Own Your Finals With These 5 Tips

By Victoria Robertson on December 4, 2015

This article is brought to you by Kaplan, the leader in test prep for over 90 standardized tests, including the GRE, GMAT, LSAT, and MCAT.

Everybody hates studying for finals. It’s a drag and a half and most of the time, you aren’t even a little bit prepared when you begin. And since the semester is winding down to a close, that much-dreaded, test-taking period is upon us, and procrastinators everywhere are getting antsy.

But what many people don’t know is that there’s still some time to get ahead of the game. That’s right, though finals are approaching fast, they aren’t quite here yet, and for those of you that want to ditch the procrastination stress and save yourself the extra effort later, here are five ways to beat finals this semester.

1. Start studying now.

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I know, it’s extremely early still and nobody wants to start studying now. Well, studying now is also the best way to ensure you’ll have enough time to cover all of the material.

Odds are, most of your classes are coming to a close at this point, which means most (if not all) of the material is already available for you to begin studying. So what’s stopping you?

Nobody wants to spend weeks studying for a test, but when there are multiples, and they count for most of your grade, it’s time to take them a little more seriously. So rather than put it off, begin studying now, ensure that you can cover all of the material and be sure of yourself when you go into the final.

Trust me, it’ll feel good not to be the student still cramming seconds before your professor hands out the test.

2. Do the readings.

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Most people pass off the readings, either ignoring them completely or trying to read them quickly when finals roll around and not retaining any of the information. And granted, most of the readings are useless and the material from them won’t even be on the final.

But for those readings that are on the final, and that you may have to write about or answer specific questions from, wouldn’t it be much easier if you’d already done them?

Rather than waiting until the last minute and speed-reading a work that you aren’t going to understand anyway, look back through your syllabus and see what readings seem to be about more important information, and read those carefully and in their entirety.

You can’t study for readings, you’ve either done them or you haven’t. So if you haven’t, start catching up now. It’ll save you much more studying time later and you’ll feel far more confident going into the final.

3. Start a study group.

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Not a lot of people use these, and while it can be awkward and the last way you want to spend your final week of school this year, they’re also far more helpful than studying on your own and just might make or break your grade.

Study groups are to be taken seriously, which means studying on your own before you attend, and are more for expanding your knowledge than they are for learning everything for the first time.

Of course, many use study groups to help explain what they don’t understand, but they can also go much further into what you’ve learned, leaving you with that A-worthy final paper idea.

If you know a few students in your class that would be interested, start one of these bad boys. They’re going to be much more beneficial to you than you may initially think, and are definitely worth keeping in mind.

4. Have a plan of attack.

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While you could probably just wing your studying, it’s much simpler, and more efficient, if you develop some sort of plan of attack prior to your studying process.

By doing this, you ensure you’ll be able to cover all of the topics; you can plan out break times or days, to help you stop from burning out before finals are over,; and you can even determine what information you want to cram before the exam and what information you want to really process over a few weeks or so.

Many students make calendars, or simply set out certain days to study for certain classes. Either way, setting up a plan is a great way to stay organized and ensure you’re going to cover everything.

5. Minimize your stress.

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Finals may be the end, but you aren’t quite there yet, and odds are those papers and quizzes are stacking up, especially the few weeks prior to finals.

So rather than wait around and finish everything at the end, get ahead of the game and finish whatever assignments you can before you begin studying.

It’ll take the stress off of you for a little bit and it will also give you more time later on to dedicate to your strict study schedule, rather than using up that valuable time finishing an assignment that could’ve been done weeks ago.

Finals are brutal, never-ending and more stressful than can be explained. But when you put your mind to it and focus hard on beating them, they can be a piece of cake. So keep these five tips in mind and brace yourself, because finals are just around the corner, and if you aren’t ready, they’re going to win.

Learn more about Kaplan’s test prep options and start building the confidence you need for Test Day.

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