Today I want to share a few tips I have picked up over the years for surviving finals. I will share some things I recommend before and some things to do during the finals!
Before:
Make study guides– use color coded pens to help. Say you are studying two different things that you have to keep separate in your mind for one final. When it comes time to take the final and you see a question, you might not remember which side it was on, but you remember that it was in red so that means it was on the left side or something like that!
Use sticky flags to mark important pages– personally I use this the most for Spanish because certain pages have vocab or grammar that I need to be able to find easily. It is also really handy when you are reading a book that you will have to do some sort of report on. Then when it comes time to write your speech or paper, it will be super easy to just flip through to the important pages.
Highlight the most important things- If you have handouts or books you can highlight in, highlight the most important things! I promise, it helps! If you want to get really fancy, color code your highlights to fit your needs!
Reward yourself– Find fun little ways to reward yourself for actually studying. Make sure you only give yourself these rewards if you ACTUALLY accomplish something while studying. One example is 5 minutes on social media if you study for 30 minutes. Or once I had a math assignment that I DID NOT want to do at all. (Basically describes every math assignment every but moving on…) I put M&M’s next to each problem and after I successfully completed it I got a piece of candy. I felt kind of like a 5 year old, but whatever works!
Stay organized- A really important thing to keep in mind throughout the entire semester is to stay organized. I personally have one binder that is always with me at school and always comes home after school with me. I keep basically everything in there. But after a test when I know I won’t need the stuff until the finals, I take them out and stick them in a separate binder at home. Then when finals roll around, I can find everything I need really easily.
Study in groups- This year me and two close friends study before every single physics test or quiz. It honestly helps so much to study in small groups like that, as long as everyone stays focused. Sure, we do get off topic, but I never walk away saying “Wow that was a waste of three hours.” And you know what? I have kept an A in physics all year so we must be doing something right!
During:
Bring extra batteries if you have a calculator- My sophomore year in the middle of a math final, my calculator died. I almost died right along with it, but luckily my teacher had an extra calculator and she was feeling nice that day and let me use it. Crisis averted.
Have extra pencils/pens too- You never know when your trusted utensil could stop working!
Take a deep breath- There usually is no need to rush though, so in the beginning sit there for 5 or 10 seconds before you begin. Think positive thoughts!
Show work- Showing work has come in handy so many times for me because usually the teacher will give you at least partial credit even if you accidentally messed up one part. Plus, in case you get a phenomenal grade that happens to be the same as your neighbors, it will help prove you didn’t cheat. I always think about this for my physics tests because the two girls I have study group with sit right by me in physics. And since we studied together we usually miss about the same questions. But if we all have our own work, it is way less likely that we just looked over at the other person’s test and copied an answer.
I want to help you guys stay fashionably organized, so I partnered with Caroline Dawn to give away an elephant pencil case just like the one I have! I love mine so much and it holds everything I need (besides my huge calculator!) If you want one for yourself, enter the giveaway below! This giveaway is open international too!
What are your tips for surviving exams? Tell us in the comments!
Also, check back tomorrow for the next giveaway!
xo, Scarlett