1) Apathy: Your finals are in three weeks and you haven’t opened a book, but it doesn’t matter because they’re so far away that you know you’ll have time to study later on.
2) Denial (and then panic): After a week of not caring about finals, you’ve totally (probably intentionally) forgotten about finals. They’re now two weeks away, and your sudden remembrance of them throws you into a slight panic, and you study for about fifteen minutes.
3) Justification: Your finals are quickly approaching and you should probably be studying, but you’re out getting frozen yogurt with your friends instead. But that’s okay because you keep telling yourself that this relaxation time is just preparation for the exams so that you don’t stress yourself out and fry your brain.
4) Effort: Finals are about 5 days away, and you actually sit down in an attempt to study, but it’s not as easy as you had expected.
5) Nervousness: In two days you will sit in a chair and have a final staring you in the face. And yet, you’ve cracked open a book about two times. You’re realizing this isn’t a joke anymore.
6) Crunch Time: It’s the night before, and you’re now cramming in a semester’s worth of information into a 12 hour period. You’re probably running on energy drinks and protein bars.
7) Confidence: It’s the morning of your final, and you’re totally confident that your late night cram session is going to pay off.
8) Relief: After finals are over, you check your grades and see that you’ve passed! All your studying, procrastination, and cramming did pay off. Give yourself a pat on the back.