As December approaches most students (and many faculty members) are overwhelmed at the thought of final exams, term papers, exhibitions, juries and other types of end-of-semester evaluations. It is a time of high activity, and — for the students — even higher anxiety.

As the pressure mounts and finals week looms, I’ve seen students panic at the big exam they find they are unprepared for and grasp desperately for answers to difficult questions.
My favorite example of this behavior is one from my step-daughter’s kindergarten days. When asked in her “homeroom quiz” why the dinosaurs went extinct she simply wrote “Because they did not wash.”

This seemed, I am sure, like a logical answer to her at the time, but it was not a response based on scientific knowledge. What types of things can we do to ensure success at the end of the semester? I can think of a few concrete things which may be of help.

Begin your day carefully, and study or practice regularly.  Your mind is clearest in the morning when you first get up – what you do in the critical first hour of the day can have a huge impact on your life.

Go immediately to your most challenging subject, the most complex readings, or if you are an artist, the most consistent problem you’ve encountered. Do not put off these things until later in the day, as your resistance to them will grow as the day goes on.

You’ll quickly discover that you can get more done in an hour in the morning than three hours at night. Similarly, regular work is more effective than occasional work – this is especially true in music. Practicing a bit each day is much better than practicing a lot twice a week.

Don’t spend too much time in group study.  It is very natural for students to want to study together, but don’t overdo it. Often the group will be focused on its weakest member, and if you are advanced you will find that you are not actually making the progress you should. 
Spend serious time alone with your work first, and if you have time and want to relax a bit, then go and study with your colleagues.

Keep in mind that talent is not enough.  Nietzsche (who was most certainly one of the most gifted of all philosophers and writers) pointed out that it is not genius, but the ability to work industriously, like a handworker, that ensures success.

Don’t forget why you are here – the larger question can often help us to deal with the difficult process we must go through to learn. Should our energy or desire to excel begin to flag it’s never a bad idea to think about our long-term goals. 

Whether it is a career, graduate school or simply becoming better at what we do, it’s important to remember that education is a gradual process, and that each step along the way is valuable (even if we don’t necessarily realize it at the time).

The ability to give your best to something, even when you are not sure it is truly important, is critical – we rarely know what the future has in store for us. 

I always worked quite hard on my German language skills as an undergraduate, for example, never knowing that in a few years I’d be studying at the University of Vienna. 

These are just a few ideas on a difficult subject. It’s natural to feel stressed and overwhelmed at this time of year — but how we respond to this pressure is the true test.

The scores and the grades we receive are incidental to the larger mission, which is to grow and develop constantly, becoming, in the beautiful phrase coined by Rev. Pedro Arrupe, S.J., men and women for others. Keeping this perspective can go a long way towards turning the end of the semester experience into something spiritual, uplifting and positive.

Donald Boomgaarden is the dean of the College of Music and Fine Arts. He can be reached at [email protected]

On The Record is a weekly column open to any Loyola faculty or staff. Those who are interested can e-mail [email protected]