By Elizabeth Dudek

With final exams beginning in less than a week, the stress level of freshmen preparing for their first round of college finals is on the rise.

Study guides, writing assignments and final projects are the topics of recent conversation, and while the upperclassmen may be used to the hectic schedule, freshmen are finding it is hard to keep up.

“Unfortunately I have three [finals] in two days, which is going to be stressful, just from the volume,” said Vince Lowney, a freshman political science major.

Finding the time to study for finals will be difficult, Lowney said.

“I still have [crew] practice those weeks,” he said.

For other students, finding the time to study will not be difficult; however, getting started will be the hard part.

Amanda Kautzman never studied for her final exams in high school, but always managed to do well on them. However, because she is taking college courses, Kautzman said she will have to now begin studying if she wants an “A.”

“I think finals will definitely be harder than in high school,” said the freshman behavioral neuroscience major. “I did well on the ones in high school and never studied, but I will have to study here. I’m just worried because I don’t know what’s going to be on them. I feel like because there was so much material covered, I won’t know what is going to be important and what is not.”

Because finals week can be do or die for some students and can add to already heightened stress levels, staff at University Health and Counseling Services said they are ready to help as long as students take the first step.

“We are aware that this is a very busy time in the semester and it can be very stressful, especially if things aren’t going well,” said Elisa Castillo, a staff psychologist. “We are available everyday for kids to just walk in to talk to us, every day, to talk about stress or test anxiety or adding or dropping a class.”

There are a number of techniques which can help students through this hectic time, Castillo said.

“Sometimes we provide workshops about managing stress and also about the holidays. Sometimes kids are more stressed about going home than they are about finals,” she said. “We also talk to students about time management, teach students relaxation techniques and show them how to focus better.”

Northeastern staff members are not the only ones trying to ease the stress of finals. Student Government Association (SGA) executive board members said they have been working to keep current study locations open later.

The SGA passed legislation Thursday that will help increase Snell Library’s operating hours until 2 a.m. during finals week, and with the help of Provost Ahmed Abdelal, the hours could be implemented by the end of the week.

“[The extended hours] absolutely help students because students need the quiet study space to prepare effectively for finals,” said SGA President Bill Durkin.

Extended library hours may help relieve some of the stress from finals week, but Castillo said the stress may be from problems other than crunch-time studying.

“Sometimes finals are difficult because there is something else going on over the semester, depression or things aren’t going well at home. So we help students deal with what the underlying issue might be to help them do the best they can,” Castillo said.

Upperclassmen who have experienced finals week said they have learned starting earlier and taking their time cuts down on the stress level.

“I learned that if you relax and take your time studying, you do much better,” said George Haranis, a middler communications studies major. “Freaking out is the worst thing you can do. I like to spread it out. I used to wait until the last morning before and then I would be really stressed out. It’s so much easier if you start early and take your time.”

Other experienced Northeastern students, like junior organizational communications major Matthew Forr, agreed that starting early was the best cure for stress.

“This is about the earliest I’ve ever started,” he said of his preparation for this semester’s tests. “It’s a big stress reliever. I can just see everything I’ve got to do and know that I have enough time to do it all.”