K’Leasha Liles
palmettoreport@gmail.com

(Rock Hill, S.C.) — Students at Winthrop University, and across the country, are beginning to prepare final exams as the fall semester is quickly coming to an end.

At Winthrop, exams are scheduled from Dec. 4-10 and the school’s Academic Success Center is available to offer students academic guidance and tutoring as they prepare for finals.

“Throughout the semester, as a student you’re doing what you can to make sure you’re understanding the material, asking questions when you aren’t (understanding it), then as it comes closer to exam week it’s more about refreshing the information, than learning it for the first time,” said Jasmine Howze, an academic coach with the Academic Success Center.

Howze, who was a guest on the Palmetto Report, said students should study for an hour at a time, rather than trying to cram a semester’s worth of information into a few hours, and take breaks.

“I see that a lot of students don’t necessarily know how to study or know what types of studying works for them,” said Howze.

“Find ways to make studying active and find study skills that work for you, such as, flash cards, using highlighters and color coding, drawing images and making mnemonic devices,” she said.

“There is a lot of information that is already out there. A lot of classes have quizlets already made with flashcards that you can just go in and use already, you don’t have to go through and put it in. There’s a lot of YouTube videos that are explaining how to do things and it makes it easier for the students to understand.”

Winthrop held a schoolwide study day for students Tuesday (Dec. 3), after the last day of classes Monday, to allow students to prepare for final exams.

The Academic Success Center also offers drop-in tutoring sessions, for a number of different subjects at designated times, in Dinkins Hall and across campus.

Finally, Howze recommends that students should utilize their professors office hours and on-campus study sessions, take and review notes, and even rewrite their notes, in order to better retain the information during an exam.