Two weeks out: map it
List every final: date, time, format (cumulative or not, closed or open book, essay or problem), and weight. Check the final exam schedule for a conflict — two exams in the same block — and file the conflict form immediately if you have one; it is not fixable the day before.
Prioritize by weight and by gap
Put the most hours where the exam is worth the most and where your current grade has the most room to move. A 3-point quiz-heavy course you are acing needs less than a 30%-weighted cumulative final in a course you are borderline in. Write the plan down so panic does not re-sort it hourly.
Study to recall, in short blocks
Do practice problems and past exams under time pressure; redo the ones you miss. For memory-heavy material, self-quiz and space it across days rather than one long session. 45–60 minute blocks with real breaks beat marathon sittings, and sleep is when the day’s studying consolidates — protect it.
Use the week’s services
Exam Jam review sessions, extended library hours and quiet floors, extended and late-night dining, the reservable study rooms, and the nap room all exist specifically for finals week. Book study rooms early; they fill.
The exam itself
Arrive early with what you are allowed to bring. Read the whole exam first, budget minutes per question by points, and start with something you know to settle down. If you blank, move on and come back. Partial work earns partial credit — write something.
If a final goes badly
One weak final rarely sinks a course, and the grade is not final in your head until it posts. If illness or a crisis hit during exams, there are late-drop, incomplete, and medical-withdrawal options with deadlines — talk to a success coach or the dean’s office right away, not in January.
Fictional information
UW–Porter Falls is a work of parody. Every office, person, building, phone number and statistic on this page is invented; nothing here describes a real institution or a service you can actually contact.