Finals!!!
Finals are quickly approaching so pay attention...they can creep up on you. Unlike high school, finals and final papers in college are worth a lot more and are far more stressful if you do not mentally prepare. Here are some helpful hints and guidelines:
1. Make a schedule for yourself! Obvious right? But make the schedule far in advance and make it look like you will be done with everything super early so that if you fall off your schedule (which will happen) you can revise it and still get everything done.
2. Schedule time to rest, this is not time to go out, but time to sit and watch your favorite TV show or movie or go to eat with your friends. If you spend all your time in the library you will stress yourself out even more because everyone else in the library is stressing out and you will feed on their bad vibes!
3. Use the library, but do not stay there for really long period of time! People sleep in there and believe me that is not the kind of sleep you want before you take an important final. The library is a good atmosphere though if you are not in a studying mood and need to study, it forces you to be quiet and concentrate.
4. When you are at the library do not take your laptop, this will distract you, and you went to the library to get away from distractions.
5. Eat comfort food to keep you going. Not a whole lot of caffeine, which can mess with your sleep cycle, but chocolate or something that makes you happy to keep the stress down.
6. Go with your gut on what to study, you are probably right, if you do not feel that you need to reread the whole book, don't, but if you do feel like rereading it or at least skimming your highlighted areas do it but put it in your schedule!
7. Use the Student Learning Center for math and science classes, and get together with other people. Sometimes the best way to learn something is to explain it to someone else. You can also use the Student Learning Center to get your papers read and commented on if you feel like your GSI is not being helpful.
8. Last but not least, finals are important but so is your health (take it from someone who got so sick her first semester she couldn't hear) if you need to take a break take it!! And most importantly sleep 8 hours (or 7 if that is all you need to function on) the night before each of your finals! Those are the nights that count!
Good luck it will all be over soon!
Claire
Peer Adviser
