That may not be the best thing to ask an Ole Miss rebel because the appropriate response to “Are you ready?!” is “Hell yeah!” I know for most people when finals are approaching the more accurate response would be “Hell no.”

Finals are one of the main causes of stress in the lives of college students. For those of you who didn’t do so well at the beginning of the semester, finals can determine whether or not you pass or fail a class.

I know for me, high school did NOT prepare me for what college classes were really like. I graduated with honors and a 3.7 gpa and I never once opened my textbooks outside of the classroom.

I maybe would study for my advanced anatomy class for thirty minutes before the tests and would make A’s on all of them. College was a huge game changer for me. I was thrown into these course with no real ideas about how to effectively study the material.

My first semester was hell, and I spent most of it BSing papers and stressing myself out over assignments.

I was so accustomed to being able to show up and make A’s that I didn’t even know how to study. I have since come up with ways to make studying more enjoyable and not just some tedious chore.

While these may not work for everyone, I’m positive they will help considerably pull those grades up last minute if you’re like me and often end up procrastinating.

1. Look over the syllabus often! This is a tool that professors create for students so that they have an outline of everything that will be covered in the course. The syllabus is sooo important because it contains all assignments and their due dates. If there is something that doesn’t quite make sense, ask the professor and they will clear up any questions you may have.
2. Know when assignments are due! Get you a planner and actually write in it. Know when things are due, and write them down at least three days before they’re actually due, so even if you do procrastinate you still have time to complete that assignment and tune it up during those last few days before you have to submit it.
3. Be intentional with your studying. Now that you are aware of the due dates, make sure you give yourself a few hours a week that are strictly for studying for specific courses. Once you decide when you’re going to study, do NOTHING else and speak to NO ONE. Tell your friends you have a hot date knowing damn well that your hot date is your textbook.
4. Throw your cell phone out the window. Okay, so don’t literally throw it out the window, but in all seriousness don’t have it near you. If you’re using it for music, then only pick it up or touch it to switch songs on your playlist. If it’s too hard to leave your phone alone for any length of time, then don’t. You can keep it near you, but place it face down and turn off the ringer. The less your phone is making noise, the less likely you are to check it.
5. REWARD YOURSELF! Yes, I said it. Reward yourself. If reading a textbook or going over notes makes you want to vomit, fall asleep, or drop out of school, you are not alone, my friend! To keep it from being the most dreadful thing you’ve had to do, start giving yourself rewards for each section of the textbook you read completely. I tend to reward myself with food. Whenever I would finish a section I would eat a handful of Reese’s pieces, and for every full two hours of studying done I would watch an episode of “Gilmore Girls”, and then right back to studying. Reward yourself with anything of your choosing, but only once you’ve made it passed a section or gotten a full hour or two in.
6. Switch it up. If you look at one subject for too long your brain gets tired. This is one of the main reasons people don’t like studying. They focus too much of their time on one subject and they lose their motivation. To keep this from happening, spend no more than two hours on one subject at a time. Then switch to another subject that is different from the one you were just focusing on. This gives your brain a little kick where it counts.
7. TAKE BREAKS! I cannot stress this enough. Having breaks in between studying is super important. Not only does it give you a little rest, but it also helps you to refocus and direct your attention to a new topic once the break is over. I understand wanting to get things out of the way, and trust me I’m the same way. You can only do so much at one time before your brain needs a break. Just make sure that your thirty minute or hour long break doesn’t turn into a whole season of “The Walking Dead.”
8. Stick with it. If you can plan out your whole spring formal schedule months in advance, you can stick to a study schedule. It’s all about your priorities, and if you plan on graduating on time, or graduating at all, grades should be one of them.
9. Good luck and happy finals!