As the fall semester wraps up, finals week tumbles in for Terra Linda students and stress levels are high for students. A week for preparation dubbed, “Study Week” is going on right now to prepare students for finals. Diving into finals week this 2022-2023 school year, Finals have been bringing nerves up. Having multiple tests in one week, seems to amp up time and studying during the year. A survey by MentalHelp reported over 31% of U.S students put finals and midterms as their number one stressor in high school.

“I feel that the tests will overwhelm and make me feel unprepared the day of finals.” Abigail Cifuentes, a freshman at TL, explained when asked how she feels for the first time. Many students expressed the same thoughts. Preparation and studying is the key to success, Mia Parachan, a sophomore, explained. Mia constantly tried talking to her teachers as well. Talking to your teachers on how to work through study guide packets, notes, and misunderstandings can be one of the most helpful things you can do. She states, “I was very stressed the first time, study guides from multiple classes felt overwhelming; To help keep up with my work I split every class through different days and worked on the things I didn’t understand the most. I decided to start talking one on one to my teachers for advice and key points on certain topics.”

Breaking up work by day and staying organized can help prepare students for next week. According to a survey on high school and college students, over 88% say that after becoming organized, their work ethic and results increased. Most students interviewed showed that they had a kind of studying app such as Quizlet that helped improve their studying. Over 60 million students had been reported to use Quizlet to help memorize and prepare for final exams. Juliana Pommier, a Junior, explained that studying was not the only thing she had done to keep up with her tests in the past. Constantly taking breaks to relax was the key to focus and comprehend everything a student is studying. Juliana describes what she had done in the past, “I usually used music as a way to relax, it helped me go through my work without feeling too stressed. I tend to take breaks every hour of studying to not completely drown in my work.”

To keep focused, students shouldn’t completely stay hours on end studying. While studying, it’s important to take brain breaks and not feel overwhelmed. Utilizing breaks, listening to music, talking to friends and getting good sleep should be prioritized, according to the students and teachers at TL. As fall finals approach closer, stress continues to rise, students find different ways to keep organized throughout the week. Studying methods, breaks and questions help keep students with an open mind to finals.