How to Stay Calm and Organized During Finals

I’m sure you’ve already experienced finals in High School, and for the most part finals in college are not too different. The main difference is there are a lot of them and the material is harder. However, when the semester is nearing a close and your professor still has not finished teaching all the material, it can be hard to not stress out. But I’m here to share my knowledge about how to stay calm and be prepared. These are 10 tips and tricks that I discovered during my first year at Penn State that helped me get through finals:

1.      As soon as you find out when your finals are, mark them on a calendar. Include the time and location as soon as you find those out. This will prevent confusion, as you get closer to the exam.

2.      Make study guides for every exam during the semester even if you think you don’t need it then. They will help when finals come and you can’t remember that one thing on that first exam you took in September.

3.      Highlighters are your best friends. Color code everything: it helps. By color coding or highlighting certain things, your brain remembers them more. Just the act of switching pens wakes your brain up and you’ll remember ten times the information.

4.      Use binder clips to keep all of your study guides and practice exams together. This way if you decide to go study in the library last minute because your roommate is distracting you, you don’t have to worry about leaving any important papers behind.

5.      Take advantage of study groups either through WEP or ones you create within your class or friend group. Studying with other people allows you to see how much you really know. Explaining a topic to someone else is the best way to reaffirm that you actually understand the topic.

6.      Don’t start studying two days before the exam; don’t even wait until the week before. You’re probably going to have at least 3 exams to study for at the same time. It is hard to balance studying for all three in one week. It’s a lot of material. Start gathering information and making study guides for all of your classes at least 2 weeks before finals. This way you are more organized and already prepared when finals week starts.

7.      Plan out your week hour by hour if you have to. First put in your classes and food breaks. Then plan exactly what you want to study at what time. Blocking out your time will keep you motivated and more on schedule.

8.      Start studying for your last exam first. By the time you get around to studying for that exam you are going to be less motivated. So by starting with it, you are already prepared.

9.      Remember to take breaks and exercise even if that means doing a quick lap around your dorm. Exercising will keep your energy levels up and can give you that much needed break.

10.  SLEEP! Sleep is so important during finals week. Pulling all-nighters does more harm than good. Sleeping allows the brain to really soak in the information you studied that day. If you go into a final having gotten no sleep the night before, you are 100% going to do worse than if you had gone to bed early.

Emily Rapp is a sophomore studying Chemical Engineering and is an Envoy for WEPO'16!