It’s that time of the year when college students have four exams crammed into a week, on top of a work schedule, extracurriculars, and somehow squeezing in eating and sleeping. While there is still plenty of work to be done, you are almost halfway through your term! But here are some study tips for college midterms that will help you breeze through your toughest week thus far:
- Skim
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I know your professors and teaching assistants always tell you that you should never skim over readings and notes, but if your midterm exam is cumulative (whether it is a test, a paper, or a project) – you should have already read through all the necessary material through participating regularly in your coursework. Skimming will help refresh what you already know (as much as you may doubt what you already know). If you haven’t been doing any reading, don’t stress yourself out too much. Be sure to read through notes and skim through thicker, denser reading, assuming that you have little time before your exam.
- Take initiative and utilize your resources!
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College is full of endless resources – help rooms, review sessions, tutoring zones, etc. Utilize them to your best ability! Many students make study guides for their classes – request one. Compare notes with friends, attend any potential tutoring sessions, ask your TA if they can have a review session and if they cannot, schedule one with a group of classmates and advertise it.
- Use a library
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I know you don’t want to. Why would you need to? You can Google anything. False: you can’t Google everything. Many libraries will have additional resources that (wait for it) – the internet cannot provide. Most university libraries also have tutors that can help you with specific problems, questions, and so on. Additionally, libraries will probably have materials that will compliment your coursework in addition to in-class notes.
- Disconnect
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Do it. Delete your social media applications just for a week (at least, anything that will be irrelevant or distracting). A majority of college students cannot even walk from one class to the other without at least holding their phone or absentmindedly checking their social medias. Deactivate your Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat – whatever you feel you need to personally do to allow yourself to focus on what is important for that week. It won’t be the end of the world.
- Stay healthy
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Stress eating is a huge issue for college students. Or stress not-eating. Relax and make sure that you are taking care of yourself, both physically and mentally. Eat healthy meals, drink lots of water, and allow yourself an ample amount of time to take breaks. Think about planning meals ahead of time so that you can prioritize yourself. While your midterms are important, they are not more important than your health and wellbeing. Take care of yourself before you take care of your GPA. Your GPA may be a number, but you are not.
All in all, make sure that you are relaxing, preparing, and managing your time appropriately to make your week as stress-free as possible. You are capable of anything and through taking care of yourself, your hard work will not go to waste. See what works for you and what doesn’t work for you during midterm week and apply that to finals week. Regardless of the outcome, there will be a comfort in knowing that you did your personal best even if your personal best isn’t the best that there is.