Whether you started studying for finals during Thanksgiving break or didn't study at all, the relief of taking your last final and finishing up the semester is something we all can relate to.
To celebrate the end of long, work-filled semester, you deserve to take a night out on the town before heading back to your parent's house. Because icing out your non-alcoholic drink will land you in deep trouble.
But you just can't go to any U of I bar after finals. Each bar will be filled with students that are raging wildly or chugging sadly in the corner based on how their finals went.
Read up on what bar to go to depending on how you did on your finals:
The Red Lion
The Red Lion is the place to go to after finishing a final in less than 15 minutes because you knew that test like the back of your hand. Safe to say you aced that sh*t.
Head over to Lion with your friends and start pounding down some drinks. Just make sure to get some drunk food once the bar closes. A hungover ride back to your hometown is not the move.
Joe's Brewery
After you finish up your mid-day final feeling pretty confident that you did well, you are in need of a well deserved lunch. Go on over to Joe's Brewery and order one of their many mouthwatering burgers. Treat yourself even more by ordering a Lunchbox pitcher—you earned it.
KAM's
The days leading up to finals week are filled with studying and a lack of social interaction. Once you fill in the last bubble of your Scranton, head over to KAM's and order a round of Blue Guys for you and your buds.
Chances are you will see everyone you have ever met throughout your time at U of I at KAM's. You might even find yourself chatting with your floor mate from freshman year that you never thought you'd see again. Let's be honest, after only hanging out with your chemistry notes for a week straight, you'll take whatever company you can get.
Murphy's Pub
Your finals have sucked all of the energy out of you. You can't even imagine going out but you still want to have a beer or two. Murphy's Pub is the perfect place for the chill night you are dying to have.
Grab a group of friends, order some quality beers and relax. You get that bit of social interaction that you wanted so badly after spending hours in the library while getting a little tipsy. Sounds like the perfect combo to me.
Legends
If it is your senior year and you are sick of finals, sick of all the drunk freshman trying to get into the bars with a clearly fake ID and just want to start your "real world" job, then Legends is the place for you.
After finishing up your last final, walk on over to Legends and start ordering some classy drinks. Hopefully your last final is on Tuesday so you can Ride the Rail and try the assortment of beers they have to offer.
The Clybourne
If you finished your finals and want to straight-up forget the awful exam you took that day, your go-to bar is The Clyborne (aka Cly's).
If your finals end on Tuesday, you're in luck. Tuesday is the best night to go to Cly's because of their weekly Wine Night. Reward yourself with a nice bottle of wine—yes, go ahead and drink the whole bottle—and have a night that you (hopefully) remember.
Brother's Bar & Grill
Brother's Bar & Grill is the place to be when you did just okay on your finals. All you want now is to have a good time with friends and take your mind off what you could've done differently to study. You can still have just as crazy of a time as you would at any bar on campus, but you'll actually be able to hear what the person you are talking to is saying.
Make sure to order a round of shots for you and your friends to take on their notorious shot-ski. There isn't a more appropriate time to take a shot like this than after finals.
Firehaus
Firehaus is also a great option for those of you who just want to have a relaxing night out with friends, hear how their finals went, but still pound down a few drinks after a stressful week of studying and writing papers. Order one of their tasty fishbowls to have a fun, well-deserved night out with friends.
Hopefully while you are reading this during your overly long study break you will get the motivation to get back to studying because you now have something to look forward to after finals. Whether you do an amazing job or not, you tried, and that deserves to be celebrated.
Good luck on your finals!