With the end of the semester only six days away and finals right around the corner, some students are starting to suffer from the stress that comes at the end of every semester.
Nevertheless, the chaos of the impending holiday season can only add to the stress factors affecting students.
Ashley Miller, a sophomore nursing major, said holiday preparation as well as finals preparation requires a juggling act on her part.
"I just take the time out to study more and try to balance other things around my schedule," Miller said.
As for her getting her holiday shopping done, Miller said timing is key.
"I go when it's not crowded...early in the morning," she said.
Lisa Hutchins, a senior early childhood education major, said she is struggling to make it through the semester with a full load of classes, a full-time job and a student teaching position.
"I try to do what I wanna do (to get through the end of semester workload)," Hutchins said.
Hutchins said it's a blessing that her family all lives in town, so the holiday preparation is not as hectic as it could be.
"It's pretty much the same every year," she said.
Barbara Bekis, coordinator of the Educational Support Program, said students should get started now by creating a calendar of the dates remaining in the semester.
"Include all due dates or scheduled class events (on your calendar)," Bekis said.
She said students should prioritize based on when things are due and should only worry about the holidays after taking care of their school priorities.
"Keep the first thing first. There are five days of classes left in this semester, then five days for finals," Bekis said. "After finals, students will have 10 days to get ready for the holidays."
She said students have to ask themselves what is important.
"Students should ask themselves, 'Do I have the time and money to repeat this course?' If the answer is no then the student should efficiently put in the time and effort to be successful," Bekis said. "When asked to work more hours at the job, students should say, 'No thank you, college is my first priority.'"
Laura Walk, undecided, said she does prioritize and takes it one day at a time.
"I just try to space my time out between classes so I can get everything done I need to," Walk said. "I try to do it during the week so I have my weekends free."
Walk said she uses her weekends to get ready for holiday festivities and buy gifts.
Bekis offered several more tips for students to get through their finals as stress free as possible.
"Predict the questions that the professor could ask about the topics," she said. "Identify the topics that your professor energetically included in the lectures, learn the information that you missed on tests and quizzes by reviewing your past tests."
Students should compare notes with classmates and look for several ways to apply the information given, Bekis said. If these tactics don't work for a student, they can always visit the ESP Learning Center for more help.
"Some students can surprise themselves with what they can do when there is little time," she said. "Be one of those students."
