Summer nears with its warmer weather. As the second semester closes, a key question arises: are students preparing for exams?
Finals start in the last week of May, with Third, Fourth, and Fifth Formers taking exams over the course of a week. Many students likely think of finals as the last thing they’re looking forward to—exams that span over two hours and take days to review, ruining a Memorial Day weekend they could spend relaxing. With just a month left, are students already preparing? And if not, when will they begin?
Third Former Ebiel Febres believes that “studying right now is probably beneficial,” but won’t study until May comes around.
Final exams are usually regarded as the most important—and stressful—exams of the year. With many courses jam-packed with material, studying for finals can be worrying.
Knowing when to start studying and what’s essential to focus on is crucial.
So, is studying right now “worth it”? Given many studying methods, such as the retrieval practices Dr. Pooja Agarwal shared at this year’s Gwinn Lecture, it can be helpful to start early and space out study sessions. This technique could also be incorporated into students’ study sessions by simply asking each other questions. It can also be more difficult to retain that information during finals, considering they’re almost a month away.
Another important aspect is preparing a study plan. Knowing when to start studying and what’s essential to focus on is crucial.
Fourth Former Brandyn Luong thinks that “a week or two in preparation is ample time.”
Fourth Former Jayden Thomas disagrees. “I’ll likely start at the beginning of [May],” he said.
Even though everyone may study differently, the strategies introduced this year in seminars, lectures, and classes can still be highly effective.
Can teachers help students? With exam information being posted at least two weeks before, teachers may have classes purely for preparing for the exam.
For some, a good study strategy is to ask questions to the teaching faculty about a specific topic, before or after the exam material is posted.
Finals are probably the most academically challenging feat of the year. It seems that most students haven’t considered these assessments as too important yet, but time can go by quickly. As exams near, students, utilizing different strategies, are all looking to prepare for academic success.
