That one week of the semester college students dread the most is coming: finals week. Anxiety and stress fill the minds of students weeks before. Professors and the ULM Counseling Center offers advice for students to make the best of tests.
University 1001 professor Angela Robinson explained that students should not wait until a week before finals to get started. It takes all semester long to prepare for the comprehensive exams given by some courses.
The ULM Counseling Center encourages students to stay positive throughout the week. Test anxiety deals with not being prepared, negative self-talk, feeling unorganized, lack of time and problems balancing responsibility. Counselor Traci Boyett said that preparation and self-care are essential to making finals week beneficial.
Teachers usually provide aids and various assignments all throughout the semester to help students prepare for finals. The syllabus is the key for understanding what the teacher has in mind for the students to have learned over the semester.
“Each class creates a load of stress for me since this is my last year,” said MyRanda Royal, a senior aviation major. “I find that studying hard for one test at a time works the best for me so I don’t feel overloaded.”
Robinson shared that forming study groups with other peers from the class with help answer any questions about assignments. Studying on your own is an important factor to retaining information as well.
Chunking, or sectioning off pieces of information, can be helpful for comprehensive exams. Robinson believes that every student is unique and has a different learning style to help them retain information.
“I constantly study the whole week, which may sound stressful. The breaks in between are definitely what get me through,” said Dalton Gelpi, a sophomore pre-pharmacy major.
Students often turn to stimulants such as coffee and energy drinks to push themselves through the week. Other methods such as power naps are proven to recharge the brain to retain large amounts of information.
Budgeting time and reviewing on test day is essential. When taking a final, students should always check back over their answers before turning it in.
Finals week will take place Dec. 3-7.
