Seniors offer useful study tips in preparation for finals week

Finals week is approaching quickly, which means students are cramming in as much study time as they possibly can. This can be a difficult time for those students who struggle with developing good study habits because they may not know useful tools to help them retain the information they are trying to learn.

Carah Pletscher, senior nursing major, offered some words of wisdom based on her experience the past four years.

“I recommend using online flashcard websites like Quizlet, so you can copy and paste terms you are trying to memorize so you don’t have to spend time writing them out,” Pletscher said.

She said Quizlet also offers an app for phones, which makes it easy to study practically anywhere. She mentioned she is currently working on creating her own flash cards for her pharmacology course, which requires her to memorize the names and uses of many medications, so she is making it easier on herself by grouping together the medications that have similar functions.

Pletscher also shared that her favorite study spot on campus, is in the Ann V. Nicholson 4000s.

“I like to go to the 4000s to study because it is always quiet, and there is a fireplace, so I always bring a blanket and work on stuff for a couple of hours,” she said.

Lindsay Lutton, senior psychology major, said she prefers to study in intervals as opposed to long hour blocks.

“I like to study for about 45 minutes, then take a short break so that I’m not overdoing it,” she said.

She also finds it useful to make an outline of the chapters in her textbook or the Powerpoint slides, and then study from that.

“I personally like to write out the key points or terms from the book because it helps me memorize them better,” she said.

Lutton also mentioned she always keeps healthy snacks at her desk when she is studying because she said it helps her to stay energized.

Natalie Kreps, senior chemical engineering major, said being exposed to several types of courses in her major has given her experience with different types of assignments that has helped her learn many study methods.

“One of the things that helps me study is that I like to change environments,” she said. I prefer working on the first floor of the library, and I think that the fact that you can reserve those rooms has been a really valuable resource for me personally because tend to like working in a closed environment.”