Step Away from Beer Pong and Charge Up the Laptop. Finals are Here!

Carrie Schmelkin : Gossip from the Hallways
Carrie Schmelkin
Web Editor, TMC

Step Away from Beer Pong and Charge Up the Laptop. Finals are Here!

I may be far enough removed from college to know that the sight of a Class of 2012 T-shirt elicits the response “The Class of 2012, aww they are like babies!,” but I am certainly not that out of the loop to know exactly what all you college students are thinking these next few weeks: how do I fit in killer keg parties, one last run to my favorite campus diner and studying for finals in the few days I have left before the school year ends?

While I am certainly not here to give you advice on the first two (mostly because I know you will, without a doubt, make sure to play your last game of Flip Cup before summer), I will – as an older and wiser college graduate – shed some light on how to nail your finals.

The end of the school year is tough, no doubt. The weather is finally warming up, the prospect of seeing all your high school buddies is exhilarating and that feeling of “well I won’t see these people for three months” justifies all your actions those last few weeks. After all, college is one big slumber party and the parents never come home.

But you must be careful to not forget about those few tests that creep up at the end of the semester, along with your excessive hangovers – your finals. Although the thought of spending hours cooped up in the library, or worse your un-air-conditioned off campus house, might seem like a nightmare, these critical hours can really be life changing.

Let’s face it, if you are a senior who got a 3.7 first semester and has already secured a job after graduation, you might be thinking, “Who really cares if I bomb my finals?” Well, for starters, your future grad school might. I cannot tell you how many of my peers slacked off those last few days of college, tanked their finals, and paid for it a few years later when they tried to apply to grad school and their senior year GPA was much lower than their underclassmen GPAs.  And for all you underclassmen, don’t think that a place you hope to secure an internship with will look favorably on your less than stellar grades.

So, to my struggling, partying-addicted college friends, here are a few tips to get you through these next few days.

Just Say No to Facebook

Facebook is perhaps your biggest adversary these final days as you are probably much more excited about the party invite you just got for the Cinco de Mayo bash then you are about cramming for Chem. So, do yourself a favor. Limit your Facebook time.

Don’t have the self discipline? Then try Facebook Limiter, a site that helps you block Facebook for a period of time for free. You can block Facebook for specific time durations or control your access on a daily basis. It may sound extreme, but no one will judge you for doing it, especially since they are Facebook abusers just as much as you.

Refrain from Twitterville

Twitter is just as bad if not worse for you than Facebook during this critical juncture of time in your college career as it appears less offensive so you are more apt to frequent the site. You will certainly feel less guilty about quickly checking your Twitter feed every few minutes to see who has updated, because it is less interactive and time-consuming as Facebook.  

But what about your friends who Tweet that they are meeting at your local pub for burger night? Or what about current explosion on Twitter surrounding Jessica Simpson’s birth? – yes, she finally gave birth. Simply put, the Twitter world can wait. If anything is truly earth shattering, I assure you someone will contact you in person.

Hide Your Cell Phone

As strong as you might be to say no to Facebook and Twitter for a few days, none of that does you any good when you have the apps available right on your smartphone. From instant messaging apps to email notifications to games, your cell phone is one of the nosiest distracters of all –with its constant pings, chimes and bells.

Of course a college coed feels totally lost without his/her cell phone so I am by no means advising you to “lose” your phone or ask a friend to babysit it for the time being. Rather, I am asking you to devote a few hours of your day to your studies and put your phone in another room. The “freeness” you feel will truly be liberating.

 

So students; happy studying! You will thank me when you get those A’s and I guarantee that you can still find time for that rousing game of Flip Cup after your finals.

 

 

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