How to Ace Finals Week

by Grace Bowermaster

Thanksgiving has passed, which means many of us are ready to go into hibernation until second semester.  Although that does sound appealing, it wouldn’t be the holidays if we weren’t gifted a week full of finals, right? We may all despise this week of exams, but they are a critical factor for your semester grade, so my suggestion is that you take them seriously. There are many things you can do in preparation for finals to make the week a little less dreadful. Here are a few tips:

Be organized

If there’s anything that will stress you out during finals week, it’s being unorganized. Eight tests in a week can be hard to manage, but it’s a lot easier if you know where to find everything. Most teachers will give out a finals study guide. These are important! They will be a big help in preparing for your exams, so make sure you complete them, but also make sure you don’t lose them. One way to keep all your materials organized is by making a folder or binder to place all of your study guides, notecards, and other finals necessities. If you want to get really organized, you can use a binder and dedicate a section to each subject.

Another important thing to have organized during finals week is test dates. Make sure you look at your exam schedule so you can plan which days you need to study for which subject. You also should prioritize. Some tests are harder than others. Make sure you manage your time so that you can allow the time needed to study for those big exams.

Find a studying method that works for you

Everyone has preferred way of studying. If you don’t know what yours is, try a few of these methods that just might help you learn your information better. First, if you normally study alone, try doing it with a group of people. Study groups are a great way to learn. There may be a certain lesson or concept that you didn’t understand, but maybe someone in your group did and they can help you out. You can also quiz each other, and talk things out to really understand them. Studying in a group also tends to take a lot of stress off of you, and is more efficient than trying to teach yourself the things you don’t understand.  Just make sure you stay on task and focus on retaining your information.

However, if this method doesn’t work for you, there are other tips that can help you study on your own. Sometimes, just finding a quiet place to study is a big help. If you are easily distracted and work best alone, then silence is probably your friend. Find somewhere quiet, like in your room or at a library, and study undisturbed. Research shows that studying 20-40 minute intervals with 5 minute breaks in between is an optimal way to study, considering most of us don’t have the attention span to study for hours on end.

If silence isn’t your thing, try listening to music as you study. Now, not every genre of music is going to put you in the right state of mind to focus on your materials. You may have to explore genres that you’re not used to, like classical music. The University of San Diego conducted a study on the effectiveness of music while studying, and they found that classical music lowers your systolic blood pressure, putting you in a relaxed state of mind to study stress-free. So if you’re someone who enjoys a little background noise while studying, grab your headphones and crank up the Beethoven.

Take care of yourself

Often times during finals week, it’s easy to find ourselves staring at a textbook at 2 am instead of sleeping, or walking out the door with a double shot of espresso instead of eating a healthy breakfast. While it’s important to study as much as you can for your finals, make sure it doesn’t come at the expense of your personal well-being. 

You may feel like you have to stay up late just to get more study time in, but in reality, when your body is exhausted, you’re not going to retain information very well. Get a good night’s sleep and wake up in the morning to study. Your brain will be more alert and you’ll be well-rested for your exams, which is important.

Taking care of yourself includes your mental health as well. Don’t stress yourself out! This seems almost impossible when you’re being tested on a semester’s worth of knowledge, but as long as you are focused and put in the necessary study time, you have nothing to worry about. Take those necessary breaks in between study sessions and maybe even use that time to go for a run or do a workout. This will clear your mind and energize your brain. For more on managing stress, visit our archived article, “Are You Stressed?”