As the fall semester comes to an end, Park University students began the most stressful time of the year, otherwise known as finals week.

Students said finals week is the most stressful time during any semester due to the many projects, tests and assignments needed to be completed in only a week’s time.

“Finals are so stressful because all of these projects are due all at once,” said junior English major Grant Hunsaker. “It’s the most difficult or time-consuming work of the semester and you have to do it all at the same time.”

The pressure of this week leads many students to feel the most stressed they have felt all semester.

Shelby Adkins, a senior multimedia journalism and public relations major, said the stress comes from the pressure of not wanting to get a bad grade in a class.

“I think the root of all stress that comes with finals is just the thought that you can screw up your entire semester based on this one final test or project,” she said.

Final exams are another major reason the students said they become so stressed out, especially for those students who do not consider themselves to be good test takers.

Properly preparing for finals week was the main suggestion from the students, because they said it was one of the best ways to alleviate stress.

Properly preparing means students can maintain large workloads because they know what is due when and how to go about completing all of their work in the most efficient and effective way.

Adkins said she likes to prepare for finals because it helps her stay on top of her work. She also gave tips on how she likes to stay prepared and organized.

“To prepare for finals I like to do a couple different things. Number one, I like to make a to-do list, and I put it in order of when things are due. You know if I have two finals due Monday and two finals due Wednesday, I make sure the Monday final’s done first,” she said. “Then I make sure to go through and kind of micromanage my time so that way I’m not spending too much time on meaningless tasks.”

The students also suggested finding free time for activities was a good method to alleviating stress.

Even though it is typically hard to find any free time, during such a busy week, the students agreed it is important to participate in other activities besides homework and studying in order to handle the stress and remain sane.

“The only thing I can suggest to anyone taking finals is that you have to take time for self,” said Adkins. “If you don’t take time to kind of calm yourself down, to look at the reality of thing then you’re not going to produce your best work.”

Each student had their own particular way they said they use to handle stress. Adkins said she uses activities like watching TV and crocheting as outlets get her mind off of the things that stress her out.

Other students however, said they didn’t have any suggestions to handling stress because they do not know how to do so.

Hunsaker said he, like many other students, does not have a good way of handling his stresses.

“I’m managing my stress poorly,” he said. “I don’t really have any special ways of relieving stress. I just deal with it until it’s over.”

The students mentioned Park University should have programs set up for those who cannot manage their workload and the stresses that come along with it. They suggested the university should offer more help to students, especially those struggling in order to help them to succeed.

As of right now, the students said they feel the university is not doing enough for those particular students who are struggling during this time.

Hunsaker said even though the university does not go far to help the students manage stress, certain professors do try their best to help.

“I don’t think the university does much. Some individual professors design their classes in a way that helps alleviate stress, but that doesn’t come from the university itself,” he said.

Hunsaker said the university is particularly disinterested in helping older students or students who have outside jobs.

“I think universities in general need to consider that a significant number of students aren’t 18 or 19-year-olds living in the dorms with no job. A lot of us have jobs and bills and responsibilities outside of school, but the way courses are designed doesn’t take that into account and generally people don’t care,” he said. “Students are just revenue streams for the university, their stress or health is irrelevant.”