With the 4th quarter quickly coming to an end, freshmen will have to face their first finals of their high school lives. With this, many face stress that they might have not faced yet in school.

“I think I’m going to fail every one of [the finals],” Aidan McGlone ’20 said.

According to AP European History and Honors World History teacher Christopher Bouda, studying incorrectly is what produces most of the stress that finals are associated with.

“If you try to [study] too much at once, it’ll produce the stress,” Bouda said.

A more organized study style, according to Bouda, will increase the quality of study.

“Study one subject– history for example– study imperialism, be done with it, study the French revolution, be done with it,” Bouda said. “One subject at a time, know it, then move on. Don’t try to tackle it all at once, it’ll just make it worse for you.”

Although finals are not for a few weeks, starting soon can’t hurt, Bouda said. Starting soon reduces the stress that cramming often causes.

“I’m not facing stress now, but I will when the time comes I probably will,” Tucker Griffin ’20 said.

Once the finals are over, the stress relief will be a great joy for some students, as their first year of a long stretch of school is over.

“I’m going to party with [my friends] once finals are over,” Griffin said.

Although studying will help with the stress, 40 percent of high schools students experience school-based stress, according to National Public Radio.

“Studying correctly will take care of that stress, if you try to do too much at once, it’ll produce the stress,” Bouda said.

As long as studying is done in moderation and cramming is not done, then the stress of finals should disappear.
“If you make it easy on yourself, it’ll be more effective, you’ll be more confident, and you won’t have as much stress,” Bouda said.