Why I Like Finals

By Sam

Yes, I really do like finals. I know how crazy that sounds to most people considering how much studying and stress go into taking a 3 hour test that determines 40 percent of your grade. For me, though, exams are performances where I get to prove myself and all that I’ve learned. I walk into finals expecting to raise my grade and with that mindset comes a virtuous cycle of enjoying finals and doing well on them. Of course, whenever I tell people this they give me one of two responses, one being “no way, nobody can actually like finals” and two being “did you fall and hit your head earlier today?”

Aside from the satisfaction I take from high-pressure situations, I absolutely love the championship-game feel of finals. The whole semester leads up to this one great performance that can raise your grade from a B+ to an A within a 3 hour window. Nobody’s going to pay to watch me fill in small circles with graphite for 3 hours, but for me, the air during finals season is charged with excitement. Within this framing, anxiety and stress are traded in for anticipation and determination. I want to write the final because I want to rise to the challenge. The best part? It doesn’t require some weird gene to enjoy finals, or even to tolerate them. Allow me to demonstrate:

The Virtuous Cycle

I was in the 10th grade when I first started to actually enjoy exams. I remember preparing the morning before a big final and feeling like Michelle Kwan before Salt Lake City (a morsel of figure skating history for you). School isn’t about ‘winning’ of course, it’s about gaining knowledge and skills; but by using the mindset of performance, I become much more confident and motivated.

Once I started to relish the high-stakes environment of exams, I noticed that I started doing better and better on them. Once I started doing better, I then enjoyed them more and now, five years later, here we are. Of course, I don’t always do well on midterms, quizzes, etc. I still have bad exams that aren’t particularly fun, but for the most part, test-taking is something I earnestly look forward to. However much I may enjoy exams, though, it still takes a heckuva lot of preparation to do well.

Here’s how I prep for my finals:

Studying

Just like how everyone learns differently, everyone studies differently as well. That being said, there are some universal studying rules that I always try to follow. First, I eliminate distractions like TV, excessive noise, and even being around people, while I’m working. Second, I spread out my study time to make sure that I’m actually comprehending the material and not just recognizing familiar concepts. Third, I take regular breaks of roughly 5 minutes every half hour and punctuate that with longer unwinding sessions. Fourth, I maximize my space by getting as comfy as possible (usually sans pants at home) and surrounding myself with study materials. Fifth, and finally, I focus obsessively on what I know the least until I feel fully comfortable with all subject matter.

Eating, Sleeping, Relaxing

Studying is the most important thing you do to prepare for an exam. However, it is far from the only thing you need to excel, and you shouldn’t sacrifice your diet, mental health, or sleep in order to study. In fact, cramming the night before a test and forgoing sleep is actually worse for retaining information than studying less but sleeping more. Throughout finals season I make sure I’m sleeping around 8 hours a night, and more if I can afford it. Sleeping helps retention, mood, and focus, all of which tend to be useful come exam time.

Once I’m up I make sure to eat lots and eat well. Sacrificing your health to study won’t do you any favours, plus, your noodles will get lonely. I eat a lot of fruits, vegetables, and other generally healthy foods around exam time to make sure I’m energized and feelin’ fine. Maybe you already sleep and eat well during exam season, and that’s great, but it’s also crucial that you take time to relax.

It’s well known that study breaks are a must whenever you’re preparing for finals, but it’s important to take more than a Netflix episode worth of relaxation time during the studying grind. Doing this will help you keep your sanity and perhaps even enjoy yourself during finals season.

Mindset

Finally, the most underrated part of acing exams: the mindset. It might sound wishy-washy, but your mindset absolutely affects your exam performance. If you think you’re going to tank an exam, you create a self-fulfilling prophecy of mediocrity. On the other hand, if you go into an exam confident in yourself, with a clear vision of crushing it, then not only will you feel good but you’ll also do better. While confidence can never substitute for knowledge, it can make a big difference in your test-taking skills.

Take a multiple choice exam, for instance, if you’re sure you’re going to fail then you’ll trick yourself into answering questions worse than you otherwise would. On the other hand, if you feel confident in your test-taking skills then you can use critical thinking and deduction to do well on questions even if you’re not sure of them. Last, but not least, cultivating a confident mindset simply makes the test-taking experience more fun. I approach my exam as a challenge to be surmounted and it totally eases the pressure, making the experience much more endurable.

Liking exams is weird, I totally get it, and not everyone will start to love them by approaching them the way I do. However, if you prepare diligently, take care of yourself, and see tests as a challenge versus an obstacle then I promise that you’ll start to dread them less and less. Until maybe, perhaps, possibly, one day you’ll find yourself looking forward to them a little bit.

Trust me, you’ve got this.