Finals Tips for Students

Finals Week can be overwhelming for students. With a focus on coffee and cramming, students often forget to take care of themselves mentally, physically, and spiritually. With finals next week, we gathered tips from around campus.

Dr. Travis Craver ’05/’11, Director of Spiritual Formation, encouraged students to remember the biblical principle of napping.

In 1 Kings 19, Elijah was consumed by his circumstances and struggling with despair. In response, Elijah was given a meal and told to sleep. In fact, Elijah took 2 naps!

Dr. Craver stressed the importance of maintaining healthy habits, advising students “to maintain healthy exercise schedules, to eat well, and nap when necessary. These not only help with our mental health but aid in our spiritual readiness to live in a way that reflects Christ in our lives.”

Maintaining healthy exercise schedules has been shown to reduce the risk of developing depression or anxiety by 25%. Whether it is a walk around campus or a workout session in the Fletcher Fitness Center, exercising not only boosts your mood but allows for better blood flow to the brain to improve concentration, helps with memorization, and increases your energy.

Chantelle Lancaster, Director of the Fletcher Fitness Center, encouraged students to “find little ways to limit stress by taking frequent study breaks with light activity, such as a walk.”

Although finals are important, they are not more important than taking care of yourself. Between study sessions and espresso breaks, do not neglect your mental and spiritual health.

Karson Gopffarth ’22 shared that it is important to “keep your priorities in line, despite how tempting it is to put finals above everything.”

Gopffarth added, “I’ve found that when I’ve put my spiritual, mental, and physical health above my schoolwork, I do better on my schoolwork because I’ve taken care of the important things first.”

Other useful tips are to not be afraid to ask for help, do not procrastinate, rewrite your notes, and use silly mnemonics to remember your content.

Caleb Rosenblad ’21, an ACE tutor, recommends students “approach finals with confidence and humility rather than panic and doubt.”

Caleb shared, what he calls, “The Blank Whiteboard Challenge.” He explained, “If there is a class with incredible amounts of information, I recommend getting a whiteboard and moving through all that you think will be on the exam. Talk it out like a lecture as you write on the board. If you cannot sufficiently explain something, you need to spend more time on this. If you feel incredibly confident about a topic move on to spend more time on the topics you are unsure of.”

As you study, remember the importance of healthy habits. We are rooting for you as you take on your finals! Do not forget to take care of yourself!