It's finals week: 5 tips to survive
January 01, 2020
Everyone’s college experience is totally different. It changes bit by bit depending
on the people you hang out with, the major you choose, the activities you take part
in, the places you choose to spend your time, etc. But there’s one ominous fate that
inevitably affects every single college student—FINALS WEEK!
I don’t think anyone has ever said, “I can’t wait for finals week!” You know why?
Because it’s terrible no matter what! It’s not that finals week is awful in and of
itself. I mean, there are definitely the students who go into that week fully prepared
for their exams. But even they end up staying up until ungodly hours of the night
and getting up long before the sun—assuming they went to bed at all. There are also
those students who become so delirious that they pull an all-nighter just hanging
out with friends because they’ve forgotten what sleep is.
So yeah, there are many different approaches to finals week, and yet everyone experiences
the indescribable craziness that it is. One thing to remember, though—you can and
WILL survive! Here are a few tips to do that:
- Drink lots and lots and LOTS of … water! No, not coffee. While that coffee will certainly keep you awake, it won’t keep you
hydrated. Because of the crazy amounts of caffeine in it and the fluid loss it causes,
coffee actually can dehydrate you, making you even more tired than you were before!
But when you finally get a moment to rest, you won’t be able to because you’ll be
far too jumpy. So while coffee is okay in the morning and during the day to keep your
mind sharp for studying and test-taking, be sure to balance it out with lots of water.
- Find your perfect study environment. Some people need peace and quiet to really get ready for tests. If that’s you, then
consider going to the library, your dorm lobby or an open classroom. I happen to be
the kind of person that has to be around other people to get things done. So I prefer
to find a good booth in the student center and then get a good playlist going on Spotify.
Regardless, you have to figure out what works for you and do that so you don’t find
yourself wasting hours being completely unable to focus.
- Take breaks! There have been studies to prove that the best way to learn and retain information
is to study for 45 minutes, take a 5-minute break and repeat. The best breaks in my
opinion? Campus drive around, quick Taco Bell run, random exploration of campus with
friends, going to a practice room and playing piano for a little while … there are
a lot of choices! Just do something fun, but put a time limit on it. If you plan ahead,
it’ll be your motivation to make it through each round of studying.
- Sleep. I know it sounds impossible! I can barely get sleep during a normal week in the semester,
let alone during finals. But believe me, this is one of the best things you can do.
Try to get about 8 hours of sleep. You might not be able to get quite that much, but
it’s a good goal to shoot for! Not only will you feel better, but you’ll actually
do better on your tests.
- Remember that YOU WILL SURVIVE! I think this is honestly the most important thing. Your tests will not actually kill you (although they may mentally incapacitate you for a few days). Also, your grades do not define you. That’s not a reason to blow off your tests. But as we were told back in elementary school—just do your best, because that’s the most you can do! At the end of the day, just celebrate, because you’re done!
All these are much easier said than done. But, again, just do your best. Have fun
with it. Don’t stress out too much. See you on the other side!
By Hannah Hart, a senior chemistry, biology and Spanish triple major from Little Rock, Ark.
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