Now that Thanksgiving is over, it’s now time to trade in those plates of food for highlighters and flashcards because finals week is coming soon!  The last obstacle before the treasured winter break, finals week is often a dreaded time for many. However, the juniors and seniors have some words of wisdom to prepare underclassmen for what’s to come.

“Makes sure you eat a good breakfast the morning what, and you sleep the night before,” says senior Bailey Diaz. “It doesn’t matter how much you study the night before: if you fall asleep in the middle of your final, you’re going to get an F.”

“If you don’t have the grasp of the subject, it’s not worth cramming it the week before. You should just understand the broad concepts,” advises senior Sruthi Mukkamala.

“My advice for freshman is to start studying early so when finals come around you won’t be as stressed,” says senior Joey Hung.  

Since the final is often cumulative of the entire semester there will be copious amounts of material you need to re-learn. Therefore, it’s never early enough to start prepping for your finals.

“Make sure you utilize your studying time,” suggests junior Claire Rosefield, “but also have some time to yourself so you can rest up. Obviously the weeks leading up to finals week will be filled with late nights cramming all that information into your brain, but rest is just as important! Scheduling time to pursue fun activities can relieve stress, and better prepare you to memorize things more easily.”

“Don’t stay up late the night before studying because odds are you are not going to know it by then,” says senior Tasha Villa.  Studying for finals should begin the week before the test, not the night before.  Multiple studies have proved that if you just study a little bit each day as opposed to trying to learn it all in one night, you’ll retain a lot more of the information you’ve studied.

Be sure to consult your teacher on what the final is going to be like.  Some teachers make their finals cumulative of the entire semester, some don’t, some just give projects.  Don’t waste time studying material you won’t end up needing.  Most importantly, study smart!  The quality of your studying methods matters infinitely more than the quantity.  Happy finals weeks Gaels, and may the curve ever be in your favor.