December 5, 2022
We asked four Nebraska instructors to share useful tips, tricks and resources to help make finals a little (or a lot) less stressful.
Two things we know to be true: 1) finals can be overwhelming, and 2) Husker faculty are amazing. Given this, we asked these four Husker instructors to give their advice for successfully navigating finals. Their finals-conquering insights contain valuable takeaways for all students—regardless of your major!
On getting prepared (and avoiding surprises)
Caterina Bernardini (College of Arts & Sciences) is currently teaching ENGL 150, ENGL 200, ENGL 215 and WMNS 215.
“Do some preliminary research on your proposed paper topic so you don’t find yourself regretting your decision later. I’m a big fan of doing stuff in advance, especially when writing about literature. We have thousands of thoughts and ideas we want to get out, so it’s important to give yourself time to write.”
Priyanka Khandelwal (College of Business) is teaching MRKT 341, 345, 347 and 250.
“To prepare for the exams I would, most importantly, go back and look at the examples that have been shown in class and review and revise your lecture notes. For our Marketing 345 exam, I would also go back and practice running analysis on our statistical software.”
Didier Mena Aguilar (College of Engineering) is teaching BIOC 431 and ENVE 322.
“I always tell my students to prioritize what’s going to be on the exam. I like to tell my students what’s going to be in the exam, but for students in other classes my advice is to ask your professors, ‘What should I prioritize? What should I concentrate on to be able to succeed?’”
Bud Shenefelt (College of Architecture) is teaching DSGN 101, ARCH 210, and ARCH 613 this semester.
“For me, the key to being successful in our projects is having a clear, concise idea of where you want your project to go. Once you have that key concept, every decision you make is driven by that one idea — you can use that as your own little navigation for how to successfully manage the final project.”
Resources for help are available — use them!
Caterina: “The Writing Center is always available — I know that many of my students have been using their services and loving them. I’m very, very grateful for the Writing Center. I also read students’ drafts in advance, because I feel like I owe it to my students to be available to them.”
Priyanka: “Faculty are a resource! If you’re stuck, shoot your instructor an email or show up to office hours. Your friends, classmates and colleagues are also resources. If you’re stuck, you can also reach out to them to help fix a problem.”
Didier: “I highly encourage students to use the internet if they’re not understanding something in the book or course materials. There are awesome, step-by-step animations and breakdowns on YouTube. Resources outside the classroom exist that are really great. Know what works for you and go for it!”
Bud: “I have a TA who’s really helpful for students. He’s in the trenches as a graduate-level student and has insights into the realities of being a student in the College of Architecture.”
Study habits that they use
Caterina: “I always try to have a writing objective for each day. Having a strict deadline or objective in advance for each day forces you to make progress, even if it’s just half a page.”
Priyanka: “I avoid cramming — cramming at the last moment is a recipe for disaster.”
Didier: “When I was a student, I liked to study in groups where I explained things to someone else. When I explained things, that helped me understand the material better.”
Bud:“I like to ask myself, ‘How can I take something that might look like a problem and turn it into an asset?’ You can come up with a really strong project by pulling together what seem to be disparate pieces and challenging the conceptions of what someone might typically do.”
Take care of yourself (and don’t be afraid to lean on your friends)!
Caterina: “Writing is hard work! Reward yourself each day with something, like an episode of your favorite TV show. ”
Priyanka: “Make sure to eat healthy, sleep well, and — if you’re into it — exercise! Listening to some good music can really help cut down stress. If you play music — the piano or any instrument — that too can help calm the mind.”
Didier: “Take care of your health! If you don’t sleep, eat, or take some time to do something outside of studying, you’re not going to perform well on your exams. That’s the biggest piece of advice I have for students.”
Bud: “Look to the people around you in class for help and to see what they’re working on. There’s a kinship that happens among students with all the highs and lows of these projects — having your peers to lean on is healthy.”