Surviving Finals Week - How to Cram the Night Before the Exam

Do you always find yourself cramming at the last minute to study for those pesky final exams? As much as we like to convince ourselves that we are going to study weeks in advance for our finals, it just never seems to actually happen. So instead of boring you with another "How to Take Finals the Right Way" article, lets get right down to it; you don't have the time to study in advance. Here is the guide to cram for finals the "smart" way.

Skimming - If you are in a huge 101 class, it is difficult to actually cram for every single possible thing on the exam, so why even try? What should be done is glance through each chapter and find key points that you think might be on the test, because if a student believes something will be on an exam then shouldn't the professors be thinking the same?

Prioritize - We all know that these exams seem to creep up on us. So if you know that you have two exams in the same day, don't be stupid and decide to study for both of these the day before the test. You might as well just accept that you're going to fail both of them! Instead, try scheduling your cramming time into the week, possibly two days before the exam.

Don't Forget to Wake Up - Set an alarm. Drink water before bed. Tell your roommate to throw you off the bed. Do whatever it takes to get up for that 8 AM final, because no matter how hard you crammed the night before, if you do not show up you are still going to fail. Another helpful hint, please don't drink that last energy drink before you go to bed. It'll just keep you up and you'll be exhausted for your exam.

Get Some Food in You - You've heard from everybody that a nutritious meal before an exam will help you use your brain better. I do agree with this, but obviously you are much too cool to agree. Think about this, the more food you eat before your exam, the less you will be thinking about how hungry you are during your final! So help yourself by just eating SOMETHING before your exam so you can stay atleast somewhat focused.

Don't Cheat - Come on, we have all been there. Where the situation presents itself to take a small, little, tiny peak at the persons paper next to you. No matter how tempting it might be to take a look, you might get caught. You'll fail the entire course if you get caught. But more importantly, how much studying do you think they did? Probably just as much as you did! So really there is no point in trying to cheat because everyone is following this guide to succeed on their exams too!

Stay Away From the Computer - When I study, I always try to convince myself that I deserve that quick little break to check my Facebook, ESPN, fantasy baseball, or whatever you do on the internet; frankly nobody wants to know. But anyways, studying is normally done a lot better when it doesn't involve sports or facebook, so unless you absolutely 100% need a computer to study, just stay away.

Don't Get TOO Drunk the Night Before - Okay, well if you're trying to actually graduate from college you might just want to avoid alcohol at all costs during your finals. But hey, who am I to judge? If you are rewarding your cramming with alcohol that just might seem a little too counterproductive.

Take the Exam Seriously - As tempting as it sounds to draw a picture with your bubble-in sheet, don't do it. You won't pass.

Chew Some Gum - As crazy as it sounds, peppermint can actually help you focus more by relaxing the body. So pop 1 or 2 (or 10) pieces in your mouth and get crackin' on those books!

So by now I hope to God you can stop reading this article on how to cram and actually start cramming! Go get to it and by the time you've used all these tips you'll be done with your semester or quarter as easily as you came into it! Good luck!