Ahmed: With finals approaching, start preparing early

Red and yellow leaves teeter about as the wind carves away at the trees. Recurrent rainfall… Red and yellow leaves teeter about as the wind carves away at the trees. Recurrent rainfall masks the gray of Pittsburgh with a shimmer that dances in the fleeting sunlight. Cool fronts rush through the streets in the early evening hour. You know what’s imminent: finals week, and the tears, bravery and caffeine that come with it.

Yes, though we are still making our way through November and gearing up for a hopefully relaxing holiday of turkey, thanks to the unfortunately early start of Christmas music, we’re also aware that finals are fast approaching.

Finals never made sense to me. Assessing students’ knowledge of all the information they learned in every course they are taking within the same 120 hours doesn’t seem to show much more than how much last-minute work students can tolerate. But finals aren’t disappearing anytime soon, so it’s probably best we prepare for the inevitable rather than question it.

Between now and finals week, there are a few things we can do to make the final chapter of this semester a smooth one. Now is indeed a good time to think about this — we have a few days off soon in case we need them.

For one, if you haven’t been organized with your course materials during the term, get things together as soon as you can. Nothing is worse when preparing for a big exam than shuffling through papers hypothesizing what you’ll be responsible for knowing. If this continues to be a problem this semester, you’ll know in the spring to stay organized from the start.

And for that matter, stay on top of the past material as much as you can; fight the urge to fall into an early lull as vacation time approaches. Finals do tend to test you on knowledge attained throughout the entire semester, but it’s usually the case that they’ll focus heavily on the most recent material. Be diligent so studying later will just be a review, a customary routine.

A result of staying on top of the material now is the decreased likelihood of pulling all-nighters later on. As courageous and cool as pulling an all-nighter sounds, the science behind it makes it seem more rash than remarkable. According to the National Sleep Foundation, an educational organization dedicated to increasing public sleep health, skipping sleep has a variety of unwanted effects, including the inability to concentrate and solve problems.

You want to avoid it; I once did two in a row and started falling asleep with my eyes open, if you can believe that.

You can also prepare to prepare for finals week. That means getting minor tasks out of the way so you can dedicate yourself to just your exams during those crucial hours. These minor tasks could be last-minute assignments, essays, applications for various activities, finals meetings for your student groups and the like. Maintaining control of your schedule is an absolute must. Speaking of which, know your finals schedule thoroughly, so you can prepare accordingly.

For the actual study time, everyone does it differently. Some people prefer the bustle of Hillman Library and others the comfort of their dorms. Either way, studying where it is quietest is always a sound choice. What allows for even more concentration is studying in some unknown corner of a building in which there is no cell-phone reception, or Wireless PittNet. It’s just you, the book and the magic that will follow.

How early to prepare is a question you can answer; Can you prepare for an exam for a few weeks, or do you find that a drag and the pressure of the two days before better? If you’re the former type of student, then Thanksgiving break might have added benefits. If your final is an essay rather than a traditional exam, it makes even more sense to start early. Racing the clock in writing an essay is akin to realizing what you should know for an exam the day before — it’s not pretty. So prepare.

When finals week is finally here and you’ve prepared in advance as much as you can, then the marathon won’t seem so bad anymore. Nonetheless, you will get mentally fatigued as you muscle your way through the week. Keep yourself fresh after every exam — you don’t want to stumble your way through the last couple of exams in exhaustion. That means leaving the studying for an hour and doing something relaxing. It keeps stress levels down and keeps you sane.

I’m sure you have your own methods for dealing with finals week. But preparing early will help anyone and is probably the most important thing to consider. I wish you the best.

Write Abdul at aba24@pitt.edu