There are many ways to prepare for finals. You’re not alone if you are anxious, nervous, or just stressed in general. Many feel anxious about finals, and that anxiety overwhelms them and lowers their overall performance.
One of the ways students overcome this anxiety is simply by being prepared with various methods of studying. “When I go to study I have a specific [routine] I go through. First I’ll review printed notes and notes that were handed out to me in class. Then, I revise any written notes I took. After that, any notes that I find helpful online. I use online resources too like Quizlet, it’s commonly used and is the upgrade from flashcards. I use Quizlet to help me with my history material because I have a hard time memorizing a lot of material at once. It also helps to target your weak points, in my case, it’s English so I’m going to center most of my time studying around English,” Jason Yoshioka said.
There are other methods of retaining what you’ve learned and reviewed. Students have uncovered various methods to hasten this process. “I use a study method called active recall. Basically, you spend thirty minutes to an hour or more studying, then you take a break. During that break, you need to try and recall the material that you learned. Even if you don’t remember all of it this will help you take the stuff you studied into long-term memory if not already there. The method keeps the concept of the lesson in your brain, and you can use it with a variety of stuff. Plus, when you come back to studying it’ll get easier and easier,” Tushal Kalpana said.
Sometimes preparing yourself isn’t enough to cast your anxiety away even when you’ve done all that you can. Some students have realized that this is a constant problem and find different ways to cast aside their nerves. “I don’t have many problems with anxiety before big tests but when I do, I always make sure to run down a checklist, breathing, reassuring readiness, and positive self-affirmations. Doing all of this keeps my mood up which helps me do a lot better. This method of calming myself down has shown good results; I noticed a huge difference in my grades from 2023-2024,” Justin Nguyen said.