Handling Final Exams

It’s that time of the semester. The time where many law students shut themselves off in their apartments or the library to study, and because we’re online this year, actually take the final exams. Many students have just finished wrapping up their last exam while others still have another one or two to go. Whether you’re done with finals until next semester or you’re still studying for that last exam at the end of the week, here are some things to keep in mind when preparing for finals.

Firstly, everyone is nervous about the exams; it’s not just you. Take a deep breath and remember that you can handle it. You made it to law school for a reason, but you may need to tweak those old college study habits. Not all students have the same study routine, and that’s expected; here are some tips that I have found helpful.

Make a schedule. I personally function better when I have a plan of what I need to get done. A week before exams started I wrote myself a detailed schedule of when to study for what exam. Once it’s down on paper (or on a screen) you can see that you do have more than enough time to study for your exams and you actually do have time to get out of your house.
Exercise. It may be exam time but resist the urge to close yourself off in your house and not do anything but study. Let’s face it you’re not studying for 12 hours straight; after a certain amount of time your brain stops absorbing the information and you’re just sitting there staring at your computer screen. It’s totally okay to take 30-60 min to get up go for a walk or to the gym, and get some endorphins flowing. Clear your head for a bit and then get back to studying.
Color coordinate your notes/outline. This has been extremely helpful for me, if it’s not something that works for you that’s totally fine! It’s important for everyone to find a way to organize their notes that most conducive to how they study, find what format works for you!

Remember everyone finals are not the end of the world. They’re a necessity to the law school experience and every student goes through them. Just remember to study and try your hardest! And when it’s time for that test I wish you the best of luck!