On the minds of all high school students at the end of a semester is a nice long break and…finals! It always seems like finals sneak up on us, even though we’ve known about them all year. A lot of people freak out over this because it is a big deal. These are the biggest tests of the year, every single one in a very short span of time. It’s scary. However, there are a lot of things you can do to make it less scary.
One of the main problems students face is that they feel like they have so much studying to do and so much to get organized that they get discouraged. Prepare throughout the year! Make note cards or little study guides for every single test throughout the semester. This will not only help you on the smaller tests and quizzes throughout the semester, but it will also leave you with a pre-made studying device for finals. This wouldn’t help though if you couldn’t find those notes and study guides come the end of the semester. Organization is a very important thing. If notes get lost, how can you expect to know that information? Keep folders or binders! Never have random crumpled pieces of paper in your backpack or locker. You are only hurting yourself by doing that.
Another important thing to remember is that you can’t do it alone. If something doesn’t make sense get a tutor or ask a teacher. You’d be surprised how many people would be willing to help. They won’t come to you though. Take the imitative; it is your grade you have to be the one who cares about it. Sometimes it is hard to find someone who is willing to help and has a similar schedule. If this is the case find another way. The internet is a great resource that has endless information that can help you learn. There are no excuses. Where this is an obstacle you better learn to jump over it because life won’t get any easier as you get older.
The next three pieces of advice I have for you are probably the most important: be responsible, try your best, and don’t psyche yourself out. Be responsible in preparing. You know what you need to do in order to know the information. It may not be fun to sit and study for an hour but it will help in the end. Trying your best is really the only thing that matters. If you try and put all of your effort into these tests and you fail, you should be proud. The grade really doesn’t matter. Let’s face it, we all know twenty years from now we aren’t going to need to know how to solve a quadratic equation using matrices. What you will need to know how to do is push yourself to learn something even if you think it is not important. So although teachers don’t really give an “A” for effort, that is the only grade you should be going for because the real grade will rise accordingly. Not everyone is made to be an “A” student and that is okay. If you are “C” student, be the best “C” student you can be. Don’t let the grade define you. This leads into my next point, don’t psyche yourself out. These final exams are a big part of your grade; they can raise or lower them by an entire letter. They are very important and you should not blow them off. However, sometimes students put so much pressure on themselves they end up thinking they know less than they do and they start to question their initial instincts. That is a horrible thing to do. Take if from someone who has been there. Pressure and stress never result in anything good. Just relax and be confident in yourself. If you have tried your best you will do fine!