Christmas and Hanukkah aren’t the only things that students are preparing for in December – finals week begins on the third week of December.
Students enter dead week, or the preparation week prior to finals week, with the mindset that the final can either make or break your grade in a class.
“Dead week is extremely stressful and chaotic,” said sophomore Jessica Chang. “All the teachers are piling a bunch of work on us to prepare us for finals and we’re all trying to make sure we know our material so that we can pass our tests.”
A finals week or some type of final exam has been a commonplace in most schools worldwide, however it has had negative effects on students at times. According to Grand Valley Lanthorn, finals time increases potential for suicide rates as students become overly stressed over grades and other matters.
Sophomore Adrienne Chin said, “Finals week is the time of the year that every high school student dreads. There is a lot of pressure put on by teachers, parents, and students themselves to do well on finals and achieve the grade that they want.”
Finals week is difficult, but each and every student has his or her own way of preparing for this dreaded week of exams.
Senior Ashley Cheung said, “I started studying for the exams a couple of weeks beforehand. I went through everything from the semester and worked on my weak points throughout the year.”
“You have to not procrastinate and don’t overload yourself on outside activities,” said Cheung.
However, while students are stressing out and preparing for finals, some seniors have decided that once college applications are turned in, high school doesn’t matter anymore.
Cheung said, “It’s my last finals of high school, so I want to do the best I can. For people who have Senioritis, I think grades are important and outside things shouldn’t affect your grades. If you want to be get into a good college this is not the time to screw up.”
All around finals week is an important time of the year and it all begins on Dec. 15.
