As we make our way toward the tail end of the semester, students at Georgia Southern have to deal with increased work loads, tougher assignments and final projects. With April being the last full month of the semester, the normal reaction is to go into overdrive and move into the library. Other students respond by curling up into a ball and giving up with a bowl of ice cream at their feet. Either way, the end of the semester is a stressful time for students and professors.

Professors have this annoying habit of putting all of the work for every class due on the same week. They even have the gall to give it a specific name. I mean what kind of a name is ‘finals week?’ My response to the inevitable spiral down is to deny that anything is happening and act as if the end of the semester is a figment of my imagination. It works pretty well when you have been acting that way throughout the entire semester. If you live your college career as if it’s always syllabus week, then there’s nothing that’ll ruin your days.

In all seriousness though, the end of the semester is a stressful time and dealing with the workload and time management is a tough balance for all students. According to Jodi Caldwell, Ph.D., the Counseling Center sees a spike in students making appointments for anxiety and depression during the weeks prior to finals week. The ability to find a way to cope with the stress is just as important as preparing for your classes. While studying is important, ensuring that you are healthy should always be a greater focus for you.

While the end of the semester passes, I tend to find myself creating new ways to study and working at all hours of the night. Handling the final weeks of classes has never been my strong suit. But as I progress through my years here at college, I find new tips and tricks from my professors and friends. A large amount of students tend to isolate themselves from other people while working which creates an even more stressful environment. Retreating into yourself makes it harder to get work done and puts strain on your well being. To go along with that, partnering up is a fantastic way to get more work done in an efficient manner. Quizzing yourself before a test is a powerful way to prepare and having another person quiz you helps even more.

As each assignment’s difficulty grows through the weeks of April, students need to find a new way to approach the workload that is laid out in front of them. This week, we talked to students on campus about how they prepared for the end of the semester.

How do you prepare for the end of the semester?

Austin Meaut, sophomore construction management major

“Basically, I guess going back to class because you haven’t really been going all semester. So you just buckle down, go to class, do your work and get on top of your grades because you only got about five more weeks left.”

Erin Medford, junior sociology major

“I go to Dingus and pretend like I don’t have responsibilities.”

Blake Davlin, sophomore business management major

“I normally study really hard and return my textbooks. But really I just take a lot of Adderall and load up on caffeine and stay up all night long. That’s pretty much all I do for finals and stuff.”

Lorenzo Bryson, junior political science major

“I try not to panic too much and try to stay on top of all my studies. I try to get there in the morning, sleep in the evening time and wake up early in the morning to study some more.”