The last few weeks of the semester are always the hardest. Suddenly, everything that you put off because “It isn’t due until the end of the semester” is now a giant stressor because abruptly it becomes “This is literally due tomorrow.” It’s usually a crazy, stressful and not fun time. Many are usually running on pure coffee instead of running on sleep. You might see someone sleeping in the College of Business or the AMU and instead of thinking that they’re strange, you wonder why you didn’t bring a blanket so you could do the same thing. It’s definitely a very strange time on campus, where you can do almost anything and everyone will just shrug it off and remark, “It’s finals week, so it’s fine.”

This being my fourth semester at UF, I thought I would share with you some of my favorite ways to try and keep it together during the insane last two weeks of the semester.

Shelby’s Tips and Tricks to Surviving the End of the Semester:

1. Get sleep. No one can take an hour and half final when running on very little sleep. If you think that you won’t be able to get a ton of sleep during finals week, try and catch up on sleep before finals week kicks off! Your body needs sleep and you will perform so much better when you are well rested.  Besides, after a certain time there’s no way your brain is even soaking up any of the information you’re studying! Even more, getting enough sleep insures that your immune system stays in tip-top shape. There’s nothing worse than trying to struggle through finals week while not feeling well.
2. Take breaks. I totally get that you want to study as much as you can before your exams so you can try and get the best grade possible, but as stated in my last tip, your brain can only retain so much information at once! Get up, take a walk, relax and step away from what you’re working on. This will help you to better focus when you are studying. This also helps reduce your stress levels so you can spend more time actually studying, and not just on stressing out about all the things you need to learn and do.
3. Stay hydrated and eat. I swear, everything is better if you’re hydrated. Don’t forget to be drinking water while drowning in your textbooks. Also, don’t forget to eat. This seems kind of silly, but I know a ton of people that get so caught up in their studies that they skip meals. This is not good! How can you focus on studying when your stomach is distracting you?
4. Stay positive. It’s so easy to become so overwhelmed during the final weeks of the semester. Literally everything is happening so quickly and all at once. It’s hard! It’s totally normal to feel very stressed! However, you need to remember to take a big breath and know that everything will work out how it’s supposed to.
5. Remain calm. I know this sounds impossible, but by reminding yourself often that you can do this and that you will do this, you’d be amazed at the results. By being confident in your work, your exam scores will probably increase! So just relax! You got this!

My hope is that with these tips in your back pocket, you can crush your last weeks of the semester! Good luck, happy studying and don’t forget– summer is so close! You got this!

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