Coping with Finals: How to Handle Exams

Students at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg will take their final exams in the week of Dec. 14 – 18 to end the Fall 2015 semester. While faculty and counselors tell students not to procrastinate or pull all-nighters in order to decrease stress levels and to increase chances of high scores on exams, students tend to cope with finals in their own ways: helping one another.

One of the most common ways to prepare for finals—academically and psychologically—is participation in study groups to review notes and study guides for finals.

“I occasionally participate in study groups and I know that they help out a lot,” said Carly Cardello, a junior Biology major. “For me, I am able to discuss the information with my classmates and we are also able to get questions answered that we are not sure about.”

Aside from the general cramming sessions, students at Pitt-Greensburg have alternative options to help them clear their minds and prepare for finals. Stress-relieving activities are held on campus every fall and spring semester before finals week: Stress Less Day, under the funding and functioning of Active Minds; and Up All Night, from the Student Activities Board (SAB).

“Stress Less Day is a time for students to come and relax and gives them two hours of not having to having to think of school, work, and life,”  said Jonathan Corleto, a senior psychology major and the Active Minds President. “The main activity that attracts everyone is the therapy dogs.”

In addition to therapy dogs, Active Minds offers students activities such as cookie-making and eating, coloring pages and crayons, and stress ball-making with flour and balloons. This year, Stress Less Day will take place on Dec. 10 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the gym.

The next day, SAB will kick off finals week with Up All Night, which offers students appetizers and drinks, music, and themed activities.

“Up All Night in general is an event designed for students to come and hangout to play games and do different activities to relieve their stress from finals,” Cardello said. “It allows student to have fun and they can spend a few hours away from studying to do this.”

The theme for Up All Night this year is Bounce Back.  SAB plans to have a bouncy house and a ball pit as some of the activities for the evening