That's right!

Finals are right around the corner.. scary, I know. This is a stressful time for many students no matter their level in intelligence or their test taking ability. I, personally, am fairly good at taking tests, however that doesn't stop test anxiety to creep up on me. Over the past few years, I have developed a few tips that make finals week a little bit easier.

1. Don't cram.

Start your studying early on. If you're like you'll think that cramming is the best option for you, but it is proven that students who cram the night before often do much worse than students who diligently prepare for an exam. Like my school, many schools have 2 weeks of classes after thanksgiving break before thanksgiving, start your exam preparation right away so you will be prepared.

2. Take effective study breaks.

It may seem better to study for 10 hours straight and to go through so you don't get distracted and stop studying all together, but regular study breaks are important to keep your mind focused and not too tired out. However, you don't want to study for 5 minutes and then take a break for an hour because that isn't good use of your time. To best study with a good focused mindset you should study for at least 60 minutes but no more than 90 minutes and then take a 10 minute break. You can use this time to relax your brain by using social media or you can use this time to energize by eating study snacks.

3. Keep your brain energized.

Do this by regularly eating study snacks during your study breaks. Different kinds of snacks work for different people, I would avoid junk food and candy because they may do the opposite effect. I would also avoid energy drinks as much as you might want to pull that all nighter, energy drinks have the tendency to make you more tired instead of wake you up. Remember, if you're using your brain, just like a car, it needs fuel to continue on.

4. Use visuals.

If you are a visual learners, it may be useful for you to use some visuals while you are studying such as making your own study guides, and making flash cards. Some people even make study guides that have flaps to make it like a game which can keep your brain intrigued. Also, I find that techniques such as color coding and reading aloud can be very helpful, but it depends on the type of learner you are. You should try to figure out what techniques works the best for you and use that. Overall, visuals can help your brain understand concepts that it originally did not.

5. Don't stress out.

While many researchers say that stress is good for test taking, I have to disagree to an extent. A little bit of stress can help because it may motivate you to study and benefit your actions during a test, but you do not want to overwhelm yourself and stay up all night studying because then you will not retain as much information.

Remember a bad grade is not the end of the world, it may be scary or even terrifying (depending on who your parents are.. haha) but it is not the end of the world. That is not to say you shouldn't worry about them because if you are in college like I am, you are paying for these classes. It also depends on the class because some classes weight final exams differently. You may want to do something I used to in high school, which was where I'd calculate if I got a 0 on all of my exams if I would still pass, which usually brought down my anxiety and stress. If it's impossible to pass with a zero, I would recommend to calculate the lowest score you can get on the exam to pass the class. I am not saying you should try to only get the lowest score to pass, but knowing this information will likely decrease your stress.

Good luck on exams!! :)