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Articles / Preparing for College / Help with Study for Finals

Help with Study for Finals

Sally Rubenstone
Written by Sally Rubenstone | April 23, 2015
Question: I am an 8th grader and was wondering if you can suggest some Web sites that will help me study for my finals?

“The Dean" can't offer much help without knowing what classes you're taking and what your curriculum covers.

But you may find that the Khan Academy will be useful. It's free and provides lessons in countless subjects that are geared to students at varying grade levels. See https://www.khanacademy.org/


When my own son was about your age and was out of school for a week with the flu, he was able to keep up with his math class by using the Khan Academy lessons.

Another strategy you should try is to talk with all of your teachers individually. Explain that you want to do really well on your finals and ask the teacher to recommend pertinent Web sites or other study materials.

Not only are you likely to get some advice that is appropriate for each class, but also (and perhaps most important), you'll be sending a message to your teachers that says, “I care about this class and want to do my best."

So, when it's time to grade your exam, the teacher may be more apt to give you the benefit of the doubt if there are some borderline areas where your grade could go either way because the teacher will know that you've made an extra effort to do well.

Written by

Sally Rubenstone

Sally Rubenstone

Sally Rubenstone knows the competitive and often convoluted college admission process inside out: From the first time the topic of college comes up at the dinner table until the last duffel bag is unloaded on a dorm room floor. She is the co-author of Panicked Parents' Guide to College Admissions; The Transfer Student's Guide to Changing Colleges and The International Student's Guide to Going to College in America. Sally has appeared on NBC's Today program and has been quoted in countless publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Weekend, USA Today, U.S. News & World Report, Newsweek, People and Seventeen. Sally has viewed the admissions world from many angles: As a Smith College admission counselor for 15 years, an independent college counselor serving students from a wide range of backgrounds and the author of College Confidential's "Ask the Dean" column. She also taught language arts, social studies, study skills and test preparation in 10 schools, including American international schools in London, Paris, Geneva, Athens and Tel Aviv. As senior advisor to College Confidential since 2002, Sally has helped hundreds of students and parents navigate the college admissions maze. In 2008, she co-founded College Karma, a private college consulting firm, with her College Confidential colleague Dave Berry, and she continues to serve as a College Confidential advisor. Sally and her husband, Chris Petrides, became first-time parents in 1997 at the ripe-old age of 45. So Sally was nearly an official senior citizen when her son Jack began the college selection process, and when she was finally able to practice what she had preached for more than three decades.

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