With 10-odd hours to go until her first final, Jami Jeffery wasn’t quite freaking out yet.

“The pressure’s on,” Jeffery said, sitting near the window in Henry’s Coffee Shop, 11 E. Eighth St.

The Kansas University senior had an empty mug of coffee in front of her, open books and papers and notecards scattered everywhere. With a 7:30 a.m. limnology final – where she’ll be tested on the ecosystems of aquatic life – she’s trying her best to hold it together.

“I’m just trying to keep a positive perspective,” she said.

She wasn’t alone Sunday night. After a solid Stop Day weekend of partying – heck, KU student Emily Howard and her buddies held the Beer Olympics Friday – students all across Lawrence buried themselves in books and computer screens on the eve of finals week.

For Howard, this round of finals should be one of the easiest of her college career. The fifth-year senior has one final and one paper before she walks down the hill.

“I kind of planned it that way,” she said.

But having only a few finals doesn’t mean they’re necessarily easier. All kinds of factors come into play – cumulative or not? Essay or multiple choice? Written or oral?

To study or not to study?

“It’s just a problem of motivation,” KU journalism senior Alison Peterson said.

Peterson has been at this for a while, and now, at Watson Library, her last hard-core study session before diploma time hasn’t been easy.

“It’s hard to focus and try,” she said.

Sarah Kelting feels her pain.

She wanted to study sooner but couldn’t bring herself to do it. Now, the biology major is hunkered down in the library, staring hard at the intricate patterns of chemical compositions.

“I tried last night, but it didn’t work,” she said. “But I’m not quite frazzled yet.”

Yet.