With finals fast approaching, many students are getting ready to start studying and preparing. Finals at NDB occur at the end of each semester and are worth twenty percent of a student’s grade. This year, The Catalyst is turning to the seniors to share their best tips and tricks to help get you through your 2020 Winter finals.

The Catalyst (TC): Many students, freshmen especially, are in need of advice to study for finals. What tips would you give them?

Lizzy Weishaar (LW): I’d say my main piece of advice is not to unhealthyily stress over finals, which is easier said than done.

Anna Sanguinetti (AS): Well, since finals look different for every class, whether it’s a test or project, it’s important to plan and designate time to each class for studying or working on a project. It’s good to figure out a plan and make sure you’re not spending too much time studying for one test or perfecting an essay.

Kristen Carpio (KC): My best tip is to block times out of your day to dedicate to studying, specifically writing a time where you are studying a specific subject holds you more accountable to do it.

Cailey Murad (CM): One study tip or recommendation I have is to review all the material learned during the semester and write down important tips, formulas, etc that you will need to remember for the final –creating a Quizlet can also be helpful. Also, I think it is important to finish project-based finals as soon as possible so that you have time to study for test-based finals.

TC: How important would you say studying for finals is in terms of a student’s grade and overall transcript?

LW: I’m not sure if I’m allowed to say this, but I got a D on my Bio final freshman year which brought my grade down, but I still got into a good engineering college. So from personal experience, finals won’t make or break your academic success.

KC: I would say finals are important to do well on and important to dedicate a lot of studying to, but they’re not the final factor that determines your high school career. I don’t think you should get to the point where you’re in a really dark place and overly stressing about finals.