Preparing for Final Exams
Final exams for students are quickly approaching as we near December. Finals can be a stressful time for students. You can find the final exam schedule on the Exam times are determined by the student’s class time.
Here are some tips to share with your student to prepare for next month:
Take advantage of VCU’s academic resources.
If your student is facing some challenges with certain class topics, now is a great time to stop by the Campus Learning Center (CLC), located on the first floor of Hibbs Hall. The CLC offers drop-in tutoring, Supplemental Instruction (SI) sessions for certain classes and academic coaching. It’s best to visit now, the CLC gets very busy as finals approach.
If your student has a paper to write, they can also stop by the Writing Center on the fourth floor of the Academic Learning Commons (MCALC) for assistance at any stage of the writing process. Students can make appointments or drop in.
Mark your calendar.
Visual reminders can be a great way to stay on task and manage time. Have your student pick up or print out a calendar and mark all due dates of big projects and finals. This can help them plan times to set aside for studying and working on projects.
Meet with professors during office hours.
Each professor will have office hours set aside to meet with students about concerns they might have with class. Now is a great time for students to set up a meeting to get clarifying questions on the material that has already been covered. This way, moving forward, your student will feel confident with the material already learned.
L.E.A.R.N. to manage stress.
The end of the semester and final exams can be one of the most stressful times for your students, especially if this is their first semester. VCU’s The Well offers many resources to assist students in better managing stress. One of these resources promotes an emotionally-focused strategy to manage your own response to stresses that are beyond our control. This method emphasizes:
L- Laughter
E- Exercise
A- Attitude
R- Rest/Relaxation
N- Nutrition
Check in with your students and make sure that they are making time to sleep, exercise or move around, and scheduling time for relaxation amid the busy finals season. To find out more, check out this fact sheet from University Student Health Services.
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