BY ALLISON DONOFRIO
Staff Writer
As students are settled into their spring classes at McKendree, I, an online student, conducted a survey before, during and after finals to see how students handled stress for the fall semester. The survey collected data on how many hours he/she studied for finals and how they dealt with stress during finals. A total number of 14 responses were collected. 35 percent of students said they were stressed on a level of 2 for finals last semester, on a scale from 1-10 with 1 being the highest. Meaning, that 35 percent of students were very stressed for midterms and finals. It is also interesting to note that there were 2 responses who said they were hardly stressed at all for finals, with a 9 out of 10 responses.
Studying is a very important part of doing well for finals, in my opinion. I’ve found that studying for midterms and finals lessens my stress levels drastically. How many hours do McKendree students study for them? 42.86 percent stated he/she studies 4-6 hours for finals. However, 35.71 percent state he/she studies between 7-10 hours for finals. Not many stated they do not study much for finals.
Besides studying, what can McKendree students do to deal with finals? There were some very interesting results. A couple of students stated he/she takes a break by forgetting about finals and taking a study break. Rhoda Warner, a senior, stated that she “goes to the park in an effort to get away from the thoughts of deadlines.” She also stated at the end of the survey that she “feels it is important for students to gain an understanding of how much stress they can handle during this time. Midterms and finals can either make or break you, and your coping mechanism is vital to your success!” Having the right mindset can definitely can impact a student’s mood when it comes to finals!
Constance Lyles, a senior, had advice on how to combat finals anxiety. “My advice would be to just breathe, and don’t let anxiety over a test be the reason why you don’t do your best,” she said. “Being stressed out and anxious over a final is a big reason why people make mistakes and mess up more.”
Psychology professor Tami Eggleston agreed. “I think it is important to try and break things down, decide what you can control, decide what you can do and then take a breath and move on. Part of succeeding in college and in life is not just about getting things done, but it is learning to handle the stress of getting things done.”
As students have completed midterms from the fall semester and will soon gear up for midterms, remember to calm down and realize you have plenty of time to study for finals! Midterms and finals are important, but your mental health is important as well, so try to not stress too much over them.
