The word “finals” strikes a chord of fear in the heart of every student. But with proper preparation and a little bit of confidence, the dreaded finals can turn into the grade saving boost any student could wish for.

First Semester Finals will occur on the 31st of January and the 1st and 2nd of February this year, after being moved back from their original dates due to earlier snow days.

There are a number of ways to improve the finals experience, and there is one key to success that everyone seems to overlook; sleep. Sleep is huge. It rests the brain and prepares the body for the day ahead. By staying up until three studying, a brain loses valuable time to recuperate and fully absorb all the hours of studying. It is much better to go to bed at 10:30 and skip a little studying than to stay up until 2 am covering extra material.

Sleep is super important, but unfortunately sleep alone will not secure a good grade on the finals. Before becoming overwhelmed with all six classes, create a plan. Make sure to distribute study time according to the level of difficulty of each class. After creating a master schedule highlighting everything that needs to be reviewed, one can be fully ready to begin the studying process.

Students who overstretch themselves tend to forget material, so focus particularly on difficult sections, or sections that are critical to the curriculum of each class. After mastering these, spread to smaller lessons and ensure a general knowledge of each course is retained.

Make sure to start the studying process early, around two to three weeks before finals, to avoid being overwhelmed. And remember: do not over stress. Getting overly anxious will only make the finals experience even worse, so stay calm and collected throughout the process.

Each test is a little different, but multiple choice tests are fairly common. Though students tend to prefer these to open response, multiple-choice can be tricky as they often have two answers that seem correct. So always be wary and reread the question, and when in doubt, instincts are the best thing to fall back on.

Yes, finals may seem like a scary beast, but rest up, study hard, and fall back on the knowledge accumulated throughout first semester sitting in your brain. Good luck!