The fall 2025 semester is winding down at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Students are eager to finally pack away everything they have learned throughout the semester, but first, finals stand in the way.
Some students started finals during the first week of December or even earlier, but finals week officially begins Dec. 8. The week is not simply a test of class material, but a test of how students’ handle the week itself.
Typically, students start preparing in the days leading up to finals, with their studying ramping up as exams approach. However, those few days alone do not determine the week’s outcome. Much of the preparation starts long before December, with the habits students built earlier in the semester.
“I definitely struggled at first to even pace myself with keeping track of all my assignments and classes and such,” freshman Marlene Aceves said. “So I use my planner to really help plan out my stuff, so I know when my finals are … when assignments are due. It helps me stay organized and even just be prepared before my teachers even announce what assignments are coming.”
Preparation varies widely depending on the subject and course difficulty. Some students skim through PowerPoints and call it a day, while others choose to make flashcard sets or form study groups.
Across subjects, Quizlet is a staple in student’s study sessions. Using the Quizlet study guide feature, sophomore Sydney Wegner created guides for courses ranging from CORE 110 to ECON 201.
“Some of the slides or lectures can range to be 70 to 90 slides per lecture, it could be broken up into a period of days,” Wegner said. “So a lot of those I just upload into the Quizlet, because at that point, its little assistant collects everything. It creates definitions. It can create example questions if needed, because it has those options to create those tests. But the easier part is the outlines that it creates, so I can just reference everything needed.”
From the lights above them to the background noise, the environment a student chooses to study in can shape the whole week.
“I like to have background noise,” Wegner said. “And it’s not just music, it can be turning on trash TV in the background — nothing’s more relaxing than Steve Wilkos screaming in the background — so it can vary. As long as there’s background noise, I have everything on hand, everything’s like, visible to me.”
With the fall break landing at the beginning of the holiday season and just two weeks before the end semester, the break can derail students’ motivation.
After experiencing this post-break slump for years, senior Sierra Houlihan-Groebner figured out how to push through it.
“I set time aside to go visit the study rooms, and I shut off all my electronics, minus my computer that I need for my assignment,” Houlihan-Groebner said. “And that kind of helps me focus a little bit more, and I also do a lot of self care. I color, I read, I take way more breaks for myself because it’s needed at that moment, especially as a senior.”
Between the dozens of Canvas and Quizlet tabs, music humming in the background and stacks of note-filled papers, finals week can feel like total chaos. Sitting beneath it all, however, is a small reminder of why a student chooses to continue to study through the breaks and noise.
“I personally always think education is a privilege,” Aceves said. “And I feel like that’s kind of my motivation to keep me going.”
