Stressed about finals?
Follow some simple steps to keep from shutting down during exams
- posted: 10 July 2007
- scrolllifestyle@byui.edu
With Finals Week approaching there, are steps students can take to prepare mentally and physically for tests.
Students try to cope with the stresses and pressures of testing, presenting and writing in different ways.
“I look at my study guides, work out, eat healthy, sleep and don’t study too much,” said Leah Jackman, a sophomore from Orem, Utah. There needs to be balance in life for optimal success.
Dr. Carol Locke, CEO of OmegaBrite and former professor at Harvard Medical School, shares five tips for test success which include all of Leah’s coping strategies for finals and more: exercise, eating healthy, eating dark chocolate, listening to classical music and taking Omega-3’s, according to www.homeopathichealth.net.
Other students may not cope as well as Leah. “Honestly, I eat a vast quantity of junk food, lie in my bed staring at the ceiling because I can’t sleep, and occasionally cry,” said Crystal Fair, a junior from Yakima, Wash.
To avoid this situation, Sherrie Nist, Ph.D., and Jodi Patrick Holschuh, Ph.D., mention in their book, College Rules! ways to be productive during the preparation period. They suggest time management, which can be broken down into the ABC and Ds: “a) Anticipate and plan, b) Break down tasks, c) Cross things off, and d) Don’t procrastinate. These steps could help with mental health and academic progression.
“If I study too much, I get burnt out, so I get out of Rexburg; I camp or go swimming. There comes a point when you are just done. Pace yourself. Make sure there is a balance of play and study. Too much of either will make you unprepared for finals,” said Blake Weimer, a sophomore from Rexburg.
According to Nist and Holschuh, Weimer is on the right track, since they suggest that students set goals for each study session, reward themselves, get help if needed, and set a start and end time.
Along with the mental and physical preparations, there are specific strategies students can use to study for final tests.
“I get all of the notes I have taken for each class and either re-write them or look over them again. I make sure that I focus on the subjects and concepts that I don’t know very well for each class,” said Whitney Stoddard, a freshman from Phoenix, Ariz.
Taking good notes throughout the semester is key to having study guides to use for the final tests, and many times notes will have information that needs to be studied that is not in the text, according to Bruce R. Gibbs, author of Giving Away the Keys: A Professor Unlocks the Secrets to College Success.
Beat test anxiety by taking advice from the BYU-Idaho Study Skills Center, adapted from How to Beat Test Anxiety, Channing L. Bete: Learn to relax by loosening your clothes to be comfortable, flex the muscles in your feet and hold for ten seconds, move slowly up through your body (legs, abdomen, back, neck and face) contracting and relaxing muscles as you go.
If your mind gets blocked, close your eyes, take a deep, long breath, concentrate on breathing so you can forget about the test for a minute, repeat and then return to test.
Take the time to make the most of your time. Finals Week can be just another week, instead the most stressful and frustrating week of the semester, if you are prepared. 
