That time of the year has come back to haunt us. Packed libraries, long lines at Starbucks and 24-hour quiet periods—you guessed it. It’s finals week. But before all of the mental breakdowns and all-nighters ensue, make sure to take some breaks between studying and maybe even glancing at a finals meme or two. Not only do these memes brighten up your hell week, you may find yourself relating to them in every way possible.
Survive finals week with more than memes—like witty tanks to make your study buddy smile:
Check out 10 finals memes that will attempt to bring you out of that finals week funk.
1. When you procrastinate
It’s day one of finals week, so naturally you take your time and write everything down in your planner. You think about the bad weeks you’ve had in the past and think this year cannot nearly as bad as the last. So why not settle down and start binging 13 Reasons Why? You know you’ll be busy later in the week so taking some time to relax seems like the way to go.
2. When you actually start to study
The art history gen-ed you decided to take last minute at first seemed like hell but as you sift through the book, you realize the concepts aren’t that hard to study. “My week definitely has taken some unanticipated twists and turns, but at the end of the day I was ready for them. I don’t normally do this kind of prep, but for finals I sot down the weekend before and try to map out my game plan, so I was ready,” said American University junior Will Mascaro said.
3. When you walk into your first test
On day three of hell week, you show up to your first final. Life was much easier a mere five minutes ago before you received that dreaded blue book. There were some tricky questions and a whole open-ended essay portion you may have to bullshit because you chose to watch YouTube videos of pygmy goats jumping until 2 a.m.“I was hella stressed during finals for first semester because I was terrible at time management and still find my self stressed during finals now but I never anticipated that college finals truly require so much more studying time and that you have to plan ahead,” said AU freshman Lily Pourahmad. Hope the next test goes better.
4. When you check Blackboard later
The first test finally ended. Now you need to study a whole new subject because you have a paper due tomorrow morning. “Finals week is really stressful because everything is due all at once and I feel like I can’t commit enough time to any one thing. It’s frustrating because I never feel like finals, especially huge cumulative tests, are an example of how I’ve done all semester,” said AU junior Natalie Hedden.
5. When you get those teacher evaluation emails
Your student email inbox lights up. Time to fill out student evaluations. When working on the silent floor in the library your mind may wander and replay in your head the stress and tears a particular professor may have caused you throughout the semester. One minute you’re managing your time and writing a decent paper then all of the sudden you’re looking up if your least favorite professor has a contract with the university. Finals week is not safe for anybody.
6. When you have your first mental breakdown of the week…
On day five, you try and head to bed before the birds start chirping. You wake up the next morning thinking you’d be less stressed. Turns out that’s wrong. Not only do you have to finish your paper from yesterday you forgot to do, but you get an email from your intern boss that you need to do an assignment for the company this week, too. After you have a short mental breakdown, tears included, you have no choice but to head to the library. Like, now.
7. When you’ve slept in the library for a night
Your sleep schedule at this point could not be worse. You stayed up until 4 a.m. last night studying, submitted your paper on time without reading it and now you’re slaving away on a memo for your internship. Thank goodness for the Starbucks on campus and the extra espresso shot they gave you when they saw what you looked like. It seems funny that a mere few days ago you had it all under control. You catch a glimpse of your reflection in the Starbucks window. With your lack of sleep, dropping out seems like the only sane choice at this point.
8. When all fashion sense has gone down the drain
The grout-fit is the way to go, especially if you’re spending long hours in the library. You may look back at a picture of yourself from syllabus week and think what a young, vibrant, but naïve person. However, things are looking up now. You only have one more final to study for and you’re slowly making progress with your flashcards. “Personally I am not a grou-fit fan, but I think during finals week anyone can rock a full colored outfit,” said AU junior Becky Dixon. “How else are you going to survive sitting in the library and feeling the grind of finals?”
9. When you see all of the finals zombies walking on campus
You take a break from making your notecards to get some fresh air outside of the library. After all, the beautiful spring weather has taken over your college town. You might as well enjoy it at least for a few minutes. But when you walk outside and grim scenes have taken over the campus, emotionless students clad in sweatpants and t-shirts with greasy hair roam the quad. Two guys anxiously smoke cigarettes outside of the library and a freshman is crying on the phone. You flee the scene and decide to study at the off-campus coffee shop.
10. When you walk into your last final before summer
You check your phone one last time before your last final, and you see a text from your mom with this classic Ryan Gosling meme. At first, you’re a little weirded out that she knows about this pop culture reference but feel at ease because she’s always there to support you. Finally, you receive your test and you know the answers to all of the questions. The exam is a piece of cake. You walk out with an hour to spare and you hit up your friends for post-test margaritas. “There is no better feeling than getting out of your last final. It is a feeling no one can quite define but any university student knows the feeling of relief when you leave school for summer,” said AU sophomore Colton Best.
10 More Finals Memes to Get You Through Hell Week
Written by Laura Smythe
11. When Everything Starts Crumbling Around You
You don’t remember if you showered yesterday or the day before and you’ve survived off pasta and grab-and-go food options for days. You try to hold it together, but your smile looks more like a grimace. When your classmate comes up to you and asks about your study schedule, you fight back tears and smile through it. The “I’m fine” you croak out sounds hoarse and he looks even more worried about you than when he approached. Yeah, we’ve all been there.
12. When Everyone Finishes the Test Before You
One of the worst feelings during finals occurs when you have barely finished half your exam and 80 percent of the class starts filing out of the lecture hall. Panic and suspicion bubble inside you. Did everyone actually finish this test already? Why do they know so much more about history than me? Should I give up? But alas you pick up your number two pencil and get back to your Scantron grind.
13. When You Can’t Work Up the Motivation
Ever felt so overwhelmed you decided to not get anything done at all? At least Netflix always has our (exhausted) backs in this time of misery. Good luck resisting the urge to binge-watch The Office for the fifth time and snuggle deep into your covers. Unfortunately, watching Michael Scott cause a ruckus for 20 minutes proves much more entertaining than making study flashcards.
14. When Your World Spirals Out of Control
During finals week, you get no relief. A constant state of panic becomes the norm. The cycle begins when you see you have three exams on one day. Who let this happen?! You feel the panic rise in your chest and soon realize you’ve wasted the last 15 minutes panicking. But realizing it only makes you panic more. The panic cycle of finals sadly only ends when you close your last blue book of the semester.
15. When You Sustain Life Off Coffee
Prepare to order unreasonable amounts of extra espresso shots in your latte. Even the snobbiest coffee aficionados among us don’t drink as much joe as the average college student during finals week. The lines to the campus café practically wind around the building, but you don’t really care. You need all the help from a steaming Americano that you can get.
16. When Your Mom Asks How You Are
She means well, but her innocent question sends you into an emotional spiral. Glancing at your phone, you realize you’ve already spent two minutes chatting with her. Should you have spent that time studying? Your mind’s eye fills with images of your ridiculously long to-do lists in your planner. For the sake of politeness, you carry on as normal and cordial a conversation as you can.
17. When You Find Any Excuse Not to Pick up Your Textbook
As soon as you sit down cross-legged on your bed with your study guide pulled up on your laptop, the mess of your room starts to nag at you. The chances of getting work done plummet by the minute as the clothes thrown on your floor glare back at you. You decide to spruce up the place (it’ll help you concentrate), but before you know it five hours have passed. Congratulations, you now get to stay awake for five extra hours studying in your now glistening clean apartment.
18. When Delirium Hits
The wacky sleep schedules that come hand-in-hand with finals week don’t mess around. Get ready to constantly ask your tired self, “Why did I do that?” Just try to keep track of your valuables and dorm keys and you should keep your head above water.
19. When You Don’t Get the Grade You Expected
Sometimes all the studying in the world won’t get you the grade you aimed for. Maybe your professor threw the class a curveball or maybe an extra hour’s sleep would have served you better than an extra hour of studying. Either way, don’t beat yourself up about it. Just try your best and give it your all.
20. When Sleeping and Studying Happen at the Same Time
Multitasking during finals week doesn’t always help. Try to take care of tasks (and yourself) one item at a time. You won’t earn any As falling asleep on your open history book. Try to stay as focused as you can, and know the end is near.
Students Tell Us How Finals Week Really Makes You Feel
“Suffice to say eating dry iced tea powder as a snack/caffeine source is hardly my most crowning achievement,” University of British Columbia sophomore Casey Broughton said.
“My very first finals week I stayed up for almost 70 hours without sleep and had shifts at work in the meantime. All of this happened in the middle of four finals, and finally when I got home for break I went to see the doctor and had a kidney infection the whole time,” Texas A&M University junior Lindsay Harris said.
“I once spent 16 hours writing a cheat sheet with 4,500 words in five-point font, if that counts for anything. It [paid off] for some parts of the exam, but the final was structured completely different from previous years so I was caught off guard anyway,” UBC sophomore Ashton Kerr said.
“My worst finals week experience happened my freshman year of college, fall semester. I ended up getting food poisoning and was up almost all night before I had to take three finals‑one of which was at 7 a.m. Luckily, I passed,” Ithaca College grad student Brooke Morsch said.
“Last year I was so exhausted from finals that while doing calculus homework I accidentally typed a phone number on my calculator when I had meant to take out my phone,” Texas A&M junior Juniper LeValley said.
“My best finals week I got drunk before my last final of sophomore year, aced the test and my professor gave me chocolate when I turned in my exam and told me she was going to miss me,” IC grad student Kathleen Francisco said.
The One Where Finals Ended!
Written by Amanda DeLuise, junior, journalism, New York University
This is me.
I finished all of my finals yesterday! Except for one lousy ten-page paper that I’m avoiding like the plague for my German Thought and Culture class. It’s not even difficult, it has to be written in english and it’s a pretty easy A (I think, so far I’ve gotten A’s on even the worst papers I’ve written for this class). I just don’t feel like doing it because I’ve been too busy celebrating and wanting to go home (Saturday! Only two more days of work…). It’s been quite a semester. A bad one. Anyway, hopefully everyone else is done soon!
If you finished finals, here are 5 ways to reward yourself.
1. Go see a movie.
Now that you don’t have to lock yourself in the library, use the 2+ hours locked in a movie theatre. Go see the latest blockbuster. Especially if you’re a psych major of you know anything about Freud’s “The Uncanny.”
2. Eat real food.
Take a break from that all-ramen diet and go somewhere with a wait staff.
3. Go see a show.
Even if you’ve never heard of the band, go dance out all the excess stress. Plus a little human interaction with people you’ve never seen before can be good. Since I’m sure you’re sick of your study group after seeing them night after night for an entire week.
4. Bake something.
Then eat it. My friend Tina and I did this last night. It was nice to share some holiday goodies with my roommates. The rest of the cookies are for a holiday party I’m attending tonight, if they last that long…
and finally…
5. Have a drink!
If you’re old enough, treat yourself to that $10 martini you’ve had your eye on all semester. There’s a reason it costs so much: It’s awesome. And it doesn’t taste like free cups of jungle juice at a frat house.
**Updated May 1, 2018 to include list items 11–20 and “Students Tell Us How Finals Week Really Makes You Feel” by Laura Smythe
*Updated May 1, 2018 by Amanda DeLuise to include “The One Where Finals Ended!”
