Six Ways to Stay Sane During College Final Exams

Cramming for college final exams is often times inescapable. Whether you didn't study enough during the semester or your professor thinks it's disturbingly amusing to put more content on the exam than they've discussed all year, just the thought of college exams is enough to make you crumble under the pressure. Take a deep breath and step away from the ledge. The threatening thought of college finals can lead to anxiety attacks, failed classes, and mainly, poor results. Final exams are a college norm that can't be escaped but are far from welcomed. However, there are several techniques that may be used to help you study better during college exams.

1. Study in Your Comfort Zone

The number one way to studying better for final exams is to create an environment that is comfortable for you. If you study better with music or in a library then do so. You've had an entire semester to figure out what techniques work best for you. One of the worst things that I tried to do while studying for final exams was to change up my routine. Attempting to study in the undergraduate library after studying consistently in my dorm room for the semester proved ineffective and basically wasted valuable time.

2. Leave Your Bedroom

If your bedroom is your place of comfort while studying for college exams...leave! DO NOT spend all of your time studying in your bedroom. Although it may be your comfy place it may be disastrous for studying for long periods of time. Waking up, studying, and sleeping in the same place is not always a great idea. During study breaks, I procrastinate doing my work because I am in the same room as my bed. I seem to always need a nap and by the time exams role around, I'm having a panic attack because I didn't get any studying done.

3. Set a Schedule

One of the best things I do while studying for final exams is to set a schedule. Setting time limits for each subject I need to study and each particular topic in that subject helps weed out all of the seemingly irrelevant information. Time restraints help me eliminate wasted time and buckle down in order to finish in time. When setting these time limits, be honest and fair with yourself. Don't ask your mind to study 3 straight hours of organic chemistry if all semester long you've only sat down for 45 minutes at a time studying, break it up. If you know you usually have 4 meals within an 8-hour time frame that usually lasts about half hour apiece, work that in. Don't create unrealistic expectations for yourself. In the same light, schedule naps and more importantly, relaxation breaks.

4. Take a Nap

I know first hand that the importance of sleep when studying for exams is far overlooked by college students, but it's one of the main techniques that saves my mind and body. It's no secret that you will feel the overwhelming need to cram and study things that you hadn't even peeked at during the semester. All in all, this takes a lot of time and commitment over a couple days' span. Take time to rest your mind and your body and schedule in a nap, but just a short one. There are plenty of times when I can't tell the difference between a nap and going to sleep! There is a difference! Schedule a nap just long enough to rejuvenate, refresh, and rethink. I usually take an hour nap or two half hour naps, however, this may be too long for some or too little. Gauge your own sleep cycle and go from there.

5. Minimize Distractions

The amount of information that you feel you need to know and the amount of information that you know is always an unrealistic ratio, so cramming before exams is not uncommon, and if you are going to cram you must minimize your distractions. Going back to creating a healthy study environment, don't study in a place where there is high traffic. You bump into friends, people who aren't even thinking about studying, and people who are always doing something you wish you were doing besides studying. Don't eat the bait! The best way to minimize or eliminate distractions is to be and stay focused from the very beginning. When you're focused, no matter the distraction you will not let yourself become side tracked. The focused you leaves the coffee shop where the group of people just walked in or is so focused that you don't even realize them.

Similarly, if you are studying a subject that does not require your attention on the computer, close the laptop, step away from that computer, or take out that Ethernet cord. The Internet is my number one distraction when it comes to doing something, anything, that I really have to do. I can be as focused as I want and think about one thing, just one thing, that I THINK I need to look up on the internet and there's two hours down the drain and an additional half hour to refocus. Try to only use the computer when you have to and even then if you don't need to surf the web, disconnect your Internet connection until you finish everything in your schedule.

6. Study with a Tutor

A great way to eliminate wasting time during college final exams is to study with a tutor. Finding a tutor on a college campus is usually not that hard and it's a great way to eliminate wasting time. Instead of breaking in the middle of a great study groove to email a professor and wait for a reply, or to call a friend who may or may not know the correct answer, studying with a tutor gives you the freedom to ask whatever you want while you're studying and get the answers.

It's true that college final exams can leave you flustered and simply drive you crazy so knowing how to study in order to minimize your insanity is key. Using these techniques will indeed leave you more confident and less tense before finals.