As the last week of classes has rushed past, the week of final exams has come knocking on our front door.
“I have heard of many different exam prepping methods. For example some students chew gum before the exams and others eat dark chocolate,” said Mary Brundage, Associate Dean of Students.
Many students will find themselves full of stress during finals week, while others enjoy the extra spare time.
“When it comes to exams, I think time management is huge,” said Brundage. “Students who use time more wisely are more successful.”
The key to time management is compiling a schedule that includes the dates of exams, times of work, and set plans for free time and utilizing such a schedule. If this does not occur, a lot of students find themselves in a crunch period.
“When students do assignments last minute, they often cut and paste more than usual. When their action has been caught, they come to my office and claim that they didn’t intend to plagiarize,” said.
The Writing Center provides services that help avoid such a scenario. They help fix your errors, works cited page, and much more.
“When a student comes in, we not only help them correct their own mistakes, but also help them not make it again in the future,” said Tracy Pickering, a NMU senior with a major in International Studies.
The Writing Center also provides advice on how to write essays, take essay exams, and much more.
“It is best to take as much time as possible when writing an essay,” said Pickering, “Write a paper a week before it is due and read it over while editing the night before it is due.”
The final time to visit the Writing Center will be Thursday, April 26 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. In order to gain access to the writing center during this time, you must sign up for an appointment on the sheet outside the Writing Center’s door.
Even though the Writing Center closes on April 26, there is help for students and their papers.
“Emailing professors about your papers and telling them that you would like to go over your papers with them is a great thing to do,” said Pickering.
Students not only deal with essays, but also with exams. If a student is having a hard time understanding material, All Campus Tutoring (ACT) provides tutoring services in all subjects.
ACT provides both study groups and walk-in tutoring sessions. Walk-in tutoring sessions will end on Thursday, April 26th and all study groups will end Friday April 27th.
With the Writing Center and ACT closing, students are left to fend for themselves. To help students on their journey of studying, the Starbucks will be extending their hours.
To accompany the extended hours of Starbucks, the Starbucks Study Lounge is open until 3 a.m. Monday to Friday. Though these hours are extended, some people prefer a quieter place.
“The library provides services that extend from checking out books and scanning items to borrowing a whole punch,” said Mary Freier, Head of Public Services Associate Professor.
“We did a head-count and found out that there were 81 NMU students utilizing the library as a study space on Sunday night,” Freier said.
The library has made several investments in new couches and chairs. It also has an area in the back of the 2nd floor that is perfect for hiding from distractions.
“The best way to study is by leaving the distractions at home, turning off the cellphone, and taking 30 minute increments to study and 15 minute breaks,” said Freier.
During finals week: the library hours are normal; Starbucks is open Sunday to Wednesday until midnight and on Thursday until 7 p.m.; and the Starbucks lounge is open until 3 a.m. Monday to Friday.
With the help of Starbucks’ coffee, extended lounge hours, and quiet study spaces in the library, exam week can be made less stressful. Just remember, no matter what happens during this week, we have a summer to look forward to.
