Surviving Finals
There’s no way around it—finals are rough. Whether it’s exams, papers, group projects, take-home tests, or other evaluations, finals in college are stressful. I think that part of it comes from a sort of group mentality that seems to permeate college campuses, small and large, around this time of the semester. It took me the first year and a half or so of college to figure out some reliable approaches to tackling finals while staying as sane as possible.
1) Use study groups wisely
Study groups can be great ways to divvy up tedious exam preparation and allow individual students to play to their strengths while helping each other out. Good stuff. But study groups also run the risk of becoming ineffective, which just adds to everybody’s stress levels. Study groups need to be kept relatively small for the sake of equal workloads and simple scheduling. Freshman year I found myself in a study group for a Spanish literature class that comprised almost the entire class and I don’t think it helped anybody. There is no shame in bowing out gracefully in a situation such as this one—or suggest splitting the group in half!
2) Scope out multiple study spaces
Whether you’ve studied in the library all semester long or not, now is when everyone starts trickling in and snagging the sweet table by the coffee kiosk that you covet. It’s important to have a few places on or near campus that you can rely on as workspaces—I got a fair amount of work done at my own desk but also utilized study rooms/lounges in dorms, empty classrooms, and even on-campus eating facilities during off-peak hours. The latter was actually a great place to study in the non-busy time between lunch and dinner because I could spread out my books on a big table and the easy access to coffee was a major plus.
3) Plan breaks and rewards
I think that I would have lost my mind during finals had it not been for late-night trips to In-n-out and borrowed Friends DVDs. Even when I still had a mountain of studying left to do, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to run full speed ahead without taking a pause to commiserate with friends or just get absorbed in an entertaining sitcom for a bit. Sometimes I felt guilty taking a few hours off here and there, but the times that I forced myself to work for too long without a break, I just ended up more exhausted and less productive. Taking the time to recharge is crucial.
Final exam periods can provoke a rather intense, collective sense of impending doom on a college campus. I am still susceptible to this mentality and even now, as a grad student, find myself treating each final paper as if it will make or break the rest of my education. It’s not a healthy approach and I constantly remind myself to just take each task as it comes and try not to inflate its significance to epic proportions. Taking things in stride helps keep any endeavor in perspective, which can only help in the long run.
