TURLOCK -- A good pub with the right amount of background noise is one California State University, Stanislaus, student's favorite study place, especially when final exams roll around.

A self-described procrastinator said lots of coffee and at least one all-nighter is the way to go this time of year.

Another student insisted getting proper rest, eating right and staying calm is key.

However students deal with it, a recent nationwide survey found that final exam week is much like many people remember: lots of late-night group study sessions fueled by junk food and caffeine.

Finals kicked off Friday at Stanislaus State. They continued after the three-day weekend and end Friday.

"You drink lots of coffee, take a yoga class and try to relax," said 24-year-old Belina

Thomas of Turlock, a psychology major.

She and her sister, 19-year-old Linette Thomas, said they try not to go over the ma-terial too much and they ask God to help them do well.

"You pray you won't freeze or forget the material," Linette Thomas said.

Lifting the silver cross around her neck, Belina Thomas said she feels better wearing it on test day.

The Princeton Review -- a leading provider of test preparation and admissions services -- last month surveyed 1,000 students at 150 colleges across the United States to determine how they prepare for exams.

Some highlights of the survey:

Students reported sleeping three hours less per night during exam week.

When asked what techniques they use to stay awake, more than 50 percent said they drink coffee or tea, 46 percent named soft drinks and 16 percent reported having consumed an energy drink.

When asked what they take with them into exams to ensure a peak performance, the answers ranged from the eccentric, such as Homer Simpson slippers; to the practical, such as a good night's sleep and lots of pens and pencils; to spiritual, prayers and good feelings.

Blake Humble, a 26-year-old from Modesto, is working on a master's degree in business. The longer he's been in school, he said, the better his study habits have become.

Still, this week he will average about two hours less of sleep a night, and he will shift from being a morning coffee drinker to a morning-and-night coffee drinker, he said.

After a test he'll have a beer, he added. "Post-test, it's directly to a bar."

Kristin Chelotti of Stockton said she's learned a thing or two after spending too many semesters "stressing and stressing."

"It was just horrible," she said. "I had to hit bottom first. I pushed past it. I'm OK now."

Her strategy now is to eat healthfully and get proper sleep. No energy bars or coffee drinks, she said.

"Grades are important, but not as important as health and happiness," the 22-year-old said. "It's only a class."

A freshman political science major from Modesto, Gabriel Campos, 20, admitted he loses his appetite. "Today I didn't eat my whole Whopper meal," he said. "I just threw it away."

Campos has been juggling school and a full-time job since June, a schedule that has caused him to lose three hours of sleep a night -- he's down to five.

Other students, such as Shivaugn Alves, a 22-year-old senior from Patterson, stay up all night. Alves planned to stay up through tonight to complete a seven-page term paper for a gender studies class. Coffee and energy drinks will keep her wired, she said.

Sean Hernandez, 29, of Turlock, said he likes studying in the relaxed atmosphere of a good pub. He said he's been getting three hours of sleep a night, an improvement over past semesters when he'd stay awake many nights.

Being slightly delirious actually enhanced his philosophy papers, he said.

"At one point I had two jobs, 19 units and a girlfriend," he said. "I found that sleeping for 15 minutes on the floor in front of my next class would be good enough."