Sophomore Sentiments: Tips and tricks to help students conquer end of the year finals procrastination

The end of the semester is upon us, and that means warm weather, longer days, and a general carefree attitude among students. It also means an onslaught of final exams and projects, and more importantly, a complete and total lack of desire to do any of them.
Everyone procrastinates a little bit, but for me it really kicks into gear around this time of year. I have gone and will continue to go to extraordinary lengths to not get any form of work done.
That being said, there are definitely strategies and tips to help you study. I’m personally a fan of the “panic and cry” method. It’s a fairly simple, two-step plan, and it is as follows: first we panic, then we cry.
In all seriousness, there’s plenty of ways to study effectively. Start studying a few days before the test. I never did this until recently, but I’ve realized that trying to cram for a semester-cumulative exam in one night isn’t fun. I’ll usually start to study three days before a big test, just looking over my notes and organizing them to start remembering the material. By the day before the test, I’m usually pretty familiar with everything and don’t need to cram — just a quick review and I’m fine.
Index cards are another good way to study if your test has a lot of concepts and definitions to memorize. With the word on one side, definition on the other, write ’em up and quiz yourself.
If your professor gives you the essay questions ahead of time, outline them in advance. The test material is provided for you — take advantage of it.
As for projects, start those in advance, especially if you have to present them the next day. Last spring, I stayed up until 6:30 a.m. working on a final project and presentation for a class. When I had to present that morning, not only was I cranky, but I looked like a trainwreck. I need my beauty rest, and I’m almost positive I lost points because I looked like a zombie.
The common theme in all these tips is fighting the desire to laze and buckling down to work. Just remember, in just a few days, summer will be here.

-Will Gallagher
Sophomore arts administration major

Printed in the 04/30/14 edition.