How to Survive Finals!
Its about that time of year again, for most students, this semester is coming to an end. As exciting as the anticipation of winter break is, most students have more on their plates before they are free to enjoy their holidays: finals! Finals are often a rough and stressful time for students, whether you are a full-time or part-time student. These simple tips will help students in distress or that are just looking for some help on finals week.
1) Sleep is your BEST friend!
Never miss out on a couple extra hours or even minutes of sleep. During this stressful time of the year, most students tend to cram a lot of information into their memory at once and sleep not only helps reduce stress but also helps your mind retain information. Whats the point of cramming until 5 a.m. if you can't even remember what you were studying? Further more, getting the right amount of sleep will allow your body to restore and balance itself so you are alert and focused during your test.
2) Stay hydrated and eat properly!
Staying hydrated is something you should do regardless of whether you have a huge test coming up or not, however it is especially important during stressful situations. It is natural for people to either under-eat or over-eat during when they are under stress so it is essential to stay hydrated. Over eating is often a result of dehydration, as the human brain easily mistakes hunger for thirst, so drinking enough water will stop those midnight munchies. Under-eating is also very unhealthy and it can be tough to remember, so keeping yourself hydrated along with appropriately fed will allow you to bounce back from stress quickly.
3) DON'T CRAM!
I can not emphasize this enough, cramming will not help you achieve your highest potential test grade. Everyone has different levels of intelligence, but intelligence is not always what gets you that high test score. A lot of the time, your determination is what really gives you the higher grade. Someone who studies one or two weeks leading up to finals will for sure get a better grade than someone who crams for their exam the night before.
4) Come prepared!
People often tend to become forgetful under stress and will forget the silliest things like to bring a pencil to the test. This is why before finals, you should make sure you've got everything you need. This is your last opportunity to show your teacher you are well prepared and know what you are doing so the last thing you need is to be the only kid in class who needs to borrow paper for the final exam. Bring a pencil/ pen, some scratch paper just in case, some water, and any other materials your professor or teacher might suggest bringing. It is always better to overestimate the exam than to underestimate it.
5) Cheating will get you no where!
The last thing anyone wants to happen on their final is to get caught cheating! Most colleges and universities have a zero-tolerance policy against any plagiarism or cheating. This means if you get caught cheating you get kicked out! Imagine having made it through a long hard working semester and getting kicked out of not one but ALL of your classes! That's rough! Most people figure that if they don't get caught once, they won't get caught the next time but that is not always true! Getting away with cheating only makes you more confident in cheating, and as you slowly begin to let down your guard, that's when you get caught! It really is not worth it.
Good luck on finals everyone! And don't forget to checkout our portable batteries so you can stay charged while studying anywhere!
Lisa Ilyin
Author