The last week of the semester doesn’t have to be all gloom and doom.

While the summer lies ahead along with a (temporary) future of endless possibilities and excitement, why is it that students can’t bear the thought of that final week of school? The answer to that question is final exams.

These two words may have just put a shiver down your back, and that is perfectly understandable.

The next thing that needs understanding is that studying for final exams doesn’t have to be overly strenuous or stressful.

Here are some practical and logical tips to staying alert and successful when studying for exams:

1) Take breaks. By breaks, I don’t mean one little nap in between two five-hour blocks of studying. I’m talking about consistent breaks, maybe every hour or so.  If you continue to move and switch your thought patterns every hour, it lets your mind deal with the quantity of work.

2) Keep away from your friends. I’m not saying become a loner and spend the last two weeks held up in your room with the excuse of studying. Go without playing Halo or walking around campus with your friends for a weekend. All you need is a weekend to get some hardcore studying in, more than enough time for the upcoming exams.

If your friends try to pressure you into having fun, call into question their final exam situation. Most of them will have an “Oh crap”moment and go running to their own rooms to begin the steep climb to knowledge.

Stop talking to your girlfriend/boyfriend for an evening. It’ll give you plenty of solitude to study and a nice break from your significant one’s annoying tendencies.

3) Drink a lot of water. Yes, water. You know, that essential fluid that is given to you for free if you just flip the faucet on and happen to place a cup underneath it. Water is a much better tool to keep you awake and alert than coffee or medicine-tasting energy drinks. The only downside to this is consistent bathroom breaks, but at least that fits with what I said in the first tip.

4) Stop eating! Lunch and dinner are fine, but constantly snacking on potato chips along with significant amounts of Mountain Dew will tire you out. Once you get to that yawning stage, the game might be over.

There is a great way to quit eating during studying, and it goes like this: Once the first crumb has toppled onto your keyboard or into the cracks of the textbook, close the bag and put it away for good. It’s a win-win situation. Either you let that crumb fall quickly and must stop snacking for the majority of the session, or you have a really clean working environment.

5) Get invested in what you are learning about. Especially if the subject is part of your major, actually pay attention instead of monotonously memorizing. If you realize that learning this information will prepare you when the harder classes arrive, the material seems a little more important and therefore more interesting.

Now don’t you feel like you’re ready to start studying that British lit? What about that advanced physics? Not even the exciting American Revolution? Well if you have a hard time contemplating the amount of studying that must be accomplished, just take one more look at tip No. 1.