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Yes! I love taking final exams...it is the frosting on the cake! Studying for them is another matter but it forces you to review all of the year's material, you notice which sections were really important, you finally understand certain points that made no sense earlier in the year, you get to create your "hook dates" upon which all else hangs and you suddenly see the subject from a bird's eye view like the teacher did all year. Often, notes in your handwriting that you cannot understand or notes from a missed lecture can be caught in time by asking another classmate, so comprehensive review is good for clarifying the last puzzle pieces.

Try to determine the strategy: the wisest professors will tell you which approach is being used on the exam...multiple choice or the blue book "write everything you know" type of challenge, etc. He or she will tell you how many points each section is worth. This helps you discipline yourself as to how much time you spend studying subject matter that works well into those parameters and when you fill out the Blue Book or test sheet later, you have a better idea of which questions are worth going back over again.

I know these exams are stressful and for those who have never been taught how to study properly, it can be an agonizing crunch time one week before the final exam. However, you feel great about pulling the whole year of work together. After a final exam is when you often feel like you have finally mastered the subject.

Don't forget a full night's rest before a final exam....that is NOT the night to stay up late, cramming! Personal story driving this point home: I was in my senior year of college, scheduled to take a final exam on my major course of study. As students, we entered the classroom where our dignified, white-haired tall professor stood smiling at us, welcoming each student. We sat down, blue books were passed out and the time began ticking away. I had been up almost the entire night studying, so I was eager to write down what was fresh in my mind.

Forty minutes later, I suddenly awakened...AWAKENED! I was so exhausted that when I bent my head over that Blue Book on page one, I fell asleep immediately and my seat on the front row was right in front of the professor...who never said a word. Smile. He had to have been chuckling on the inside and graciously decided to let me get caught up on a nap. I was one of those students who had to work their way through college to pay for room

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