How to Study for Finals

By: Brody Rosas '22

Finals week is approaching us quickly, with only a few days until the final week of the semester. Although finals are stressful and often make or break your grade, there are many ways to effectively prepare for them.

One of the first ways to study and prepare for finals is to study with classmates. This “study group” will often consist of 2-4 people who are taking the class together. A time is scheduled for all group members, and they are expected to meet together for a few hours, this year over Zoom or other online platforms. Studying with your classmates is so effective because it allows you to ask questions without being nervous or feeling uncomfortable asking the teacher. Your classmates are able to provide you with helpful information about anything you may be confused about. Additionally, you have the opportunity to share your knowledge with other classmates and help them as well.

Although study groups are an effective way to study for finals, there are also many potential consequences. Firstly, you and your classmates may get off track or distracted with other things that don’t pertain to the final. You may start talking about the basketball game that happened last night, or the new video game coming out next week. This leads to unproductive work habits and study time becomes hangout time. In addition to this, there is potential for one person to dominate the group over the rest. They may assume certain topics are easy for everyone, and neglect how their other classmates may feel. This results in students wasting time with unproductive studying time.

Another way to study for finals is to create flashcards or write on sticky notes. Flashcards allow students to rewrite important facts, concepts, and definitions that could potentially be on the final. Additionally, flashcards allow students to self-test themselves, without having another individual do it for them. Personally, I tend to use sticky notes while I study, so I can review the topics again without having to go back and find the material.

Although studying is important and crucial to getting a good grade on your finals, it’s important to study healthily so you don’t overwhelm yourself. Firstly, make sure you set a little bit of time everyday to study, instead of cramming in multiple hours on the day before. Additionally, make sure you take breaks in between studying. This could be as simple as getting some food or going for a walk. These breaks are important because they allow you to clear your mind of all schoolwork and keep your mental health in check.

SOCES junior Alec Zebert says that he’s studying for finals by “reading over my notes and making sure I understand the key concepts”. He believes this is an effective way to study because he is able to “obtain the important information from the notes and then tie them to the main idea”.

Finals week is always stressful and irritating for many students; however, it’s important to create good study habits and review the key concepts so that you will be prepared for the tests and exams.