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The How-to Guide for Finals Studying

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at RIT chapter.

It’s that time of quarter again. Week 11 is upon us, which means finals are here once more. Typically when a college student hears “finals” they think of sleepless nights, unparalleled amounts of caffeine and mountains of notes to sift through. However, there are a lot of different ways to beat the finals week heat. Just follow these tips and finals week will be a breeze.

1. Sleep!
Sleep is the most important thing to remember during finals week. Make sure to get a good 7-9 hours of sleep every night -especially before test days.

2. Eat and Drink Right
A healthy diet is essential during finals week. Avoid anything that contains caffeine, carbs or alcohol. All of those make you sluggish and damages your ability to memorize things. Thanksgiving is coming up, you can make up for lost time then.  
 
3. Take Regular Breaks
Numerous scientists say that the mind can only study for a solid 45 minutes at a time. So make sure to take a 10-15 minute break every 45 minutes. It’s a good time to stretch or grab a healthy snack.
 
4. Find a Good Study Place
Have you ever tried to write a big paper for a class in your dorm room? It can get pretty distracting with the people running down the hallways or walking into your room all the time. So find yourself a nice, quiet place to study that isn’t so distracting. Also keep in mind that it’s always best to study during the daytime because the light keeps you more awake.
 
5. Use All the Resources Available to You
There are so many different resources available to students, so use it all to the best of your ability. It’s not even just books or lab equipment either. Find some classmates and create a study group. Make some flashcards. Take practice tests. There is so many helpful little things that you can do to help you ace that final!

6. Silence Your Cell Phone!
I know in this day and age, it’s pretty hard to get a college student to actually turn off their phone. So instead, I’m just going to suggest that you put your phone on vibrate or silent while your study. Constant texts and Tweeting are extremely distracting when trying to study, so if you really want to study well, turn off the phone for a few hours.

Like I said before, just follow these tips for good study habits and you’ll have those A’s rolling in.
Good luck on your finals, collegietes™!

Journalism major at RIT. Sister of Zeta Tau Alpha - Iota Psi.
Jenna is an Advertising and Public Relations student at RIT, minoring in Marketing. She is a cupcake lover (although she loves how they look more than they taste), advocate of Breast Cancer education and awareness, sister of ZTA and assistant at RIT Sports Information. She loves wedding blogs, sailing, photography, bright colors, nail polish and a new pair of Sperry Top Siders. She has traveled to Spain, Israel, Italy, Greece, Croatia, Germany and Canada- with Spain and Israel being her favorites outside the U.S. Within the states, Jenna loves Rhode Island (especially the town of Watch Hill); Seattle, Washington; and Dallas, Texas. Although she is from the Garden State, Jenna hates the Jersey shore but does love to fist pump once in a while and hopes to move to Texas after graduation. With three PR internships as well as an advertising one under her belt, Jenna hopes to persue a career in either of these fields... or wedding planning, but she can keep dreaming.