If you're like most college students, you've cowered at the stress brought on by final exams and partied under the incredible feeling of relief experienced when they're done. If you've ever walked out of class...asking everyone else... "What answer did you put down for the question about....?" -- then you're definitely in need of some academic assistance this semester!  

 You can't erase mistakes that began the first week of classes. There really is no better advice when it comes to cramming for finals than that which suggests NOT to even get yourself into a predicament that will require "cramming." As many "tricks" as you've learned over the years.....as many mediocre grades as you've gotten away with when you really didn't know the material all that well.... it's still never going to spell an "A"-- a 4.0 ... or anything close.. unless you've been preparing for finals .. .in steps... all the way through the semester.  don't let yourself fall into a predicament that requires cramming! When it comes to studying for finals, TheSemester.Com urges all students to begin from day one---the moment you get your syllabus and know what the first lesson is going to be about! It is extremely rare... perhaps even impossible... that an entire semester of work can be learned in one week or even in one month...much less during the course of one night. And while some students argue that they'd rather spend a few hours 'hitting the books' just once or twice a semester than all semester long, most of these naysayers have never truly taken the initiative to experience the carefree feeling of comparative relaxation that follows around students who study just a little bit before each class...throughout the entire semester.

   Don't get us wrong. We're NOT suggesting that any student stress themselves out and begin plotting and planning for final exams on their first day back to school. As suggested in our "first day of class" section, TheSemester.Com believes that all students should focus on smaller goals rather than on larger ones. Avoid becoming engulfed in your syllabi:  study the night before each class as though you were preparing for an exam that would cover what was taught in the previous class. Keep your mind on the smaller modules.. the individual classes.. the building blocks.. and by the time finals roll around.. you'll hardly need to study. Don't spend the semester consciously preparing for finals.. Spend the entire semester studying only the previous classes' material...and you'll have a far better chance of walking away from the semester......carefree....

Recommended reading: The University of Texas has posted some 
excellent study tips on-line. Click here to read them!