VIDEO: Students Prepare for Finals and Battle Senioritis

It's the time of year that students dread: final time. Donna Musel, Director of the Center for Academic Excellence suggests talking to professors as a way to start studying for finals. Professors can give suggestions on what parts of the material students should focus on when studying. Professors know how individual students are doing and can help fill in the gaps when it comes to the material that each student knows.

When studying in groups, the group members should quiz each other and not simply read through the material. This way, students are forced to think about the answer and not just read the information from the page.

Avoid "all-nighters." Studying all night and not sleep does not help when it comes to taking a final. Donna Musel says, "Your body can't function well if you're not well. I know a lot students pull an "all-nighter," then you go in to take the test and you're so tired you can't remember what's what, and you can't keep things straight." To avoid cramming for tests, start studying early. This will help students feel more prepared and do better on their tests.

Senioritis is a problem that seniors or students leaving BV face during finals preparation time. Senioritis is when students who are graduating or otherwise leaving BV lose focus and start relaxing before the end of year has come. Wind Goodfriend, Assistant Professor of Experimental Psychology said, "Seniors are getting near the end of their college career, they've been dealing with so much stress and anxiety over the past 4 years that they release that anxiety by relaxing too much. So they stop going to class, they stop doing their reading, they stop doing their papers."

Professors encourage students to keep their long term goals in mind to help overcome senioritis. When students focus on what they've been working hard to achieve they stay focused are less likely to start relaxing too soon.

For a more information regarding finals preparation and senioritis see the full interviews with Musel and Goodfriend below.

CAE Study Tips

• Get plenty of sleep

• Eat well

• Study in groups no larger than 3 people

• Study in the room where the material is taught

• Remember to take breaks

• Limit distractions (TV, music, etc.)

• Write out main points for essay questions

• START STUDYING EARLY!