Student Life: How to Survive Midterms
Lancer Life is excited to have Joshua Ian Robles, a second year student and film major, contributing to the blog. He’ll be covering the “Student Life” beat. Dig in!
“ARRRRRRRRGH!”
That’s the sound of my frustration during midterms. These heavily-weighted exams and papers offer an opportunity to either raise my grades or to have them descend into an abyss of ‘oh-dear-lord-kill-me-now.’ As a result, stress is inevitable. Even with cutting back on time spent with friends, sleeping, and eating, it’s still not guaranteed that I’ll pass each test with flying colors.
“ARRRRRRRRGH!”
After enduring and surviving my share of midterms, I’ve learned that timing is everything. By dedicating a few hours each day to studying and having fun, I’ve managed to prepare successfully for midterms and eventually, finals. Here’s what I recommend:
- Carefully schedule each day leading up to midterms, making sure to calculate the number of hours that need to be devoted to work, class, and meetings.
- With your schedule in hand, see what hours are free each day and pencil in some time for studying.
- Lastly, make sure to add in a a fun activity for an hour or two each day for study breaks. Treat yourself to something nice.
- And as a bonus, try to read or quiz yourself as you commute from place to place or any time you may be stationary for a period of time.
Well, there you have it. Sweet and painless isn’t it? Well, mostly.
What’s your secret to surviving midterms and finals?
This is my first semester here at PCC, and I have learned that I need to really sit down and write out a schedule for myself of what, when, where, and how I will carry out my activities. I think if I read this earlier, I wouldn’t have wasted the amount of time I already have thus far.
Ah, well.
At least I started doing schedules for myself. Better late than never!