Finals Survival Guide!

It has come to the time college students dread the most: finals week. As if a semester full of quizzes and papers and exams wasn't enough, we have a whole week dedicated to putting us through the (multiple) tests of our studies.  I hate this week.  I loathe its existence.  The only thing that gets me through it is knowing that the holidays are a few short days away.  To help you survive this week, I'll be giving out a few tips on what I do in order to not jump out a library window.

On a scale you 1 to stab yourself in the thigh how stressed are you about finals? I know everyone has probably told you this, but you can get through it! All the studying will pay off in the end, and then you can relax until next semester.  I'm going to give you a few tips on how you can survive finals week. Shout out to my bff Joanna (follow her on Instagram) for giving me these tips!

Finals Survival Guide

Drink Lots of Water

There is nothing worse than being dehydrated while you study your butt off!  Drinking lots of liquids will not only keep your mind focused, but it will help you from developing a nasty cold in the midst of everything.  Even better? Add fruit to your water! My favorite water combo is lemons, strawberries, and a few mint leaves.  When your water tastes good of course you want to keep drinking it!

Get Some Sleep

I know it may seem like a better decision to skip on sleep and study more, but please don't.  Your body needs sleep in order to recuperate and your mind needs the rest!  Get at least 7-8 hours of sleep every night and I promise you that you'll see a huge difference in your productivity. Now put down those Sugar-Free Redbulls and get to bed! 

Know When to Turn Off Your Phone

They're tempting, I know, but social media apps can wait while you study!  While you may think tweeting about how awful your final is will help you, it really won't.  More than likely you'll stay on your phone for too long and distract yourself, which won't help on that Calc final.  Everyone needs a break, but make sure that while you are hitting the books that your phone is shoved somewhere in a deep crevice of your backpack out of side and out of mind.

Study With Reliable People

One thing that really helps me when studying is studying with other people.  Quizzing others and asking questions really gets my brain going and I start to learn more!  That being said, only study with people who will help you.  If your friend's idea of "studying" is watching Netflix in the library while you do all the work, then maybe you should find someone else to work with. Only work with students who encourage you!

Don't Kill Yourself

As I said in my last post, Finals Study Tips, take breaks while you're studying. If you are running yourself down to the wire it's only going to hurt you in the end. Read 4 chapters of your Chem book? Good for you! Now take a 20 minute break and go for a nice walk outside.  Finals may be important, but so is your health, and you shouldn't spread yourself too thin. 

Celebrate With the Girls!

This is the most important thing in order to survive finals! You did all that hard work and studied your butt off, so now it's time to let loose and dance it off! My best friends and I are going to Ladies Night to celebrate the end of the semester because you know why? We deserve it! Even if your idea of celebrating is chilling on the couch with your cat drinking wine, do it! This is your time to relax and enjoy what is now your month of vacation.

What are your steps to surviving finals? Got any fun plans for when you're done? Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time my loves x.

Final Exam Study Tips!

It has come to the time college students dread the most: finals week. As if a semester full of quizzes and papers and exams wasn't enough, we have a whole week dedicated to putting us through the (multiple) tests of our studies.  I hate this week.  I loathe its existence.  The only thing that gets me through it is knowing that the holidays are a few short days away.  To help you survive this week, I'll be giving out a few tips on what I do in order to not jump out a library window.

Being a business major, there's never a time where I don't have to take an exam.  I envy my friends who have the luxury (in a sense) of writing papers instead of staring at 75 multiple choice questions while the kid next to me stuffs his face with pretzels. That being said, I have become very comfortable in my study habits and (for the most part) think they're beneficial.  I'm going to show you some of my top study tips so you can whiz through your finals like the super genius you are!

Finals Study Tips:

1. Make Flash Cards

I cannot stress this enough.  There is nothing easier than buying a dollar pack of 100 note cards from the store and cranking out a bunch with all the information you need to know for your exam. Studies have shown (I'd cite them if I cared enough) that the more you look at something the easier it is for you to remember it in the future. I use flash cards for definitions, equations, and pretty much everything.  I recently took the final for my wine course (yes, I took a class about drinking wine) and used my flash cards to memorize all the grape varietals for wine growing regions in Europe (still hate my professor for making us memorize GRAPE VARIETALS FOR EACH WINE GROWING REGION IN EUROPE). But you know what those flash cards got me? One of the highest grades on the exam and an A in the class. Worth it!

2. Create Acronyms

Coinciding with flash cards, create acronyms to help memorize lists of things.  For example, do you remember PEMDAS from middle school? It's the order in which you solve a math equation: Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally, parentheses, exponents, multiplication, division, addition, subtraction. I use acronyms for EVERYTHING from the presidents (What A Joke Mamma Mia)* to the sub-regions of the Loire Valley in France (Not All Virgins)*. That way once I get my exam I write down all my acronyms in the blank spaces to the side so I can use them while I take the test! Sometimes those acronyms work miracles, let me tell ya!

3. Take Breaks and Study in Intervals

Your brain cannot handle you staring at your notes for 3 hours without a break.  I recommend reading your study guides, flash cards, textbook, or even your computer for 30-60 minutes and then taking a 15 minute break to do something else.  Now, you probably shouldn't stay on your computer and play Neopets (omg add me as a Neofriend it's phillyphritz), but taking that 15 minutes to walk around and stretch or even grab a cup of coffee can do wonders.  Hell, you can even take a power nap! One time during my sophomore year my friend Nicole and I took a 30 minute power nap and then finished all our homework in the span of 2 hours. It gave us the perfect amount of energy to stay focused! Your eyes need a break sometimes, so let them have it!

4. Read Your Textbook

I know this is a shocker (who actually READS their textbooks anymore), but this can actually really help you during finals.  There's a reason why your professor assigns a textbook...so why not take advantage it? Plus, I know some of my professors use the text bank questions from the book when they have their exams.  What better way to study for a test then to get the answers straight from the source?  You'll never know what sentences will stick with you, so reading that chapter about the difference between business and corporate strategies, no matter how bad you want to stab your eyes out, could be a real game changer!

5. Review Old Tests/Quizzes

This is my go-to when it comes to finals.  In almost every single one of my classes the professors give us weekly online quizzes to make sure we are staying on track.  Then later on we can go back and review those questions to see what we answered wrong and practice again.  Looking over how your professors write questions can really help when it comes to studying because you start to get a feel for what the exam will be like.  Before each exam, I print out all my quizzes from the chapters I know will be on the test and review them.  This especially helps because I begin to recognize questions I answered wrong prior, and start to remember what the correct answer actually is so that if I see the question on the test, I automatically rule out my wrong answer from before.  Does that make sense?

I hope you will use this tips and do amazing on your final exams!  Just remember, you are already made it this far, you can do it!

*If you were wondering what my acronyms stood for, the first was Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe and the next was Nantes, Anjou, and Vouvray. Go learn those presidents and Loire valley sub-regions, girl!

Do you have any great study tips for finals? Are you already brain dead from all the studying you've done? Leave a comment below and let me know!

Until next time my loves x.