10 Survival Tips For Finals | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Student Life

10 Survival Tips For Finals

Making it through the last week.

34
10 Survival Tips For Finals
Relatably

Finals, like death and taxes, are impossible to be avoided and they can verge from the saving grace of extra credit and optional to downright terrifying. But thinking about them like that won't actually help you much. Instead, try these 10 tips on making it through the last week.

10. Finals are tiny.

I know that may seem like the last thing you want to hear right now when finals are all that you are thinking about, but they really are. They are one week out of one semester, in four years of college that is only eight weeks. The day you turned 18, you had already lived about 940 weeks, and in an average lifetime, you may see about 4800 weeks pass by. You can live through one more week of terrible stress. There will be jobs, there will be triumphs, there will be losses, there will be deaths and births and so much more in your life than these tests. Whether you pass or fail them, finals will happen and you will go on.

9. You are not alone.

Finals happen to everyone in college, and almost always the same week. There are thousands of other freaked out college students right now, all cramming to get as much done and as much learned as possible in time for them. If you need to, reach out to others, maybe they can help alleviate your stress in crunch time, and if you can spare it, help them study too.

8. Food is important.

Everyone likes food, everyone also wants to pass finals but you can't neglect your health--too much--in the process. Make sure you're keeping up with the calories or you might find yourself fainting on the way to an exam. Try to eat well too, high energy foods like fruits make for high brainpower as well.

7. Prioritize.

Now is not the time for that Netflix binge. Now is the time for focused studying. Find out what finals are your main concern and what assignments can get done in crunch time. Know that your friends are probably struggling too and finals are just one week. Even making a To-do list with the most important items first helps.

6. Schedule your productivity.

As busy as Finals week is, not everyone can do all the work on all their projects all the time. While it may not be time to start a massive show like "Supernatural" or "Grey's Anatomy," an episode of television or a diversion between study sessions can actually be helpful. If you break up your workload into pieces and give yourself short rewarding breaks--like looking at this puppy--then you might actually work better than if you powered through ten hours of course work.

5. You actually need sleep.

As tempting as it can be to read through your textbook or chisel away at papers until the sun comes back up, if you don't schedule in sleep somewhere, you'll be thoroughly exhausted and may even end up sleeping through your finals. Sleep nights when you can, if you can't, then take naps throughout the day. There's no shame in a siesta.

4. Keeping up your energy.

If you do go the route of staying up late and cramming, then coffee may be the way to go. Make your own or find a Starbucks open late, but if caffeine doesn't appeal to you, orange juice and anything with vitamin C can come in very useful and not that it's a priority right now, but it is a lot healthier.

3. Keep your eyes on summer.

Finals are final. After you're done, it's summertime and all those courses are long behind you. The week may feel like it takes forever but these courses are on numbered days and when you're done, you have summer vacation and good weather beckoning you and you can finally answer the call.

2. Remember why you are here.

You picked this college, you have picked these courses. Maybe they are gen eds or you're still not certain on your major, but you chose this because you're looking for something more. Even if you don't know what it is yet, know that finishing these courses are part of getting there.

1. Believe in yourself.

It is officially too late to drop your courses, and even if you are struggling, you got this far, so why not keep on going? It's so tempting just to give up, but you're so close to the end, and if you believe you can endure finals week, then you're already halfway there.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
ross geller
YouTube

As college students, we are all familiar with the horror show that is course registration week. Whether you are an incoming freshman or selecting classes for your last semester, I am certain that you can relate to how traumatic this can be.

1. When course schedules are released and you have a conflict between two required classes.

Bonus points if it is more than two.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

12 Things I Learned my Freshmen Year of College

When your capability of "adulting" is put to the test

4583
friends

Whether you're commuting or dorming, your first year of college is a huge adjustment. The transition from living with parents to being on my own was an experience I couldn't have even imagined- both a good and a bad thing. Here's a personal archive of a few of the things I learned after going away for the first time.

Keep Reading...Show less
Featured

Economic Benefits of Higher Wages

Nobody deserves to be living in poverty.

303241
Illistrated image of people crowded with banners to support a cause
StableDiffusion

Raising the minimum wage to a livable wage would not only benefit workers and their families, it would also have positive impacts on the economy and society. Studies have shown that by increasing the minimum wage, poverty and inequality can be reduced by enabling workers to meet their basic needs and reducing income disparities.

I come from a low-income family. A family, like many others in the United States, which has lived paycheck to paycheck. My family and other families in my community have been trying to make ends meet by living on the minimum wage. We are proof that it doesn't work.

Keep Reading...Show less
blank paper
Allena Tapia

As an English Major in college, I have a lot of writing and especially creative writing pieces that I work on throughout the semester and sometimes, I'll find it hard to get the motivation to type a few pages and the thought process that goes behind it. These are eleven thoughts that I have as a writer while writing my stories.

Keep Reading...Show less
April Ludgate

Every college student knows and understands the struggle of forcing themselves to continue to care about school. Between the piles of homework, the hours of studying and the painfully long lectures, the desire to dropout is something that is constantly weighing on each and every one of us, but the glimmer of hope at the end of the tunnel helps to keep us motivated. While we are somehow managing to stay enrolled and (semi) alert, that does not mean that our inner-demons aren't telling us otherwise, and who is better to explain inner-demons than the beloved April Ludgate herself? Because of her dark-spirit and lack of filter, April has successfully been able to describe the emotional roller-coaster that is college on at least 13 different occasions and here they are.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments