The end of the semester is always a very stressful time for college students. Its the time where students are getting in any work that they may be late on, preparing for final tests, giving final presentations or working on final projects. Although college in general can be very stressful on a person, the last 2 weeks or so are definitely the worst. Depending on how many classes a student is taking, the work load can feel like its taking over your life. A Northern Essex liberal arts student, Sheryl Contarino said, “ I hate this time of the semester. I almost feel like I’m trying to do the whole entire class in one week. Obviously I’m not, but the work load and the stress load just makes it seem that way”.

Some students like to just sit down and study for hours on end, or sit down and just bang everything out instantly and get it over with. Although everyone is different and has their own things that they like to do, there are some common ways to relieve stress. According to huffingtonpost.com, one good way to relieve stress is to exercise. Exercise helps you focus, it gives you additional energy and it releases endorphins to make you feel better. A northern essex  nursing student, Glorinette Calderone says, “ I love to go to the gym and exercise. It helps with relieving my stress so much, especially during finals week. I always try to make the time every day to go to the gym, even if it’s for a half an hour. It is a good break for me and I come out of the gym feeling like a new person”.

Another way to relieve stress witch may sound a little cliche is to just breathe. In moments when you feel your stress level is climbing, take a deep breath for four counts, hold it for four counts, and exhale for four counts. That is why whenever you would get upset when you were younger, your parents would always tell you, “ take a deep breath”. It is known to help calm a person down. A northern essex liberal arts major Maura Mccarthy said “ I am always taking deep breaths. Whenever I start to feel myself getting overwhelmed I tell myself to take a deep breath and relax. 9 times out of 10, it works for me. It’s something so simple that can take you a long way”.

Lastly, another very important key to relieving stress and succeeded during finals week is to make sure you’re getting enough sleep. Sleep will improve the quality and retention of studying,even though you may have less study time. If you start to stay up too late studying and not getting enough rest, it could actually come back and hurt you because if you’re not getting enough sleep, you’re not as alert as normal and you’re mood starts to go down when you’re not getting enough sleep. Of course, all these stress relievers may not work for everyone but, they may help you get through final week better and relieve all the stress that college students may have on their shoulders

NECC students discuss the benefits of attending a Community College

Every now and then you may hear others talk poorly about community college and maybe label it as a type of school people go to when they weren’t smart enough to get accepted into a four year college right away. This in fact is not true.

According to scholarships.com, the biggest reason most people attend community college is because of cost of tuition.

When you attend a community college you get those first two years out of the way for a lot cheaper than what it would be to do your first two years at a university. Therefore when you finish at a community college and transfer, you’re only having to pay for two years versus four. A former Northern Essex student, Moesha Murray, just recently transferred to Umass Lowell.

“Attending Northern Essex first and then transferring was my best option,” Murray said. “I was able to save money and get my first 2 years out of the way.”

Just like Murray, this is what many community college students’ goals are.Another reason why people attend community college is because it has a flexible schedule. Although at a four year college you are able to register for the classes you want, their class schedules aren’t always as flexible as a community colleges.

Community colleges typically offer far more night classes than universities and they also have more schedule options. So, for someone who is trying to attend school but also need to work a full time job, going to community college makes it a bit more easier for them to do so.

A Northern Essex nursing major, Glorinette Calderone says, “ I definitely don’t think I would be able to attend a university right now on top of working my full time job. The thing about Northern Essex is that as long as I go early enough, I can almost pick out my whole entire schedule and get the class times that I need so that I can still continue to work my full time job.”

Lastly, attending a community college is good for students who graduate high school and still don’t really know what they want to do for the rest of their lives.

Instead of spending thousands of dollars at a university studying something that you’re not really sure of, its better to go to a community college because you are able to explore majors and hopefully find something that you love and that you want to continue an education of at a university.

Because community college classes cost less, you are able to explore more and take on different kind of classes and find your passion.

A Northern Essex liberal arts major, Maura McCarthy said, “Attending community college was what was best for me because I truly had no idea what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I was always so overwhelmed with having to try and pick something so i decided to attend Northern Essex and explore my options. I take a variety of different classes and it helps me find what I do like and what I don’t like.”

Community colleges benefit students in many different ways and luckily, there are plenty of them around.