amount of time before finals sneak up! Many students begin scrambling to raise their grades and to complete late assignments. For some of you, this may be your last semester before you graduate and get your degree. There are several methods that you can take to make the most out of the last month of the semester, and here are a few of them:

1. Start studying for remaining exams.

Just because the semester is about to end doesn’t mean that you’re done with all exams and quizzes. In some of my courses, I still have one more test before the final exam. Make sure that you are studying for your other exams before you start focusing on your finals.

Also, you should start making plans for when to start studying for your finals. If you know that you have a lot of final exams, then you need to start planning earlier for studying. If you wait until the last minute, you’ll hurt both your grade in the course and your overall GPA. So, make sure that you are aware of your upcoming finals.

2. Make sure to start attending classes.

If you have skipped one too many classes lately, you need to start attending all your classes. As much as I know even I would like to, you can’t simply show up for the final without attending the class more than once. The final may cover a lot of material that is covered in the last month of class, so it’s important to show up to take notes during that last month. In addition, professors will start really focusing on attendance during this last month of class, so if you don’t attend the classes, your grades will be greatly affected.

3. Look for clubs to join next semester.

If you want to get more involved next semester at your campus, you should try finding some clubs to join next semester! You can start asking friends or other people on campus what clubs they are in and you could even try attending a meeting to see what it’s like!

This goes with any fraternity or sorority on campus too! If you want to join a sorority or fraternity on campus, you could start exploring your options or try looking on campus to see how to join one. Whatever the case, just make sure you know that if you have the time for it next semester.

4. Finish last-minute assignments or projects.

If you are behind on assignments or projects, now is the time to start catching up. If your grade is low, you need to start figuring out if you have enough time before finals to raise your grade up to avoid lowering your GPA. Catching up on assignments or projects is a great place to start. In addition, if you have any big assignments or projects coming up, it’s best to try to start and get them done early so that you can focus solely on studying for finals. Plus, getting all the assignments or projects finished is the best way to finish your courses early and get closer to getting everything done before the semester ends.

5. Figure out your plan for next semester.

If you haven’t done so already, you should start registering for your courses or making plans for where you are going to live next semester. Registering early is the best way to get the courses that you need for next semester before it’s too late.

Also, if you live on campus and you are finishing your sophomore year, you need to figure out whether you want to get an apartment or not. If you live close to campus, then you may decide to opt out of getting an apartment to save money. However, if you need to live on campus, you should start finding apartments to live on campus and start putting a deposit down soon. There are so many students that if you wait too long, you may not get a good room; so, it’s best to start figuring out your plans for next semester sooner rather than later.

6. Schedule any meetings with professors if needed.

If you are struggling in a course and it’s not too late, you should schedule a meeting with your professor. Professors are there to help you succeed in the classroom. Therefore, if you find that you are falling behind academically or struggling on your tests, you should schedule a meeting with your professor to figure out how you can improve before finals. Once finals are here, it’ll be too late to do anything, so you should do it now before you miss the opportunity.

7. Try some new things.

Finally, if this is your last semester (or even if it's not), you should try some new things before the semester's over. If you’ve always wanted to go to one of the sports games in college, go to one! If you wanted to go to a lecture about a certain topic or by a special speaker, check your school's schedule to see what's coming up!

You could also try a restaurant on campus that you’ve never been to before. You should try savoring everything about college or your campus before you leave so that you can enjoy the end of the semester.

* * *

So before the semester comes to a close, make sure you’ve finished everything before finals week arrives. You don’t want to end up stressed the week before finals trying to get everything completed. In this way, you’ll be able to get everything finished so that you can start enjoying the end of the semester.