Finals Week Begins at Mississippi College
Students, Coaches Share Strategies for Finals Success
As the 2025–26 academic year comes to a close, Mississippi College students move into a busy week of final exams, which began on Friday, May 1, and will last until Wednesday, May 6. As students prepare for exams, many are turning to campus resources and study strategies to stay focused and manage the demands of the week. Student success coaches and fellow students alike emphasize the importance of effective study habits.
Dr. Tanya Dantzler-Cole, an academic coach in the Office of Student Success, said that repetition is the key to successful studying. She encourages students not just to familiarize themselves with information, but to spend time with it and truly learn it. “That’s the biggest barrier, I think, for students. They glean it once or twice and they’re familiar with it, and then they think they know it, but in order to truly know something, we have to spend more time with the materials,” Dantzler-Cole said.
While repetition is a beneficial tactic, the way it is applied may look different depending on what a student is studying. For Jason Bridges, a senior accounting major, this includes repeatedly solving calculations involving bonds and leases. “I just do them over and over again until I learn them,” Bridges said.
For Andrew Jordan, a sophomore studying social studies education, the best method is uploading notes to websites such as Quizlet, which he uses to make flashcards and quizzes. Jordan also recommends teaching the information to another person. “If you teach somebody how to do the thing you’re trying to study, you actually get a lot more out of it than if you just studied by yourself, so I always try to study with somebody,” Jordan said. He also emphasized the importance of taking care of his personal health during exam week. “Make sure you get enough sleep, make sure you eat well, get rest. That’s kind of the most important deal, I believe,” Jordan said.
When it comes to prioritizing self-care, managing anxiety is an important factor. “Anxiety, a lot of times, is a result of feeling overwhelmed, like there’s too much to do,” Chip Wilson, a counselor for MC’s Mental Health Services, said. He recommends assessing priorities and focusing on what actions are possible in the moment. To make tasks more manageable, students can break them down into smaller, ‘bite-sized’ steps. “It’s realizing, ‘all right, what can I do in this moment to help mitigate that anxiety’,” Wilson said.
For students in need of additional support during finals week, MC’s Mental Health Services is offering same-day counseling appointments through May 8. To schedule an appointment, students can email Mentalhealth@mc.edu.
Students can access the Spring 2026 exam schedule by visiting mc.edu and navigating to the Spring 2026 calendars section.