It is that dreadful time of year again; Midterms. The work load has suddenly skyrocketed out of the blue, you can’t find the time to eat because you’re stuck inside Evans library 24/7, and you have forgotten what it means to have a social life. For a lot of us this may be the first midterm of our college career and for others it may be ‘number 30’. Either way, it is a time of stress for all of us indeed.
I remember my first midterm. I tanked, hard. I walked back to my dorm with that horrible grade and contemplated my life and college career for days. It got to the point where I had convinced myself that I needed to drop out of college because I did so badly on that one test. I was a straight A kid in high school, and to be suddenly thrown into college and make a D on an exam was not something I was emotionally and mentally prepared for.
Therefore, to even fathom making it through finals, you must remember two very important things.
1) This first test does not determine your final grade. Chances are that this will simply be 5-8% of your final grade. Take this as a way to get a feel for how your professor writes his exams and what they like to focus on. You can better prepare yourself for the next exam and ace it.
2) Relax. People often forget to make time to relax, which to me makes no sense. You are constantly caught up in studying and homework, that you over work yourself. Take the time to have a “me break” every 3 hours you study. You’ll come back refreshed and ready to attack your studies with energy.
Keep these helpful tips embedded in your mind during this hard time, and then you my friend will not only get through this, you will conquer your midterms.