Students Find Different Ways to Deal With Finals Stress
Published Thursday, December 13, 2018
Regardless of whether students procrastinate or prepare, the idea of finals week creates some amount of stress.
Addie Miller, a freshman Social Work major, usually prepares in advance, but the added stress creates a need to spend time “making myself happy by distracting myself and telling myself not to worry!”
Corey Castel, a junior Sports Management major, feels the thought of being closer to earning his degree helps him deal with the stress of finals week. He admits to procrastinating, and listens to music to reduce the stress of final papers, projects and tests.
Music appears to be a typical release for many students. It doesn’t matter if classical, rap or classic rock — each genre has its own audience come finals time.
Sarah Stanek, an Early Childhood major, and Selina McCool, a senior Creative Writing major, both believe music helps them focus better.
Depending on the finals’ schedule, sometimes it is less stressful to focus on one test at a time. Both Jared Doty, a sophomore Marketing major, and Shawn Griffin, a junior Biology major, spend time on the first test first and then move on from there. Griffin feels his finals create a normal stress, which be deals with by trying to find a little extra personal time to watch TV or sleep between studying.
Even the most prepared students prefer turning in assignments closer to deadline. McCool tries to get all the work done early so she can revise and add finishing touches right before the deadline. Stanek also prefers additional time to revise. She always has the assignment rubric beside her when she is working on an assignment but still stresses about missing something. Stanek admits, “I read it over and over again and submit on the last day!”
Not all students are preparing for tests during finals week. Alyssa Landwehr, a sophomore Elementary Ed/TESL major, is finishing several final projects but only has one final test. Megan Wickenhauser, a sophomore Sociology major, also works on everything the week before finals. “I like to have everything done before finals week including all my papers, my studying and my cleaning.” That allows her to relax a bit more during finals week and when the last final is complete, she is also done!
The Academic Commons, library, residence halls and study rooms were all mentioned by students as the best places to study, and although many students enjoy reducing stress throughout finals week with their friends, they admit their best studying happens when they are alone. “I tend to talk too much and get distracted,” Landwehr admits. Some students also find additional time to work out/exercise to help reduce stress. However, as Doty states, “I tend to contradict my workout with Mountain Dew, which gets me through studying!”
Landwehr has a bit of advice about handling finals. “We just need to push through.” Doty agrees, “As long as I put the time and effort into studying, it will all work out in the end!” He also advises, “Take one day at a time and whatever happens, happens.”
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