by Ashlyn Swain| Staff writer
‘Twas the night before finals when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse… Except for junior Jacob Quintero, who was cramming every bit of information into his mind that he could. He wept while his hand cramped from the labour of note taking and he started to wish he had studied before this fateful night.
“I haven’t studied anything yet, actually,” Quintero says on Dec. 9, a week before finals. “Do little bits of studying each night while gradually increasing it. Don’t cram, like I am.”
Quintero happens to be in all Advanced Placement (AP) classes, but the finals don’t seem to be worrying him.
“Physics and APUSH are the only ones really concerning me,” Quintero says.
On the flip side, senior Mark Nickels is exhibiting habits that all underclassmen should learn from.
“I am using the reviews that the teachers give us, my old tests and quizzes, and all of the notes from this semester to review all the concepts,” Nickels says. “I will also go back and retake the tests to see how I will do on the final.”
Psychology Today reports in the article, “Hard Work Beats Talent”, that working hard to achieve goals is a healthy habit for not only a person’s wellbeing in a workspace, but understanding concepts can also be healthy for morale.
“It’s just a matter of understanding that If we don’t study, we will fail,” Quintero says.
Many good studying tools both online and for a cell phone are Khan Academy , Quizlet, Evernote, and Flashcards+. Nickels reports to using most of these.
“I like to work alone but I have been known to review the concepts with one or two other people and using apps to support my studying habits,” Nickels says.
According to a few teachers, including Ms. Rajput and Ms. Perez, both the biology and math departments host tutoring and study sessions for students who need help or just want to review. Along with this they give out reviews, make study guides on Quizlet or Quizizz.
“Never underestimate any final, always review and test your knowledge, even start studying weeks before the final,” Nickels says. “Also study for day 3 and day 4 finals early and don’t wait until day 1 and day 2 are over, I used to do that and it usually did not end up going well.”
