An Easy Way to Prep for Finals Week
The worst week of the semester is almost here…finals week. I know when I was a student I absolutely hated finals. There was just too much to study and too little time. Exams are bad enough but they’re even worse when you’ve got 4-5 of them in less than a week!
One of the best ways to prep for finals is to keep attending lectures. Everyone is usually mentally checked out but the end of the semester is not the time to be skipping out on class. I know attendance in my classes always goes down the last few weeks of class. This is the worst time to be missing lecture! Why is this you may wonder. Well here are a few things you’ll learn during the last few weeks of class:
Exam Format
Finals week is a pain for students, as well as the instructors. Instructors have tight grading deadlines that they must meet. How does this affect you? Well, many professors will opt for a different exam format during finals week. If you skip out on class, how are you going to know that the format has changed?
I know many instructors who switch to multiple choice and essay-type questions on the final instead of the solve an engineering problem format they normally use. This new exam format requires a different study tactic. Most faculty will let you know about the change in format ahead of time, but you’ve got to be in class to hear about it.
What’s Allowed
I recently advised a guy (who’s about to graduate) who had all A’s except for 1 class. He made a B in Fluid Mechanics. I asked him what happened in that class.
He said he missed a few days of class before the final and wasn’t aware that students were supposed to bring their own equation sheet for the final exam. For all the other exams, equations had been provided but not on the final.
So, he got the exam and had no equation sheet. Definitely not the situation you want for a Fluids final. In the end, he blew his 4.0 GPA because he had slacked off on going to class.
Don’t be like this guy! Always find out what’s allowed for the final exam. Is it open book, open notes or can you just have an equation sheet? Knowing this info will help you know how to tailor your studying for the exam.
Material Covered on Final
Final exams can be comprehensive or they can cover select topics. I know in my classes I always give comprehensive exams, but I take out certain topics that I don’t think are as important as others. This allows students to narrow down their studying and focus in on the stuff I really want them to review.
I have had many students mess up on their finals because they studied material that wasn’t covered on the exam. Had they shown up to class they wouldn’t have wasted precious study time on material that they didn’t even need to bother with for the test.
Before finals week, your instructors should give you an overview of the final and give you a general idea of what to study. This is info you don’t want to miss!
Collect Old Graded Assignments
One of the best ways to study for finals is to review old assignments. Many students miss class during the semester and aren’t there when graded papers are returned. If you are one of these students, you definitely need to make sure you go pick up these assignments.
First, you can use them for studying. Reviewing mistakes you made will help prevent you from making them in the future. Plus, some faculty will even reuse problems from earlier in the semester. It’s always a great feeling to see a familiar problem when you get your test especially when you know how to solve it.
Second, most faculty can’t just toss your papers in the trash at the end of the semester. Any papers they have leftover they have to store them for a certain length of time. The last thing your professors want is to have to store papers for students who didn’t bother to collect their work.
In Summary
There’s nothing pleasant about finals week. But, you can be better prepared by simply going to class during the last few weeks of the semester. I know it’s hard because you’re burned out by this point but just hang in there and keep going! It’ll all be over soon enough! one last thing…remember not to pull all nighters. They do you more harm than good!
