Finals at Southeast Community College are a tough time for many students. Finding the time to study can sometimes be troublesome, with children and jobs pressing for more attention than an Accounting or History review.
But for some students, myself included, have an added obstacle to hop over. I attend face-to-face classes on two campuses, Lincoln and Beatrice. I have a huge passion for journalism and photography and these classes can only be taken on the Beatrice campus. Some are offered online, but I fear that if I enroll in these classes, my academic experience will suffer. I want to make the most out of my college experience.
Final schedules differ greatly on the two campuses I attend. Beatrice redesigns their schedule for the last week to accommodate all exams in an organized manner. The student handbook lays them out in detail, along with a calendar for reminders of other events and notifications. The Lincoln and Milford campus both stick to regular class times and give students that Friday off so teachers can grade exams and hand in final grades.
This is challenging at times to say the least. None of my exams fall on the same day but the driving back and forth cuts into my studying time considerably. I find myself driving more than I do studying anymore and during finals, this can get very stressful. Especially since this quarter I graduate and the ceremony falls on Friday night at 7:30 pm. What a week!
My advice to students who commute between two campuses is this: Schedule your classes so that you are on one campus on Tuesday and Thursdays and keep Monday, Wednesday, and Friday free for the other one. You may get lucky, like I did this quarter, and your classes may fall on their regular day in Beatrice.
Try to schedule your classes later in the day to the one campus you commute to the most. The final may fall later in the day at test time, allowing you more time to review and travel without waking up too early.
Times may change slightly, so make sure you are well rested the day of the exam. It’s a pain to race out of the house and have more than 15 minutes to drive to school.
Eat healthy the entire week and study in 20-minute intervals separated by a constructive break, like grabbing a healthy snack or walking around the block. This will help with stress management and is a constructive contribution to an overall healthy lifestyle.
If all else fails, communicate with your instructors if your schedules are somehow interfering with one another. Instructors are there to help you succeed and you should utilize what you paid for.