Although the Fall 2016 semester isn’t going as fast as most of us had hoped, it has reached its midpoint! With the semester being halfway over, we as college students are expected to survive midterm week, along with the stress and sleep deprivation that comes with it. Here are some tips to ensure that your midterm week goes smoothly!
1. Study for your tests.
This may sound like common sense, but apparently it isn’t. Midterm week is a very pivotal part of the semester; midterms make up a large part of your semester grades, so doing well on these exams is essential. Go through your notes well in advance and do practice problems to ensure that you understand the concepts that you are going to be tested on. Most midterms are cumulative exams comprised of everything that you have learned so far in the semester, so make sure to give yourself ample time to study. Give Netflix and your friends a break and crack open those textbooks that you haven’t opened yet!
2. Make sure to eat before your exam.
We’ve all been there; you’re sitting in a room full of students in complete silence when all of a sudden, you hear a sound. It sounds like a dying whale, and soon enough you realize that it is actually the sound of your stomach growling. How embarrassing! Save yourself the anxiety of dealing with your stomach making whale noises and make sure that you eat a decent meal prior to your exam. When you eat a healthy and balanced meal, you will gain energy and be better able to focus on the task at hand, ultimately leading to a higher grade!
3. Avoid all-nighters if possible.
With the amount of work that we get assigned during the middle of the semester, it isn’t possible to grab the 8 hours of sleep we need to sustain ourselves 99% of the time. However, if you have the opportunity to sleep the night before a midterm, make sure you take it because not everyone is as fortunate. When you get a decent amount of sleep, you will feel refreshed the next day and be better able to focus and recall information you need to know for the exam.
4. Prioritize material in terms of cruciality.
Most of us are better in some subjects than others; learn to prioritize the subjects and topics that you are having difficulty with over the ones that you have down pat. If you think that you need to skip a nonessential class in order to study, then make that decision for yourself. Don’t waste essential study time on topics that you have already mastered, because doing so is counterproductive. Spend the most time on your hardest classes, and dedicate the most effort to the toughest topics or chapters.
5. Remember to put your midterms into perspective.
Midterm Week may seem like a life-or-death situation, but it’s important to remember the true value of midterms when compared to the big picture. Don’t intentionally stress yourself out and pressure yourself to do well on your exams; try your best and go into that testing room confident that you have done all that you could to do well. If you don’t do well, don’t get disheartened; the semester may be half over, but there is still a whole second half left in order to redeem yourself. Study for the sake of gaining valuable knowledge, not just for the sake of passing a test.
Good luck to all this upcoming Midterm Week, and may the odds be ever in your favor.
