By Claudia Pacheco | News Editor & Elke Kelly | Writer, Photographer
January 13, 2015
With Winter Formal coming up in less than a few weeks, students are buzzing about what to wear and whose party bus to join. But before the festivity, we all must deal with a more dreaded “F-word.” Finals. While those three days immediately bring on bouts of stress and sickness, we’re going to help you get through it with five tips to lead you through the study process and make it a little less repulsive.
- Make a study plan one to two weeks in advance.
This may sound like extra work, but with the amount of classes you’re taking, planning ahead will save you from a mental breakdown in the days leading up to finals. Make a study schedule for the last couple weeks before finals. For less intimidating material, designate one or two days. Your more challenging classes, however, might deserve a few days or more of studying. Do not cram too much in one day.
- Prioritize study time based on your grades in different classes.
Use your logic BEFORE beginning to study. If you have a 95% or higher in a class, do not spend hours memorizing study guides even though your teacher may tell your class to do so. Odds are, you can afford around a C and still keep an A in that class. Instead, focus your brainpower on the classes where you’re 1 or 2% away from bumping up or down a grade letter. Junior Kyle Pugh told Triton Times, “I’m going to focus on studying for AP Lang. I have an 88% right now and I know I can get it to an A.”
- Get enough sleep.
Re-learning everything from the entire semester is challenging enough with a rested brain. So don’t rob yourself of sleep and expect to power through the material. Calm down a second. Give your mind a break. Drink a cup of coffee or tea. And then, get to work. Junior Bennett Secrest confirms this, stating, “If I don’t get at least eight and a half hours, I end up crashing out mid-study.”
- Silence your phone and stash it in another room.
We all know how it is. You’re in the middle of reading over your notes and you cannot help but notice that your phone screen just lit up next to your textbook. Someone just requested to follow you on Instagram. You pick it up to check it out. Next thing you know, ten minutes has flown by and you’ve spent all that time creeping on that one kid from your science class. It happens to the best of us. Just put it away.
- Change up your studying scenery.
You will drive yourself nuts spending every study session in your bed or at the same table in your house. If you enjoy the weather outside, lounge in the sun with your notes. If you crave some coffee while you study, check out Zebra House on El Camino Real. Or if it helps to study with a friend, cruise over to their house. Do not be afraid to break your routine surroundings.
“I just keep reminding myself that soon it’ll all be over, so I gotta power through,” remarks Junior Kian Kiasaleh. Take these tips into serious consideration, and you’ll be done with finals before you know it! And remember, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Good luck, Tritons.
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