Five Tips to Help You Prepare for Finals

The alarm clock sounds and Bob is startled at the sound of doomsday aka final exam day! He stayed up all night cramming his brain with four months worth of knowledge for five classes and wakes up with a blistering headache. Bob fell asleep snuggled up to his laptop sitting at the kitchen table. The lights are blaring in his eyes, and he wonders what he could have done to prepare better for this day. Poor Bob could have logged into Honorsociety.org and learned these five tips to help you prepare for finals. Whether this is your first semester of college or your last; these few tips can save you time and help you avoid being like Bob.  

1. Rest and respite- For our brains to function properly; it is essential that we take care of our nutritional and biological needs. When students get closer to finals, they are overloaded with submitting semester projects, scrambling to complete missed homework, studying for final exams, and trying to remember the last time they were able to sleep a full 8 hours. This stress on the body causes some students not to eat or sleep properly. The only way to address this problem is to make time to eat, sleep, and relax. The brain needs time to shut down, much like a computer. The body needs time to heal, and all students must prioritize their health if they ever want to survive and graduate. Water is also an overlooked essential nutrient that many students forget to drink. Too much caffeine and junk food will wear your body down and not allow your brain to function at full capacity. Make time even though you feel you do not have time.
2. Study one subject at a time- Fifteen credit hours or more is a lot for any student to handle. The best way to study for this huge course load is to break it down. Put all subjects and study guides in another room while you focus on one class at a time. Break up the familiar setting and utilize different rooms in the house for each subject. For example, in the kitchen, I may study algebra and associate it with measurements and cooking. For biology, I may sit outside under a tall oak tree and associate the study of life with nature. Making connections between test questions and the world around you can help you retrieve that information from your mind on test day.
3. Read your textbooks- This is boring to some, I know. However, the best way to soak in the information and not just memorize it is to read. Textbooks are updated almost annually to keep up with the latest information, statistics, and events that connect your real world into the academic community. Textbooks are filled with colorful pictures, graphs, and engaging articles that will teach you more than you realize. They use real world examples to describe concepts and principles. For example, my sociology textbooks reference to Twitter and Instagram. Reading is an essential part of the learning process. You will also expand your vocabulary, and that will help you write more collegiate level essays in the future.
4. Make copies of all quizzes and tests throughout the semester- Instructors know that repetition in learning is a successful method to use. They often introduce a concept or question and accentuate it over and over until the student can apply the concept to real world situations. As an online student, I noticed that most if not all of my questions on the final exam were introduced to me in a quiz during the semester. Therefore, when I study for the big test, I use my old exams to save me time and narrow down what information I need to know.
5. Apply the power of peppermint- Did you know that eating a peppermint while you study and again eating one while your testing can help you stay focused and alert? There are healing properties in peppermint that settle nausea, relieve headaches, and provides relief of stress due to its refreshing nature? Essential Oils are all the rage online for their medicinal benefits, healing properties, and calming effects on the body.  According to the website www.organicfacts.net, peppermint oil has been studied and proved by the scientific community. Visit this site to learn more about peppermint oil and gain a competitive edge over your test anxiety.

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