Beat Final Exam Stress
 How can you avoid stress during final exams? It’s all in the planning and mental preparation – plus some common-sense ways to keep yourself healthy and well-prepared.
Here are some simple steps you can take to avoid stress overload during final exams from Joel Riley, a counselor at Cedar Valley College:
- Get enough rest and sleep.
- Eat sensible, well-balanced meals.
- Exercise regularly.
- Get organized.
- Avoid self-medication (alcohol and illegal drugs).
- Learn to relax.
Do you need some study tips, too? Miyoshi Holmes, SPAR director at Cedar Valley, adds these helpful hints to help you prepare for final exams and bypass extra stress:
- Study with the person in your class who makes good grades.
- Make a mock test on your own and include questions that you think your instructor will ask.
- Write down those questions on note cards and then use them in a Trivial Pursuit-type game.
- Compare notes with other students to make sure that yours are correct.
- Most importantly, don’t miss class.
- And, as Joel Riley mentioned, eat breakfast and avoid junk food or candy before you take an exam.
Still stressed? Check with your college SPAR office for activities and remedies that will help you prepare for final exams and lessen your stress in the process. North Lake College, for example, offers “Stress Busters” the week before final exams that include live music performances, free popcorn, free massages and other activities to help you manage final exams. Cedar Valley College offers “Stress Busters” on campus the week before final exams as well.
Do you need something a little more organized and a little earlier in the semester to help you tackle final exams? Mountain View College helps its students through a program called “Building Pathways to Success” that goes beyond final exams and tackles topics like note taking tips, critical thinking, test taking, study skills and time management, reading skills and scholarship writing.
Whatever you do, plan ahead to avoid the stress of final exams — and ask for help if you need it. You will survive!
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