Finals week: a week of last-minute study cramming, stressing over the “pass” mark and praying for exams to be over, is upon the University of Oregon.
When asked what word comes to mind when they hear “finals,” most students responded with the word “stress.”
While exams can be stressful, there are ways to make the experience slightly more bearable. Students have various methods of stress management, study habits and finals week superstitions to lessen worry during this time.
The No. 1 study tip recommended by students of all ages was to find a spot to study outside of a place associated with relaxation. Freshman Juniper Weynard said they would recommend leaving the dorm, saying that there are “so many great spots to study.”
Students recommended many different spaces on campus, including the Erb Memorial Union, Mills International Center, William W. Knight Law Center and the reservable study rooms in the Knight Library.
Hunter King, a junior at UO, said she likes to switch locations every two hours. “I get really fatigued if I stay in the same spot. I just get bored and distracted. If I move around, it feels like I’m starting over,” she said.
Senior Jacob Dirkx recommends students to “enrich” their study experiences. “One could easily just go to the library and work in a windowless room and maybe be productive, but for me, I’ve found that kills motivation,” he said.
Finding new and interesting places to study, maybe even trying different drinks to “keep some variability in there keeps your mind engaged and active,” even if what you’re doing might be tedious. “It puts a little creativity into the whole thing,” Dirkx said.
Dirkx’s favorite place to study is the café in the College of Design’s Lawrence Hall. “It’s a bunch of arts students, so they make a pretty mean London fog,” Dirkx said.
Other students also had their drinks of choice for a study session. The consensus seemed to be that any drink works fine, as long as it has caffeine; energy drinks, iced coffee and yerba mate were the most common drink choices.
Students also have methods to manage stress during the heavy academic grind. Taking care of the body with exercise and substantial sleep was a popular method among UO students. King said she likes to run or go to the gym during finals. “I’m usually way more stressed out when I don’t get enough sleep,” King said.
Dirkx agreed and said that moving your body helps get rid of stress, so it doesn’t “sit around.”
Another way to stay on top of working and studying for finals is to stay organized.
“Manage your time … I just try to put everything away or I’ll procrastinate,” sophomore Benjamin Totsky said.
Jenny Lee, a junior, recommends writing everything down on paper. She writes out her schedule for the whole week so she doesn’t get overwhelmed about studying. “I also retake my notes on paper. I feel like paper is really helpful with that,” Lee said.
Others have systems like on-and-off studying, such as freshman Brooklyn Bybee, who said she studies for 30 minutes, then gives herself a five-minute break to eat a snack or go on her phone and then does another 30 minutes of studying.
In addition, finals week superstitions exist for college students, who, like superstitious sports fans, have everything from lucky pencils to lucky shoes.
Freshman Mara Lincoln has special ladybug earrings that she wears for each exam, which were given to her by her grandmother.
Brooklyn Phillippe, a freshman at UO, said she likes to send out “good luck” text messages to her friends during finals.
“If I give out good luck to people, it will come back to me,” Phillippe said.
