With Summer finally coming around the corner, most colleges will end their semesters within the next two weeks. As any seasoned college student will know, finals week is the equivalent of being thrown into gladiatorial combat with only a dull sword and your wits to save you. Finals week is rough and the collective groans of college students all around the country can attest to that. You know it's not just the tests that stress us out but also all of the last minute business we have to take care of too. There is a lot that goes on that last week of school. So here are 11 things about finals week that either make college kids cringe, cry, or confused.
1. Getting in last minute assignments
Some of us can not even worry about finals until the last minute because we have so many other assignments due so close to finals week. Research papers, presentations, and all sorts of other stuff really puts on the pressure. It is almost like some of our professors want to see us struggle.
2. Returning books you no longer need
It is always a hassle to find all of the rental books you need to return after a semester of madness. No one likes scouring through old binders and notebooks to recover that one book they spent 30 bucks on but only used once. Every semester when you gather your books it is kind of a defeat to know that you spent so much money on them and you do not even get to keep them. It is even worse if your professor decided to change his/her mind at the last minute with a book exchange/drop.m Either causing you to return a book or try to locate a new book altogether. But hey, at least you get the consolidation of knowing you completed the course.
3. Packing
The weekend before finals week is dedicated to two things: studying and packing. Packing is always a chore because somehow you always end up packing more stuff than you originally brought with you when you moved in. Then you have to go through old paperwork and homework and decide which piles are for study and which are for recycling. And of course, you have to make sure that if you do not have a car, your parents will have one with enough room for all of your stuff.
4. Finding the time to study
With everything else going on at the end of the semester it is really hard to keep a schedule that allots time for studying. Often times students will just find themselves studying the night before their finals. Which sucks if you were hoping to catch up on some extra sleep after losing it over final papers and projects due the week before.
5. Actually getting sleep
As stated by the last point, you may have a hard time getting enough sleep in between studying, packing, and everything else. Yet college students are experts at surviving off of little sleep. Coffee is our patron of consciousness, so make sure to keep your caffeine levels up. But it's always good to take an hour nap during some down time to keep yourself somewhat "rested".
6. Finding out when your finals are
Making the attempt to find out when your finals actually are is a nightmare. College students know how crazy it is to have to plan around obscure times that even your instructor is not sure of. You also have to make sure you know when your last one is so that you do not waste your time staying until dorm closing on Friday when you could have made arrangements to leave by Wednesday. That is if you are actually lucky enough to have your last final on Wednesday though. Some of us have to stay until the very end!
7. The take home finals
Okay so take home finals are either a blessing or a curse. Some professors will just have you take home a short test that you can turn online later and boom you are done. Yet some others will have an entire essay for you to write and a whole other final that you have to show up for. Just goes to show you which professors want to be done with you already.
8. Actually taking the final
The epitome of finals week; actually taking them. It is always a bit unnerving. You never know what questions are going to be asked and even if you studied all week you may never feel completely prepared. As the final hurdle of the semester, it is kind of like a ripping off a band-aid. Once you get it over with you will be fine. No need to stress about it too much.
9. Saying goodbye to friends
In between all of the stress of finals week we often forget that we may not see our friends at school for several months. Some of them may be graduating and moving on with their lives. If you have any spare time at the end of the semester, make sure to spend some of it with your friends. And don't cry too much cause you will see them again.
10. Double checking everything
You always have to double, triple, and maybe quadruple check everything before you leave for summer vacation. Did you pack everything? Turn in all of your work? Have you made all of the necessary preparations to go back home? Have you eaten yet? All of these are important questions that we are gonna ask ourselves a thousand times over in our heads just to make sure we have all of our ducks in a row before we finally leave.
11. Asking, what now?
After all of the stress, work, and dedication throughout the semester it can be weird to go back home. No assignments, club meetings, or anything that requires double spaced, Times New Roman 12 point font. For the next three months you have time to go out and have fun. But the question always is, where to begin? If there is not a lot to do back home, then you might end up incredibly bored. Or perhaps if you get creative, you can discover new things to keep you occupied. Such as a hobby or good book to read (unless you had enough of that in college). Just don't spend all summer thinking about what you are going to do all summer. Unlike those last few papers, don't procrastinate on that.
