It's halfway through the semester; college students every where are settled into their new classes, comfortable with their schedules, and looking forward to Spring Break.
With all this going on, midterms are kicking in and making students crazy. Last night I went to the library to study for my psychology quiz and the place was packed with students! On a Sunday evening, when kids are still nursing their Saturday night hangovers, they were busy at work.
There is something about midterms that makes students crazy, possibly even crazier than finals. Midterms sneak up on everyone; we think we have days and weeks to study for the big test but you look at the calendar and realize that the test is in two days, and you have three of them to study for.
Midterms creep up on us because they come right in the middle of the semester (obviously) but no one is ever prepared.
There are a few things you could do in order to help your midterm angst.
1. Talk to your professors
If you have three or more midterms on a single day, your school might have a policy that doesn't allow that to happen. Talk to your professors and see if there is a way you could take the test earlier or later to ensure that you get the best grade possible. There isn't any use studying to the bone for three tests if you're going to do below average on all of them.
2. Organize, Organize, Organize
If you haven't gotten the hint by now, I'm all about organization. Sit down and make a schedule of when and what to study, that will be a huge help. Also, if you make index cards or a study guide, that'll help too. Be sure to save those materials for finals week so you have most of the information already written down!
3. Study Uniquely
The worst part about midterms is obviously studying; not only are you worrying about doing a good job on your test and dealing with the stress of balancing all these tests and papers, you have to study. Being a Mass Communications major, I don't have many tests and the tests I do have aren't difficult, the information is pretty straight forward. Therefore, when I try to study psychology or history, I have a tougher time absorbing the information.
With the trusty help of my iPAD, I discovered some great apps that help with studying and make it a little more fun and a little bit easier: Brainscape and FlashcardLet. They're great interactive apps that have helped me immensely!
Do your best to stay positive during midterm week. Take a break from your four hour studying binge, paint your nails, get a coffee, and relax when you can. If you run yourself and your brain into the ground with information, the turn out will not be so great.
Keep Calm and Study On, you'll do great :)
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