Stress levels are steadily rising as the time til finals closes in. Finals week can be a scary time for everybody, but freshmen are hit the hardest, as this is the first set of finals they have ever taken. Here are some great tips from a range of teachers and students to help you freshmen get the most out of your studying time and do the best you can this semester.

1. A tip that all teachers strongly suggest: getting enough sleep before your exam day. This is extremely important because your brain will not function as well without a good night’s sleep. You need the most of your energy and focus for your finals, and getting those extra few hours of sleep will help in the long run. It will not help you, on the other hand, if you cannot concentrate on anything except how tired you are.

“Having a quality sleep–hopefully two nights before the exams–will get you in a better position to stay awake and be ready for multiple exams,” said math teacher Mr. Brettner. “Staying up a little late to do well on one final will ultimately hurt you on the others. Always choose sleep, because no one is ever 100% certain how much a certain topic will be covered on your final.”

2. Most teachers agree that taking care of your body is essential for you to be able to work to the best of your ability, which includes what you consume.

“Eat breakfast. You cannot do a good job if you are starving. Pack snacks. Stay hydrated. People feel like there is a disconnect between brain healthy and body healthy, but they are so connected,” said Mrs. Baranyk, a social studies teacher.

Each break between the exams is 15 minutes, so you should take advantage of that time. Stretch, do a bit of exercise, eat a snack, and go to the restroom, but make sure to come back to the room on time. These all will contribute to your focus and help your overall performance on your final exams.

“Stay away from caffeine, stay away from energy drinks, and stay away from sugary foods, because these will spike your energy and your focus, but then you will come down and crash lower than you started,” Brettner added. 

3. Another key tip that both teachers and students have agreed on: setting up a studying schedule with allotted break times. It is easy to push off studying and claim you will start after finishing this or after doing that, but it is up to you to take charge and just start. How prepared you will be for finals is up to you and having a study schedule will make it easier for you to keep track of time.

“Make a plan of what you’re going to study and for how long, sort of like a schedule, and make sure to add in breaks about every 30 minutes or so. Rather than trying to keep focusing on a single subject for several hours, this allows your mind to stay fresh so you can really absorb the review material,” said Zakary Baumann (11). Make sure that your break isn’t too long, or else you won’t want to go back to studying. You can have a short snack and go on your phone, but watching another episode of the TV show you’re watching will mess up your whole schedule.

Although scheduling seems like an unnecessary step, it will help you to make the most efficient use of your time. The little breaks in between will also help you from losing focus too much. Make sure to be in a quiet room where you work well and not have distractions like your phone and laptop (unless you need either to study).

“Finals are difficult because they cover a lot of information,” said language department head Mrs. Steffens. “You need to begin to prepare early. One night before a test is not enough. Have that schedule or plan where for several days in advance you are tackling little things and, as it gets closer to the test, you can keep going over the things that are uncomfortable and challenging.”

4. Most teachers will give you a list of key terms or mention what will be on the final. It is important to listen carefully in class, especially the week before finals, for this information. Some teachers will hand out review packets and vocabulary lists, which you should study so you are sure you know everything that might come up on the test.

“Pay attention to what your teachers have told you. Follow their steps for studying for the final and be sure that you cover everything they say, and focus on the areas they say to focus on,” said Steffens.

It is best to study in sections for classes like history, which are very information- and fact-heavy. Breaking up the material will make it more manageable and set you on the track to study over a span of days. It is best not to cram the night before in social studies classes; it is better to start studying about a week before so you have enough time to study without overwhelming yourself or rushing. You can study little sections each day, which will help you remember better during the exam.

“I like to tell people to study backwards, especially in history,” Baranyk added. “Even though it’s not chronological, the stuff you have learned last is freshest in your head, so you don’t need to spend as much time on it. The stuff that was studied a long time ago is way out of your head, and you haven’t thought about it in a long time.”

5. Life Hack, an online news site, says that writing down information will help you remember it better than typing or plainly reading it. This is an important thing to consider when you start studying for finals or for any class in general. Rewriting your notes, writing down definitions off of the key terms list you receive, and making your own note cards to quiz yourself are all great ways to study.

“Rewriting is better than rereading. Your mind and brain fire well and store chemically the information better. If it is math, you want to redo problems, not just look at old problems,” said Brettner.

It is best to find a more active method of studying for you. Although it does depend on what kind of student you are, it is more helpful if you are writing down information and quizzing yourself than rereading your notes. Note cards and Quizlets are easy and effective ways to quiz yourself on vocabulary terms, theorems, facts, etc.

“Use Quizlet or real flashcards to help remember key terms instead of just rereading old notes. And study more than you think you need to,” said Aparajitha Adiraju (11).

Lastly, it is important to realize that this test might not affect your grade as drastically as you think it will. Make sure to calculate what score you can or cannot get, using Rogerhub’s final grade calculator or another resource, so you can set a clear goal for what score you want to get. Study more for the final that you think you need to. Ultimately, if you have been listening well in class, participating, and reviewing, you should be fine. Make sure to be focused when studying, and you can even make studying fun by forming a study group with your friends! Teachers are not purposefully trying to make the final exams difficult, and many teachers do curve finals. Study and do the best that you can. Stress and anxiety will not help you at all, it may even hinder you, so the only thing that you can do is prepare. Happy finals week!