Preparing to Finish the Rest of the Semester on a High Note after Midterms
Even though the week of exams that mark the term’s midpoint and the stress that came from studying for them before may be over, the pop quizzes, online discussions, in-class assignments, and team projects still remaining are not!
Feeling tired, wanting to give up, and fighting not to quit are completely normal and are a part of the experience that comes with many classes at this point, and procrastination and cramming on the night before or the morning of the midterm would not end up with the best results in the long run. But remember that one slip-up does not define you. Developing the best skills will help you take on more milestones with consistency and resilience. Right after the midterm comes the next half of the chapters that will clearly be on the final.
Plan ahead and complete the classwork ahead of time, and if the classwork is online, complete it one or even two weeks in advance. Set an agenda with goals, and if you fall behind one or two days, that’s completely okay! From setting reminders on your phone to setting notifications in your email to writing it down in your manual agenda, all of those are great ideas! Pick the option that works for you, or incorporate all three!
Just like what happened before the midterm, the workloads will get heavier, and more concepts taught will stack even higher than before. Study groups or tutoring centers are optional, but if you choose to go it alone, you have to navigate the course strategically. If the homework is online and was already open on the first day of class, pace yourself to avoid being overloaded, try to complete assignments earlier than the week that each of them is due (maybe one or even two weeks in advance!).
There might be extra time on the back end to read the textbook chapter over again if needed, or to see how to avoid choosing incorrect answers repeatedly when similar problems show up again. All of this leads to the final exam, which assesses if there were skills that you learned after taking the midterms. All of those skills are put to the test, and right now is not too early to start preparing for that moment.
Think of it like preparing for a track meet, and your event is long-distance. The only way to win is to practice drills that keep your endurance consistent so that you will not slow down or feel tired. If anything, you want to get faster as your run goes on, and that’s one thing to remember now that midterms are finished. You can do anything you put your mind to, and success in earning an A as the final grade does not happen overnight. The game plan is to concentrate on a daily basis with repetition, so understanding the material comes naturally, and you can excel!