Breathe. It's almost over.

A smooth transition into sweet summer days is just around the corner — that is, if you're prepared for finals week.

Flowers are popping up all over campus. Students are trading their thick winter wardrobes for T-shirts and shorts. People are crowding outdoor hot spots like The Peanut Barrel to nab burgers while soaking in the sun.

There's no denying it; spring definitely is in the air.

But along with this lovely seasonal change comes a not-so-pretty time around MSU's campus. This is the dreaded week when classes may be over, but something else still prevails over students lives — exams.

Finals keep stressed-out, caffeine-wired college students awake cramming until all hours of the night.

But that's only half of the story.

There are two kinds of students who freak out around finals week.

One is the student who has neglected schoolwork all semester long, and now their only hope of passing class is to ace the final exam.

For those of you that fit into this category, sorry, but it's your own fault. You have no option other than studying really hard and crossing your fingers really tight.

The second type of student who stresses out during finals are students who work hard and have high standards for their grades.

This is the type of student who can really take advantage of a whole week dedicated to finals by devoting their extra time to cramming.

But that's only if their exam date actually falls during finals week.

Some professors believe they're doing students a favor by scheduling an exam the week prior to finals week. And this could work, if students have the time amid classes and work to study.

But for some, finals week should remain just that — a week of no classes when all finals are taken. It can be too big of a load for some students to take finals before the specifically assigned finals week.

But other exam takers welcome the early end to a semester with open arms.

A student who has all their finals the week before exams are intended to be scheduled gets tests out of the way earlier, not to mention one week less of school and one more week of vacation.

How one deals with finals varies from student to student, but time is constant no matter who you are. And in less than two weeks, we'll all be free and clear of papers, books and, of course, teachers' dirty looks.