Getting through finals

With finals week approaching students are beginning to feel the pressures of exams, a time when stress can lead to an uncomfortable imbalance in an individual’s lifestyle.
“I’m always nervous around exam time,” April Fulton, a Nursing major at Sinclair Community College said. “My major is such a fast pace, I always have a lot of work to do.”
Sinclair offers several resources to help alleviate the anxiety associated with exams. The school’s website (http://www.sinclair.edu/support/counseling/studenttips/) has student study tips from getting motivated, dealing with test anxiety, to test taking strategies and good time management.
“Time management is crucial,” Sinclair counselor Eric Henderson said. “As a general rule of thumb, students should study two hours for every credit hour they’re enrolled in.”
Henderson also suggests students do weekly reviews of the materiel they cover in class.
“By constantly reviewing and rehearsing, the information stays with you,” he said. “Then you don’t have a chance to forget it.”
Good study habits help ensure a less stressful finals week, according to Henderson.
He also encourages students to envision their success in advance.
“Especially for visual students, many people benefit from printing out pictures that depict the end goal of their major,” he said. “It’s important to pay attention to your self-talk, students get caught in self-sabotage, it can be hard to wash that out and replace it with more positive thinking.”
Other tips for reducing stress levels include eating healthy foods, reducing the time spent on social media and balancing a healthy sleep schedule.
Business Management major Sam Morrison said it’s also important to take time to relax. “Anything to take your mind off of the stress, even if it’s just taking a moment to sit and talk with friends,” he said.
Another student said it is good to step away from studying when feeling stressed.
“You have to step away from it,” Sinclair student Julia Troidl said. “You can cram and cram all you want, but until you give yourself permission to step away and come back, it won’t sink in.”
Troidl has also worked as a tutor at Sinclair for the past three semesters.
“My students get stressed just like I do, we all do,” she said.
For those students who will stress regardless, Sinclair is planning once again to have a “puppy room” available during the finals week. Sinclair students will have the opportunity to relax with a number of puppies, a technique for relieving stress that has yielded positive results in the past. “Previously it’s been a great success,” Henderson said. “Students have said how much calmer they feel after spending time with the animals.”