Tips and tricks for surviving finals week

By: Maile Benumof | Writer

December 12, 2019

Finals: the epitome of what every student dreads about the end of the semester. A whole week of tests seemingly designed to bring down those grades that are teetering right on the edge of an A and a B or a B and a C. Here’s a few tips and tricks that will help you ace your finals and survive the week. 

1. 1. Make a plan. The best thing any student can do to help themselves is set up a study schedule to follow during finals week. Pay attention to what finals are on which days. That way, you can prioritize studying for the finals that are occurring sooner.
   2. Find a buddy. A study buddy, not someone to split the work with, is key to being better prepared for finals. A study buddy is someone who you can teach unfamiliar concepts to, and in the process of explaining the material to them, it also reinforces the information in your own mind. They can also benefit you if they are more knowledgeable about a certain topic, so they can add to your study efforts.
   3. Give yourself breaks. If you study too hard for too long, that’s a recipe for failure. By overworking yourself, you set yourself to be burnt out by too much studying, and will make you overly tired and unable to make it through all of the material. Taking an adequate amount of breaks allows the mind to stay fresh and can make long amounts of studying easier to endure. 
   4. Stay calm. San Clemente High School Senior Miles Miller said, “The worst thing you can do is get overly stressed about one test and let it ruin your whole mood or affect your ability to do well on other tests.”
   5. Make sleep a priority. Maintaining a healthy mind and body is one of the most important things to remember during finals week. Getting an average of seven hours a night is necessary in order to sustain a long week of studying and tests.
   6. Cushion your grade. SCHS Senior Kyle Kerr says, “At the beginning of the semester work as hard as possible, so that when you head into finals you don’t have to stress so much.” 
   7. Eat well. Good nutrition and lots of water keeps the brain firing on all cylinders and ready to tackle each day.
   8. Keep it fun. It’s easier to focus if you adapt to studying by quizzing yourself, creating acronyms or rewarding yourself for a job well done. Create a game plan – literally – that allows you to accomplish tasks and be rewarded for each. For example, why not reward yourself with a piece of chocolate or a sip of your coffee after you’ve accomplished a new chapter or allow yourself five minutes of free time for every chunk of material you digest?