The final push

While many students may be nervous about upcoming finals or anxious to finish their last final, other students are thinking about ways to help get stressed-out students through this coming week. Kati Arthur, a tutor for the Center for Learning and Undergraduate Enrichment or CLUE, is one of the people thinking of ways to help other students.

Like many students, Arthur has felt the stress of finals -- so much so that she endured nightmares stemming from long hours of stress and studying.

"I became so paranoid that I forgot when all my tests were and showed up two hours early," she said.

As finals week dawns, Arthur and other CLUE tutors are giving advice to students to help smooth out the ride. First, they advise, start with a treasured pastime of many students: eating and drinking.

"I seriously need a buffet around me when I'm studying," said Shauna Sperry, a sophomore business major.

A well-balanced meal works best, studies show. According to Samantha Heller, a dietician and clinical nutritionist at New York University Medical Center, white grains can cause a quick energy burst but eventually make a person tired.

Instead, high-iron foods have been proven to produce lasting energy and are a healthier choice than caffeine-laden items, according to a study by the George Mateljan Foundation for the world's healthiest foods. Some of these foods include, but are not limited to, spinach, soybeans, tofu, most beans, broccoli, celery and shrimp.

Rodolfo Galgana, a math tutor for CLUE, recommends simply eating nutritious foods and staying well-hydrated to operate at one's best. Galgana also recommends exercise as a way to relieve stress. Bring a textbook or flashcards and read on the elliptical, he suggests.

Along with diet, most students find that adequate rest is important to performing well during finals week. Arthur suggests no less than six hours of sleep per night.

Nonetheless, for Erica Fagerstrom, a freshman Spanish major, sleep is already scarce several days before finals begin. One night she was up until 4:30 a.m. studying for chemistry.

"I get really silly at that point and start talking to myself," said Fagerstrom.

Galgana, however, said sleep schedules and the ability to perform with little rest will vary on a student-to-student basis.

"Generally people perform better with a full night's rest, but there are also those who can do just as well with little or no sleep," he said. Just as different sleep amounts cause different success rates for students, so do studying methods.

After nutrition and sleep are taken care of, students might want to examine their study methods. Flashcards, color-coded notes and rhymes are among a collection of ways to remember exam information. Students should try a variety of methods to find what works best for them.

"Depends what kind of test it is. I'm obsessed with practice tests," said Sperry.

Once students have established an effective study style, the right environment must be found and revisited, suggested CLUE tutors. Studying in the same place each time helps limit distractions, as the student can simply sit down, get started and focus on the task at hand.

Sperry discovered her perfect studying niche in the law library on 17th Avenue Northeast.

"Nobody can bug me here, but I like being around others," she said.

There is no maximum or minimum amount of studying per day, Galgana said, though he felt it was about the confidence of the particular student. Studying should conclude when one feels comfortable with the material.

To achieve that desired comfort, CLUE is vamping up for finals week. Open from 7 p.m. to midnight, CLUE will run Sunday through Dec. 15. Some classes will be featured for special exam review sessions. To learn if your class will be featured at CLUE, visit its Web site at depts.washington.edu/clue.

CLUE will also continue its drop-in help for chemistry, math, physics, French, Spanish, Japanese and writing classes, said Katherine McDermott, CLUE program manager.

A few hundred UW students attend regularly, McDermott said, though she expects a jump in attendance during finals week.

Fagerstrom said she attends CLUE at least three times a week and sometimes stays until midnight.

"The only other people who stay till 12 are the crazy ones like me," she joked.

"By midnight, we are all giggly and delirious," added Morgan Wise, a freshman biology major.

Another on-campus resource is the English department's writing center, which is located in Padelford Hall. The center will have drop-in hours today from noon to 4 p.m. Students are welcome to bring essays in any stage of the writing process, said Mikki Choman, a tutor for the center.