College finals are like the last leg of a marathon: everyone is exhausted, throwing up and wondering why they even started in the first place.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
The South Texan is here to give you a few tips to survive the gauntlet of finals, so you finish the semester looking like the end of The Lego Movie, rather than the end of Rogue One.
There are some misconceptions about how to study effectively.
According to the Association of Psychological Science, study strategies such as highlighting and even rereading do not show much promise for improving student learning.
College is an exciting time where classes are not mandatory, and you have the choice to spend your mornings in bed instead of sitting next to that know-it-all Janice from your 8 a.m. accounting class.
While The South Texan strongly urges you to attend your classes, we know some of you will inevitably skip them.
In the last week of classes, professors usually start putting out reviews for the final exam. This means that the most important time to actually go to class is this week.
Shockingly, when studying for your final exam, the final exam review is one of the best places to start.
Once you get that review, research shows that the best way to retain that information is to quiz yourself.
Henry Roediger, PhD, a psychologist at Washington University, said “Decades of research has shown that making yourself recall information helps strengthen your long-term learning.”
When you are studying for that brutal political science final, take some time to test yourself without looking at the answers. This is one of the best ways to prepare for an exam.
While you are studying, it is undoubtedly important to take breaks and watch an episode of The Haunting of Hill House, but taking too many breaks can have an adverse effect on your overall learning.
According to Time, “While it is true that devoting too much time to studying can lead to fatigue, dividing your review sessions into too many parts can lead to scattered and ineffectual learning.”
Unfortunately, Stacy’s Snapchat story will have to wait.
Pathways Academic Assistance Center provides free tutoring in room 220 of Jernigan Library. Their hours are 12 to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 12 to 5 p.m. on Friday, and 3 to 8 p.m. on Sundays.
Starting at 7 a.m. Monday, Dec. 3 through midnight Saturday, Dec. 8, and 1 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 9 through 9 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 13 the Jernigan Library will be open continuously.
Students may not take their finals as seriously as they should, so I will put it in a language all college students can understand.
A basic subscription to Netflix costs about $48 every six months. To be a student at Texas A&M University – Kingsville costs between $8,000 and $12,000 every semester.
What is more important to you: a few hours of entertainment, or a degree that will set you up for a lifetime of success?