The dreaded word: finals. Here at SCCO, the Class of 2016 has just triumphed through our very first finals week, and what an accomplishment to be able to say the first quarter was a success! It’s crazy how fast time flies when you are having fun! And of course, all good quarters must come to an end with finals.

One of the more appealing aspects of our finals week was only having one test a day because it gave me a chance to focus on one final at a time. During the week of finals, we also had no finals on Wednesday. While I wish I could say it was a nice break to relax, it was more realistically a nice break to study for our last two finals. The week prior to finals week was reading period and I tried to start doing some basic review during that time. I did a lot of studying in the library during reading week, and then transitioned to studying at home closer to finals. My roommates are also first year students so we had a few group study sessions throughout the week as well. Overall, I probably spent a total of 4-6 hours a day reviewing at the start of reading period, and ended up spending about 8-10 hours studying closer to, and during, finals week.

To keep myself functioning during finals I drank tea, tea, and, of course, more tea. I knew studying for finals would be fairly stressful, so I tried to stock up on soup, vegetables, and fruit to munch on during the week. I will say, though, there were just some days that required a cheeseburger from In-and-Out. Because studying can be a very tiring, I made sure to get at least 8 hours of sleep every night.I get very antsy being cooped up all day so I made it a must to get to the gym on campus and workout for about an hour everyday as well. It really helped me to get out all that energy that builds up when you are stuck in a chair studying all day. Finals are also a time you rely on not only your classmates for help, but the upperclassman as well. SCCO does a great job providing tutors throughout the whole quarter when you start feeling overwhelmed with the material. I found the upperclassman were great moral support and always gave advice and help when I needed it. Finals week is definitely a stressful time, but it also means the success of finishing the quarter and moving on to the next.

–Jessica Bartl, Class of 2016