Many students find finals week to be extremely stressful, with the fear of failure looming over their heads and the possibility of getting bad scores on all of their tests. Don’t worry because this list will give you the key components to having a successful and somewhat less stressful finals week. 

• Start early! Make sure you have enough time to study before your exams.

Giving yourself ample time before finals will help you fully learn the material and understand it, rather than trying to cram everything in the night before. Starting early allows you to study on your own time with no rush. If you start early, you are able to study for a smaller amount of time each night and retain more information. You’d be way more prepared than pulling an all-nighter before the test. 

• Find a group of people to study with, or convince a friend to quiz you.

Studying with other people can help you understand the material better by seeing it from another perspective. Having someone help you study can also keep you on task for longer periods of time without the temptation to go back on your phone or do some impromptu vacuum cleaning to avoid studying. 

• Try to limit distractions while studying. 

It becomes much harder to concentrate with the temptation of watching a movie or scrolling on TikTok right next to you. It’s best to try and limit the distractions around you. Set your phone aside for a set amount of time each night so you can fully pay attention to your notes. It can also be helpful to find a good studying environment or use headphones to drown out background noises that might interrupt you. 

• Get plenty of sleep and take care of yourself. 

With the frenzy of finals and the stress of studying, it’s important to remember to prioritize your own mental and physical health. You’ll do better on your tests if you maintain a healthy sleep schedule rather than staying up till sunrise reading your notes. This is because sleep deprivation can impair your memory and ability to pay attention, making the tests even harder. 

•  Prioritize tests that matter the most, and the ones you might struggle with.

Don’t waste your time only going over the information you already have memorized, and instead focus most of your energy on concepts and ideas that didn’t make sense and you know might come up in the final exam. Don’t procrastinate studying for the exams you know are going to be the hardest. A great way to figure out what you know and what you don’t is by using flashcards to test yourself. 

•  Don’t stress yourself out. You got this! 

At the end of the day, a test is just a test, and while education is very important, it’s okay if your test scores aren’t exactly what you wanted. The important thing is that you did your best and are better prepared for the next finals week. Reach out to your teachers with questions for next semester on ways to improve your understanding of that subject.