Finals season is coming up, and many freshmen may not know how to prepare! As a junior, I believe I’ve really got my finals routine down, and I will be sharing some tips!
Meet with your professors
If you feel behind, or not sure what to study, meet with your professors! They are there to help you, and will clear up any confusion you have about a topic, or will give you resources to understand better. Also, when your professors know who you are, and know that you are putting and effort and want to do well, they are more likely to give you points on the exam, or half-credit.
Prepare ahead
Go through your syllabus and find out if your exam is cumulative, or just over the last few subjects. Also, skim through and figure out which topics you need to spend lots of time on and which topics you can just quickly review! This will help you save time and really focus on what you need the most.
Study with friends or schedule tutoring
Personally, I find studying with friends very useful, as they may understand some topics better and can teach me, or remind me of topics I may have forgot about! I also find that talking aloud helps me understand the topics more, and sometimes friends can explain topics better than the professor. Another option for preparing for finals is to schedule a tutoring session. Ohio University offers free tutoring for most courses through the Academic Achievement Center, which you can schedule online. I would recommend signing up for this ASAP as they fill up quickly during Finals season.
Know the dates
Know the dates of your finals. If your hardest exam is on Monday, start spending most of your time with that! And if your easiest exam is on Friday, maybe wait until the hard exam is over. This is just personal preference, though.
Self-Care
I know finals season can be very hard and stressful, and can cause a lot of anxiety with students. Remember, you will not help yourself if you are not eating properly or sleeping enough. From personal experience, you really do need to eat and sleep properly. Also, if you don’t know the subject well enough the night before, there is no point in cramming anymore. Take the night to really focus on de-stressing. Take a nice, long shower, do your skincare, make a healthy dinner, and just relax. It will help you feel less anxious, and you can get a good nights sleep. Good luck everyone!