Finals Week Coming Up? Here’s How to Ace Your Finals!
An unavoidable part of the college experience is the dreaded finals week that comes every semester!
I want to say that I have had my fair share of going through finals week as this is my second to last semester in undergraduate.
Taking all of the ups and downs I have been through, I am sharing all the ways to ace finals week like a pro!
It can get hectic since there are just exams upon exams upon exams. Although, in my case, a lot of my classes do not have a final exam, they do have projects or essays due that week. This post is going to cover how to ace it all!
The First Thing You Have To Do: PLAN!
This sounds very obvious, but many students skip doing this and end up stressing themselves out too much!
Since finals week consists of numerous exams, projects, etc., you want to ensure you know exactly when your deadlines are.
There are many types of planners: traditional planners, calendar planners, online planners, and on and on, the list goes. Grab whatever one works best for you and put down all the dates. Do it in an organized manner where everything is laid out in plain sight.
Prioritize
Looking at all your deadlines, it just makes sense to prioritize and get done with whatever has the earliest deadline.
You can also prioritize based on what you know will take the least amount of time, and you can get done and out of the weight.
The goal for prioritizing is to make sure you are getting done what you need to in an orderly fashion to make your life easier.
Study Spaces
Having your go-to study spaces is beyond beneficial to acing your exams!
Ensure that wherever you decide to study is an optimal space with minimal distractions.
I personally prefer to study at coffee shops like Starbucks or local ones in Downtown Chicago because I just get more done and am more productive!
However, if you prefer to study at your desk, check out this blog post: 6 Tips to Easily Optimize Your Desk Space!
Go To Professor & TA Office Hours!
This tip is beyond underrated, and students need to take advantage of this!
Many college professors and their TAs hold specific sessions to review final exam topics and address questions!
It kind of baffles me why students don’t go to these, considering these are the very people who know what’s on the exam and administer them!
If certain classes of yours opted for an essay or project to end the semester, utilize office hours to ask for help! Professors have allotted this time specifically for that!
If you are in high school, talk to your teachers and set up a meeting to discuss topics or questions you want to address!
Studying Alone vs. Group Studying
It all depends on you when it comes to studying by yourself or with a group of other students!
If you learn better alone, then go ahead and study by yourself. However, if you study better with others, granted that you are studying more than distracting yourself, then study with a group. There’s also the option of doing both and sometimes studying by yourself and sometimes doing group study.
Take Breaks While Studying
This is something I am going to EMPHASIZE heavily! Please do not just study for hours, especially when you are tired. That will only backfire, and you are stressing yourself out mentally and physically. While studying, take small breaks in between just to give your brain some relaxed downtime. This will also help you refresh yourself during long study days!
What I love doing and what works for me is studying for an hour and taking a 15 min break. I do this continuously! Just find yourself studying with a break schedule that works for you since everyone is different.
Self-Care!
Finals are when your mental health can just go down the gutter. It has happened to me so many times countlessly throughout my semesters in college thus far.
I always do something for myself during finals week. Either I will watch a movie one night once I get through my heavy finals or give myself a spa night. Do something that makes you feel good! Because when you feel good, you’re going to do your best!
With all that being said, good luck with finals! It’s not a time many of us look forward to, but using some of these tips should make it a little less stressful!