This year of online school has been an adjustment for all students and staff, but with finals coming soon, students have started to ramp up their preparations.
Finals start May 28 and continue June 1, the Tuesday after Memorial Day. Finals can be a big part of a student’s grade, so it is easy for students to stress about the upcoming finals. Managing stress and study habits can be difficult, but students can ensure success without sacrificing their health.
“Prioritize mental health, and just health in general… Study in intervals and never leave anything to the last minute,” said Guillermo Mendoza, a Carlmont junior.
In order to try and maintain mental health and reduce stress, students should try to study throughout the course of a year instead of scrambling at the last minute to study for exams. If students put studying off, it can lead to a situation where the student tries to quickly learn all of the material, known as “cram.” According to Grade Power Learning, the additional stress caused by cramming at the last minute harms students. Eric Zhai, a sophomore at Carlmont, tries to remain relaxed when preparing for finals.
“I think it’s best if you just don’t worry about finals too much since, at least for me, I remember things better when I review them in a more relaxed atmosphere,” Zhai said.
Zhai studies in a relaxed environment to help retain information and prepare. While staying relaxed can be helpful, building good study habits is important. James Donnelly, a Geometry teacher at Carlmont High School, talked about the importance of good study habits.
“When I was in high school, I had horrible academic study habits. And because I never developed good study habits, I failed out of college the first time I went. It wasn’t until I returned to college many years later that I finally developed study habits that resulted in success. So, I guess you could say I have seen the results from both perspectives,” Donnelly said.
Taking time to develop good study habits can go a long way to ensuring success in classes. Students should never be in a situation where they are trying to learn an entire year’s material in the space of days. This can lead to unnecessary stress and could lead to students sacrificing their sleep. Finals can be manageable if students put in the right amount of effort throughout the year. Proper nutrition, hydration, and a good night’s sleep can greatly impact students’ performance on finals.
“Academic study habits take years to build, but anyone can do it by establishing a little routine,” Donnelly said.
