As the weather slowly warms up and the semester winds to an end, Bucks students prepare to take their dreaded finals in a variety of unique ways.

Some spend hours poring over notes from their classes in order to prepare for the big exam, like James Drohan, 20, a business administration major from Morrisville. Drohan says he likes to make a list of important topics while looking over notes, then will go back to create neater notes of just those important topics.

Morrisville native Sarah Dees, also a 20-year-old business administration major, takes Drohan’s method a step further. Dees says she rewrites all of her notes rather than just the main topics. She even has two notebooks—one for notes directly in class, and one that is the color coded with her rewrites.

Color coding seems to be a popular theme among some students. 19 year old nursing major Miranda Holford from Fairless Hills says she also uses bright colors for her flash cards when studying. “Only using black or blue ink makes the words blend together,” says Holford, “colors make the words stand out and after reading through notes I can associate a color with a word.”

In addition to color coding, repetition of either writing or reviewing notes seems like the best way to go, according to students. Many report using flash cards as an active study tool for finals because it provides an easy way of rewriting the notes along with being an easy way to repeatedly quiz themselves on the same information.

Alyssa Adams, 19, a psychology major from Fairless Hills says it takes more than just rewriting notes to help her study. “I always organize my study space. I keep everything neat and tidy so I don’t feel overwhelmed,” she claims.

Not everyone is actively preparing for the end of semester tests though. A decent number of students protest that they don’t bother studying for finals, unbothered by the pressure put on around this time.

For some their lack of studying comes from serious procrastination. Mikey Parker, an 18-year-old business administration major from Levittown suffers from this cause. “I don’t study because I procrastinate until the last minute, and then when I want to study I’m too tired to do it,” he says.

Parker’s definitely not alone in this mindset. 19-year-old Camryn Sobczak, a Levittown native majoring in early childhood education and special needs says she doesn’t study either. “That’s why I’m failing,” she joked.

Providing some insight as to why students may not study, John Colella, 19, a sports management major of Fairless Hills, says “I figure if I don’t know it then, then I’m not going to learn it now.”

Whether students feel defeat or eagerness as finals approach, it holds true that all of them cannot wait for the exams to be over with.

For students looking for extra help before finals, it is never too late to check out the Academic Success Center. The services of the center are free to all enrolled Bucks students and offer a wide variety of course support.

More information about the Academic Success Center or appointment scheduling can be found by clicking on the Campus Services block on the Bucks website within the “Bucks for Students” tab.