Jay’Mi Vazquez – News Editor
As the university approaches final exams week, levels of stress and anxiety rise among students.
According to a study conducted by MentalHelp in 2016, 89% of college students are stressed two to four times each semester, around 30% said they are stressed the entire time, and 31% of students blamed their stress on midterm and final exams.
Students expressed their thoughts on how prepared they feel for their finals and how it has impacted their mental state.
Early childhood education major Sarah Khan, a junior, said that the two weeks before final exams are the most stressful time for her due to the amount of work she must do.
“I feel like this semester had a lot of stress, given the state of the world and all the things happening in it,” Khan said. “I definitely feel stressed; however, I think that’s a universal college student feeling right now.”
Khan said she is trying to give her full attention to her classes and preparing the best she can to get good grades on her final exams.
Psychology major Jalil Pena, a freshman, said he feels prepared for his finals.
“I have two or three finals; I feel prepared for them. I’ve been getting good grades on my midterm exams and on my tests,” Pena said.
Pena said even though he feels prepared, he is anxious to get good grades on them. He does not want to potentially fail a course due to a bad final exam grade.
“As far as next semester goes, I plan on being as prepared as I can be. I want to put in the same effort, if not more, to be confident going into exams,” Pena said.
Psychology major Michaela Dukes, a freshman, said this being her first college finals week is stressful.
“I just don’t feel prepared because after Covid in high school, we didn’t have midterms or final exams,” Dukes said. “I blame my high school for not preparing me, not the university.”
Dukes said she is going to be studying as much as she can, but the transition from high school to college has not been easy for her this semester with how fast-paced everything is.
“I look forward to next semester and the following ones because now I’m prepared for how college truly is. So, I think next semester I’m going to be better prepared,” Dukes said.
Communication major Owen Zephirin, a senior, said that finals week is definitely stressful. This is Zephirins last semester, so he said he wants to be successful on his exams.
Zephirin said he only has two exams this semester that he has been preparing for the last few weeks. But as we get closer, he now has been studying several hours a day for his exams.
“I’m really trying to hone down and do good,” Zephirin said. “I want to just focus on the things I struggled with the most and kind of learn those things, so when the exam comes, I’m not so nervous about doing it right.”
