Final exams can be a stressful and anxious week, especially for students who are experiencing them for the first time.

Finals are broken up into three days. The finals for first, second, and third periods take place on Dec. 20. Finals for fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth periods are on Dec. 21 and finals for tenth period are on Dec. 22.

Each day of finals, students will be released earlier than usual. For the first and second day of finals, students can leave at 12:45 p.m and on the last day of finals students are released at 9:25 a.m.

Each class will have 90 minutes for the final. What the final will be depends on the teacher and the subject. Some classes make you write an essay, some make you do multiple choice types of tests, or some do both.

As a senior, I understand the pressure and anxiety final exams can cause so I thought it would be helpful if I wrote about how I prepare for finals.

I hope the section helps any students who feel overwhelmed or nervous about finals.

Before going into detail about how I organize myself, a big tip I’d like mention is that, when a teacher hands out a study guide, complete it, even if it takes a bit of time. They are very helpful and nearly everything on the study guide will be on the final.

Teachers give study guides to help students. It’s not busy work and although the study guides might be tedious, they are helpful.

I usually begin to organize myself a week or so before finals.

What I like to do first is go online or simply ask my teachers what grade I need to get on my final in order to pass the class with whatever grade I want.

After I know what score I need to get for each final, I rank them highest to lowest.

That’s how I decide how much time I need to study for each final.

If I don’t need to get a high score on a final, I’ll probably only study around 40 minutes to maybe an hour.

If the score I need to get is 80 percent or higher, I prioritize those tests and usually spend around three to four hours studying for them throughout the week.

After I know which tests are more crucial than others, I personally like to make a schedule for myself regarding which days I’ll study for what final. It helps me organize myself better and feel a bit more relaxed.

I also think that making a schedule helps me actually study and not just push it away or procrastinate.

Once all of that is done, I find friends or classmates who are willing to study with me. We either organize a video chat, phone call, or a study date. Studying with other people really helps me. It helps me understand anything I’m confused about and it just generally motivates me more than studying by myself.

I always use the study guide as a basis of what I need to focus on. I also go through my notes to clear up any confusion and to review.

And finally, I always talk to my teachers regarding questions or concerns that I have. They are always willing to help and also understand the stress finals cause.