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Finals Week- Tips???

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Leafs2323
Posts: 355 - Karma: 195
This is my first experience with finals week cause I'm a Freshman in college. Anyone whose been through finals week got any tips on how to do well and not stress?? cause I am stressed as hell.

Any good tips will be much appreciated
Dec 10 2012 4:03PM
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theBearJew
Posts: 10951 - Karma: 15,633
Calculate the grade you need to receive an A, B, etc. If you are close to an A and the test score is reasonable study hard. If you need something crazy like a 98 on the test to get an A then fuck it and don't study. You will most likely get a B and who gives a shit, A's are overrated. I used to do that for every semester, it made studying a lot less stressful because I knew which classes to focus on and which to say fuck it for.
Dec 10 2012 4:06PM
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Leafs2323
Posts: 355 - Karma: 195
Thanks man that actually does help me decide which classes i need to to study for more
Dec 10 2012 4:08PM
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walshie
Posts: 743 - Karma: 628
im in the same boat. I haven't taken finals before since I have always gotten exempt. Im doing it like this..

Im not stressing, just getting my shit done. Remember, you have already pretty much covered all of the info. There are a lot more important things to stress about but get your shit done.

Sleep Sleep Sleep- I have been having trouble getting a lot of sleep, but this really helps your ability to think. Although you may thing aderall and red bull all nighters are good, you also need sleep.

I terms of studying, I usually don't listen to music, but I'm listening to spotify radio, and studying my material. Take notes on what you don't get / need more review and come back to it later. I am prepared with good snacks, drink a bunch of water and Im dipping right now for my nicotine addiction.... good luck man and remember its just finals..
Dec 10 2012 4:08PM
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Leafs2323
Posts: 355 - Karma: 195
thanks man
Dec 10 2012 4:10PM
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BrewskiJr
Posts: 5738 - Karma: 1,478
Adderral, redbull, coffee, and classical music.


I always try to get no less than 6 hours of sleep if I have a final early in the morning. If you're tired/not awake in the morning then it doesn't matter what you know.

As someone said above. Calculate your grades! One year I had a B in the class and my prof said that I could get a 0 and my grade wouldn't change in the end. I didn't have to take it and got to study for other classes. I never would have realized if I didnt calculate my grades and would have wasted hours studying for it.
Dec 10 2012 4:10PM
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volvotom
Posts: 2045 - Karma: 712
All nighters usually aren't worth it.

I always made an effort to leave the library to get food, got me off campus and away from everything for a little while.

I always kept a beer from the first 30rack of the quarter on my desk, saving it for when finals were over. The little motivation was helpful.
Dec 10 2012 4:10PM
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CrotchKiller
Posts: 9037 - Karma: 6,943
hope it doesn't dump for the first time this year.......oh wait
Dec 10 2012 4:11PM
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Round-Four
Posts: 1073 - Karma: 174
its good to have a calendar with absolutely every assignment on it. i jot down all of my syllabi onto one sheet at the beginning of the semester so nothing ever surprises me and i always know whats coming next. it helps keep your brain organized which makes preparing and studying a lot easier.
Dec 10 2012 4:11PM
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BrewskiJr
Posts: 5738 - Karma: 1,478
skunked beer from 3 months ago? I'll pass.
Dec 10 2012 4:12PM
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pmw
Posts: 5760 - Karma: 831
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Dec 10 2012 4:12PM
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Stickity
Posts: 7750 - Karma: 769
boof adderall
Dec 10 2012 4:15PM
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steve0
Posts: 1131 - Karma: 1,311

Print out a  calendar and make a schedule down to the half hour of when you plan to study for each subject. that way you can allot 12 hours to one subject, 10 to another etc...

Don't always study in the same spot, rotate from library, student center, empty classroom...

a 15-30 minute good hard workout is always good to relieve stress during the week

eat healthy and drink water (always a good thing to do)

Dec 10 2012 4:16PM
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Blurst
Posts: 13577 - Karma: 10,169
have sex and lots of it. Your a freshman shouldnt be too hard by now. Best stress relief out there.
Dec 10 2012 4:19PM
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volvotom
Posts: 2045 - Karma: 712
Was usually pretty good. I kept some bottle aged beer from Sept-June of my senior year. Good stuff.
Dec 10 2012 4:23PM
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585.
Posts: 4059 - Karma: 77
dont sleep.
Dec 10 2012 4:29PM
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grams.
Posts: 7406 - Karma: 186
Ritalin, cheese sticks and Mountain Dew. College.
Dec 10 2012 4:34PM
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miroz
Posts: 10333 - Karma: 3,945
Do your best. That's all anyone can ask of you or that you can ask of yourself.

My newfound strategy is study up until bed for a morning final, then wake up 90 min early (instead of 30 min) and study a little bit more during that extra time to wake my brain up (not necessarily to learn anything new, although that's an added bonus). It's worked awesome so far. I've noticed a big change compared to exams that I've woken up and trudged to.
Dec 10 2012 4:40PM
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little1337
Posts: 8241 - Karma: 47,862
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Dec 10 2012 4:42PM
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Darth.Maul
Posts: 2472 - Karma: 652
Figure out prority classes. My calc and chem exams are gonna be the hardest so im studying most for them. I can get away with only an hour or 2 of studying for history and engineering and still get a good grade.

Trying to maintain about a 3.4 average to keep school scholarships. ONly need a 3.0 for other scholarship
Dec 10 2012 4:52PM
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Bubba-Snax
Posts: 541 - Karma: 11
study a lot but make sure you but time aside for drinking, and always remember to buy smokes for the all nighters.
Dec 10 2012 5:08PM
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.Asain-Skiier
Posts: 3708 - Karma: 977
Don't go on the internet.
Dec 10 2012 5:19PM
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line686
Posts: 406 - Karma: 205
Remember it's just a test. Girl in the apartment above me just took her life a couple days ago. One test won't change your life very much so relax and study what you can.
Dec 10 2012 5:22PM
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HenniferLopez
Posts: 1319 - Karma: 136
Become an art major. I haven't had a final (exam) in two years.
Dec 10 2012 5:44PM
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iFlip
Posts: 4543 - Karma: 19,132
And you won't have a job for your entire life. You have it made! No exams now and no responsibilities for your entire life. Congrats!
Dec 10 2012 5:50PM
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proZach
Posts: 7163 - Karma: 919
and you won't have a job in 10!
Dec 10 2012 5:59PM
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sweet_caroline
Posts: 255 - Karma: 71
^Truth. Science majors are hard but worth it
Dec 10 2012 6:00PM
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volvotom
Posts: 2045 - Karma: 712
Some of the portfolio work I would say is just as hard as finals, especially at an art school.

I know the running joke that art majors can't get jobs, but it's a skill that is needed. Every advertisement you see was made by some sort of artist.
Dec 10 2012 6:02PM
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iFlip
Posts: 4543 - Karma: 19,132
And every movie you watch has actors in it and every song you hear has musicians in it. What percentage of actors or musicians are actually able to make a decent wage? Also, "needed" is HIGHLY subjective!
Dec 10 2012 6:08PM
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VT_scratch
Posts: 8786 - Karma: 6,250
naw fuck you sweet caroline
Dec 10 2012 6:09PM
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TheQuailman
Posts: 7382 - Karma: 147
I wake up and study from 12-5 with maybe one 15 min break + 25 mins for lunch.

Then I take a long break to eat din and maybe gym and then go back to the books from 8-12.  Chill for 1-2 hours and repeat.

Don't waste time browsing the internet while your studying cause it will just make your brain feel more fried (breaking my own rule right now).  The best breaks are gym, eating, going for a walk, hanging out with friends, etc.

Do your best to study as closely before the test as possible.  So if you have exams Tuesday and Friday.  Don't start studying for your Friday exam until after you've taken your Tuesday exam.  Papers other sorts of projects are different.  Do them as far away from the days before any test.

Rotate study locations within reason.  Some people rotate study material for variety but I don't usually do this because my mind feels like I'm making very slow progress.

I don't focus on my grades (like I did in high school) so I spend more time studying the material I think will be most helpful in my life and career (and what I'm interested in).  Also it's important to spend more time studying courses that have information you need to know for future classes.  For example, you should allocate more time to studying for Calculus I if next semester you will be taking Calculus II.






Dec 10 2012 6:10PM
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icon1234
Posts: 3081 - Karma: 1,475
Always strive for an A... Idk why people here are content with B's, the GPA difference between a B and A is astronomical huge even if its just separated by 10%. Classify your finals, are the cumulative type that cover what you were tested on? If so those are usually the easiest assuming you did will on the exams. Should require the least amount of studying, but depends how much material it covers of course. OR are the type of finals that are essentially a new exam over material you have never been tested on, those suck the worse. If the final covers new information + old information, always study the new information first. Instead of trying to go in chronological order and get to the new information last.

Try and avoid the library... At least at mine you have a bunch of assclowns who like wasting their parents tuition money and use the library as an area to socialize in and it is very distracting for me at least. My college usually has all our classrooms open so I will just find an empty one and study in it. Minimum amount of sleep I can go on is 4 hours... So yea try and get more than that if you can. Just make sure you plan your time appropriately.
Dec 10 2012 6:17PM
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sweet_caroline
Posts: 255 - Karma: 71
No thanks
Dec 10 2012 6:20PM
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Colin@injured
Posts: 600 - Karma: 307
... or kill the Procter and cheat.
Dec 10 2012 6:35PM
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RimJobber
Posts: 3313 - Karma: 10,058
Curl up in the bathroom and cry
Dec 10 2012 6:40PM
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Bubba-Snax
Posts: 541 - Karma: 11
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Dec 10 2012 6:44PM
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HenniferLopez
Posts: 1319 - Karma: 136
I'm a graphic design major to be more specific, so I'll have quite a few job opportunities. Especially with the crappy economy..believe it or not, designers are doing BETTER because companies are hiring us for our "design thinking" that will help their company innovatively change the way they do things and keep them afloat.
Dec 11 2012 11:12AM
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stezybake[D]oven
Posts: 370 - Karma: 36
nuff said right there
Dec 11 2012 11:33AM
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BrewskiJr
Posts: 5738 - Karma: 1,478
I could see that if you got a business minor our double major. But I know a couple of my graphic design friends wouldn't know the first thing about business.
Dec 11 2012 11:36AM
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DERS.
Posts: 6299 - Karma: 1,293
kids who "need" adderall without any learning disorder are pathetic.
Dec 11 2012 11:39AM
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Colin@injured
Posts: 600 - Karma: 307
debateable. I tend to agree with you, and i dont take it, but I can see where the kids that say they "need" it come from. For example on the SAT's I am pretty much half asleep reading those passages because they are so damn boring
Dec 12 2012 8:13PM
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BrewskiJr
Posts: 5738 - Karma: 1,478
I really am against ADD and adderal. I know there are some people out there that absolutely need it, but honestly, I think the majority of prescribed patients would have been perfectly fine without it. However, they started to take it to focus better, now they can't function or do shit with out getting their goddamn fix.

I like to compare it to medicinal weed. Yeah there are some chronically ill patients out there that really could benefit from it, but i would be willing to bet that OVER half of prescribed patients just want pot.
Dec 12 2012 8:17PM
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KravtZ
Posts: 6637 - Karma: 2,629
i never understood the stress behind finals week. Yea sometimes I study my ass off for a long ass time for a test or two...but the key is having a balanced schedule. I take my core major / minor classes then some JOKE classes that require minimal work. Really events it out. Most people stress out because they don't study all semester. I study a hour or so each day for the classes that really need it and I only need to review for the final not learn half the class because I was fucking around all the time. Ill study like 3-4 hours each for my calc and finance final but besides that maybe an hour or so for each class.
Dec 12 2012 8:43PM
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