Regardless of where you are at in your college journey, finals never seem to get any easier. Whether it be because you are overwhelmed with all the responsibilities you have been juggling over the course of the past semester or you feel like you are nowhere near prepared to ace your finals, there’s always at least one thing making your finals week harder than your typical week.
With the end of the semester around the corner, you may already be well into your way trying to figure out your plan of attack for your upcoming finals. If you are still looking for some guidance, keep reading for the best finals prep tips.
Make a schedule to help you with time management
The dream situation for any college student is unlimited time to study for their finals without any distractions. Unfortunately, that is hardly the case for any college student. There are finals, of course, but all the other responsibilities you still are expected to attend to — work shifts, personal time commitments, club meetings, and so on. Before you start planning how you are going to approach your finals prep, make sure you take all your priorities into consideration.
First, consider all your major responsibilities, or deadlines or tasks you cannot change — these are the items you want to plan your other priorities around. This can include test dates, assignment deadlines, work shifts, meetings or appointments.
Then, “fill in” your time with the empty time frames that these major responsibilities leave. When you mentally list out all the things you need to do, it can get overwhelming and seem like there’s not enough time. By figuring out things you don’t necessarily have control over and recognizing how much time they will actually require, you can give yourself a clear glimpse of the time you have available.
The more the merrier – enlist the help of classmates
As much as you want to spend all-nighters with your best friends and roommates, they may very well be the biggest distraction as you want to chat or goof around rather than actually study. This doesn’t mean you have to shut your friends out during your finals prep, but it can mean turning to classmates for your study time. If you are lucky enough to have friends or roommates taking the same classes as you, you already have go-to study buddies that can offer direct help on the topics you are going to be studying. However, not everyone is as lucky.
In the best-case scenario, you already have connections within your class that you can tap into for your studying. Coordinate with these classmates to host in-person study sessions, create group chats where you can ask questions, and/or share studying resources with each other.
In the worst-case scenario, you don’t have any connections among your classmates. In this case, don’t worry — you are hardly the only student to be in this situation. If you’re in a Facebook student group, try creating a post with your class information asking if anyone is willing to join a study group.
Set realistic goals
As much as you want to ace all your finals and get perfect grades, it may not be realistic. This doesn’t mean it’s time to roll over and give up, but it means that you should evaluate your current standing in your classes, your knowledge levels, and the time you are working with for finals prep. For example, you may be excelling in one class and barely keeping up with another. For the class you know you are doing well in and already feel more confident in, it doesn’t make sense to spend just as much time and energy on that class final as the classes you aren’t doing that well in. Instead of spending your time preparing for each one equally, plan to spend more time working on the classes that you need more help or preparation for.
At the same time, there may be a class where you aren’t exactly in the place to save your grade, whether it be because you have been struggling over the course of the semester or have had personal problems. For a situation like this, referring to an academic counselor or even your professor or TA for next steps, such as retaking the course, in the future could be more beneficial to you.
Avoid burnout by giving yourself the time and space to relax
As much as everyone jokes about spending hours on end in the library in the weeks leading up to finals, it’s not a healthy situation for anyone. If you plan to spend every possible moment leading up to your finals studying, you are likely on your way to burnout before you even reach your finals.
Make sure you consciously plan to give yourself time to take a break or treat yourself. Take a walk around the campus, walk to your favorite local cafe to treat yourself to coffee. Remember to take care of yourself so you can make sure you can navigate finals at your best.
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