Throughout college, there will be weeks of finals that stress you out more than ever. But depending on your preparation, the difficulty of your courses and the type of work given, the end of the term is not always terrible.
“I don’t think it’s fun, but it’s not the worst week of my life,” business major Rachel Michaels said.
The stress that accompanies finals is often inevitable, but term after term, we know it’s coming. The two simple words “finals week” can give students a massive, horrible, I-want-to-curl-up-in-a-ball-and-never-face-the-world-again type of feeling, but could that be avoided with the right preparation?
Instead of hiding from the final assignments that have been on the syllabus since day one, students should actively work to finish any projects and papers that can be completed before finals week. When it comes to studying for exams, it is important to start as early as possible.
Exam schedules are released weeks before they actually take place, giving students plenty of time to plan out their own study schedules. Using dead week to its full potential can help students avoid cramming an entire term worth of studying into a few all-nighters in the library.
If you find yourself stuck behind a computer all night make sure you aren’t alone. Having a friend across the table who is also working hard can keep you grounded and focused. Not to mention the bonding that occurs between two friends sitting in the library at 3 a.m. after several cups of coffee and a Dough Co. calzone.
Stressful nights are bound to happen due to some classes having busy work, papers and final exams scheduled for finals week, but that is not the case for every student every term.
Spencer Johnson, a sophomore studying public relations, said, “It depends on the teacher,” when it comes to whether finals week lives up to its awful stereotype.
Take in to consideration a student’s major, year of school and the courses they are taking. None of this is to say that certain majors, classes or even instructors are easier than others; it merely points out that they are all different.
Students studying journalism who have three final papers due but no final exam may not get overstressed by finals week because they are used to the large amounts of writing. On the other hand, throw a 50-question final math exam their way and they may have a completely different reaction.
Finals week is different for everyone, and the idea that it is such a terrible week term after term could potentially be detrimental to students. It can be pretty intimidating, especially for freshman, to go into their finals week having upperclassmen say how hard that week is. In a sense, it can psyche them out and make the fast approaching week that much more stressful.
While many students are hard at work in the library all through finals week, some students may not have any finals that require their presence on campus. Journalism major Dominic Black is able to turn in all his final projects online, letting him go home a week early for spring break.
All this being said, everyone is different and each person reacts to the pressure of finals week in different ways. I, for one, need to have the pressure in order to get things done; however, I also understand that it can really make some students’ lives miserable.
In the end, while the work won’t go away, and while we are all going to have some bad finals during college, finals week isn’t cut and dry.
For some, it is awful. For others it’s extra time to binge watch Netflix.