By Chloe Ho, Staff Writer
With the arrival of winter comes the arrival of the much-coveted two-week winter break: a time to de-stress and enjoy the holidays. The drop in temperatures brings chic, cozy sweaters and the homey warmth of hot drinks in porcelain mugs. But before students are released to cherish the leisures of wintertime, they must endure the four-day final exam period. Naturally, there are rising levels of stress among students of every grade level, but they are particularly high among underclassmen who have little to no experience with high school finals. But simply worrying about something will not improve the situation. With will and commitment to efforts, all can be confident in doing just fine in their exams. However, it’s important to be wise and avoid doing things that might hinder success.
Getting to the point about finals
When it comes to finals themselves, be sure your prioritization game is strong. There are some finals that can only be done in class, especially with APs, but others allow time to study and prepare for them. Some are like projects that can be done before the intensity of finals and studying increases. It’s up to you to decide what to do first, but be wise. Do pay attention when a teacher makes a comment about a topic being on the final, even if you’re familiar with it. Unless the teacher refuses to tell the class until a certain time, make sure you understand exactly what to expect for the final. And be sure to take advantage of all the time you have; there’s always less of it than expected.
What to avoid when studying
- Not having a set spot to study
Always be sure to designate a place to study. This place should be quiet and distraction-free, and have plenty of space for you to get things done. It should be a comfortable place, but it shouldn’t be too comfortable. Having a designated place is much better than just sitting down anywhere you feel like studying because you have determined that that place has all qualities of a good studying environment. A place with too many distractions or too little space for you to work will make it harder for things to get done.
- Just reviewing, not quizzing
When you do get around to studying, skimming over your notes and watching some YouTube videos on topics won’t be enough — you need to formally assess yourself in order to solidify your understanding. When you just review, it can be easy to think you understand everything. After all, you’ve already seen it before. But when you don’t have anything to refer to but your memory, you are really challenging yourself to engrain the concepts in your head.
- Choosing the wrong study partner
It’s tempting to ask a friend to be your study partner. Being in the company of people you are close with helps you feel more comfortable, especially in a situation you don’t want to be in (like cramming for finals). This is not to discourage having a friend as a study buddy, but it’s important to pick someone that will help you stay focused and motivated and can provide proper help with subjects you might not be proficient in yet. Maybe you could even go as far as to ask someone you know is good at the subject to help with studying — while it would be a bit out of the comfort zone, it might help you a lot more than you’d expect and could even lead to making a new friend.
- Not asking for help
Something that we all encourage and support is asking for help, but how often do we do it ourselves? It can feel a little overwhelming or embarrassing asking the teacher for help in something you feel like you should understand or handle yourself. Maybe you don’t particularly like the teacher or fear them thinking little of you. But the truth is that if whatever you’re struggling with could be resolved and handled by yourself, then it wouldn’t be something you would still be struggling with. Sometimes having another person explain a topic to you might also give you another way to look at something. Asking for help can also be done in different, more minor ways, such as asking for clarification or repeating something in class.
5. Not using your resources
The internet is a great resource in itself. It can provide you with practice problems, tutorials that might be easier to understand than the textbook, or good resources to use as reference. While many teachers only make a slight comment about it, Tutor.com is also actually a rather helpful tool in studying. Not only can you use it anywhere, as there is also a downloadable app, but it feels more like a casual texting conversation with someone rather than a lesson. It also covers every subject, including languages! Sometimes it’s easier to get help when it’s not face-to-face interaction or when you don’t have to do a ton of outside research.
The idea of final exams can seem daunting, especially with them usually having a decent effect on your semester grade. But anticipation often scares you more than the situation itself. Having faith in your abilities and doing everything you can to prepare yourself can eliminate some of this stress. Even with the importance of academics, nothing is more important than your own well-being. If an aspect of your health is not well, then it will affect you as a whole. Elizabeth Chen does an excellent job of talking about the importance of stress management, which you can find in the same section as this article. And, lastly, remember how much it will be worth it when you hear the final bell of the year ring through the school and feel the weight of school worries being left behind as you exit campus. Give it your all, you’ve got this!
