Final exams are a consistent source of stress for college students across the nation. Students can sometimes begin preparing for final exams several weeks in advance.
One of the stressors is the unknown elements of final exams: the possibility that there may be material on the exam that wasn’t covered during the course.
Kenika Bouchelle, business marketing and aviation major, experienced this going into finals week.
“I always think that professors expect us to know more than what they’ve taught us during the semester,” Bouchelle said.
National trends show that students who repeatedly reviewed their course material and tested themselves regularly performed better overall in their course and on their final exams.
Indiah Cornish, a sophomore studying astrobiology, prepares for finals by reviewing past material for mistakes.
“I go through all of my past quizzes, all of my past tests, correct what I got wrong, and have all of those corrections down on a sheet, and then I go over them [separately],” Cornish said,
In addition, taking regular breaks is crucial to the way that Cornish studies.
“My breaks usually involve texting my friends and being like, ‘Oh my god, studying is so hard,’ and you get your encouragement back,” Cornish said. “Like ‘you can do it!’ Get yourself a support system that’ll cheer you on when you feel like you’re dying.”
Cornish said that she usually loses a considerable amount of sleep while studying for finals.
As one might guess, however, national trends sometimes don’t tell the whole story, as there can more unconventional methods of exam preparation.
For instance, Kourtnee Fernalld, a junior in computer science, has two very different ways of handling overwhelming work and studying.
“I have literally take my Adderall at 10 p.m. to stay up and finish code for an assignment and stayed up until 3 a.m.,” she said. “One time I was overwhelmed with my workload that I went to sleep instead of doing any of the work, because I couldn’t handle it.”
It’s evident that final exams put stress on all students in some way, Florida Tech provides a way to help.
On Saturday, April 20th, tents, students and inflatables dotted the grass of Crawford Greens as Florida Tech held its Exams Jam, sponsored by C.A.B.
Exam Jam is an event that helps students destress before final exams that featured several activities, food trucks and music. Exam Jam has been run annually for six years and has a similar but smaller counterpart, known as Test Fest, in the fall semesters.
Several tents were set up on Crawford Greens offering activities such as small arts and crafts. An inflatable bounce house and a rocking surfboard, similar to a mechanical bull ride, were also present.
Students looking to blow off some steam before finals should set a reminder for next spring, when Exam Jam make its return, or for Test Fest this fall.
