Finals are a stressful time in college, but you have to keep your head on straight by helping yourself take a mental break. At the Iowa Memorial Union (IMU) there are some ways to do just that. Check out my favorite events below, or check out the full list by clicking here!

Sunday: 5-8pm Play in the Park

• All of the good food trucks from the Iowa City area are in one place! Come check out the good eats for dinner and enjoy some time outside after studying so hard

Monday: 7-11am Flipping into finals

• This is a MUST-HAVE experience. The pancake man comes to Iowa City and you must catch your breakfast pancakes on a plate before you eat. What a wake-up call!

Tuesday: 5pm-7pm Painting and Pastries

• This is always an event to look forward to as well. It is a calm environment with snacks, networking with people who care for students, and you get to paint! How relaxing!

Wednesday: 3:30-8:30pm Therapy Dogs

• What better mid-finals week pick-me-up is there than seeing a dog? This event is always a hit, and you must RSVP, see the link above.

Thursday: 1-4pm Massages

• Start wrapping up the week with a. relaxing massage with friends. You will probably not get the opportunity to have a full spa day on campus, so this is close enough! RSVP at the link above.

Friday: No events at the IMU

• Spend time packing to go home for the summer and relax. You deserve it Hawkeye!

It is also notable many other offices have so many fun, relaxing, and supportive events on campus during finals week. Email and Instagram are normally where the Honors Program, the Center for Inclusive Academic Excellence (CIAE), and the Multicultural and International Student Support and Engagement (MISSE) centers post their finals week activities or means of support. Be sure to keep an eye out for emails or give them a follow!

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As a freshman, living in the dorms is a one-of-a-kind experience. It has its ups and downs of course, but it will create memories that last a lifetime. It took me a bit of trial and error to find a roommate I was comparable with, and that is okay! The university offers the possibility of switching rooms in the middle of the year if you find you and your roommate are not soulmates. As a Residential Assistant now, I can assure you Housing and Dining want to make sure you have a lovely experience here, and that includes people you enjoy being around.

So, how should you choose a roommate?

The answer to that has so many directions, but here are 3 pieces of my advice as a former roommate and current residential assistant in the dorms:

• Put yourself out there! You may end up getting a random roommate if you don’t try to make connections with people. When I came to the University of Iowa, there was a Facebook group that was really popular in finding potential roommates, and that is how I found mine! The Facebook group is always called “The University of Iowa Class of (Graduation Year).” Here, you can put a little biography about yourself, a way others can contact you, where you want to live, and the type of person you want to live with. As always, the university has a roommate finder within the housing portal as well.
• Ask all the questions. Obviously, some questions have more value to you than others, so ask those first. However, once you get past the “What are you studying? Where is your hometown? Do you keep a clean vs. messy and loud vs. quiet room?” ask other questions. I can assure you that compatible roommates mean more than this. Some things I have found helpful as an RA to ask my roommate pairs is: “How long is your social battery around others? How much time after classes would you want the room quiet to study or rest? Would you want to join a student organization together? This (religion or political stance) means a lot to me, is that a problem for you?” There is really an endless list of questions you could ask, but make sure to get to know your potential roommate as a person before playing 20 questions with them too!
• Act quick. If you plan ahead, the odds of you finding a roommate that is most compatible with you are extremely high because there are still lots of people to talk to. The longer you wait, the more procrastinators you will be talking to and it may feel like you are getting more of a random roommate than a planned one.

Always remember, finding a desired roommate is more important than getting your desired room. Be happy with people and not places, you can make the most of wherever you are (including maybe the dorm that wasn’t your first choice). Have a great time meeting new Hawkeyes and preparing for your first year!

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We are almost a month out from college decision day! I remember when I was looking at colleges, I was torn between the University of Iowa and where I thought I was going to attend college my whole life. So why did I choose Iowa? For academics and career preparedness, it was a no-brainer once I learned of the resources here.

I knew I wanted to attend medical school after college, but even if my plans changed I realized the University of Iowa could prepare me for it all! You may ask how the university can be so versatile to prepare students for all sorts of paths after a bachelor’s degree, and the answer to that is the Pomerantz Career Center.

The Pomerantz Career Center is an on-campus office that ultimately works with students so that they can become more professional and curate resumes, cover letters, personal statements, and LinkedIn profiles that demonstrate that and themselves in the most ideal light. Not only does their office do this, but they do so much more!

Looking at other college institutions, I found it hard to find anything that resembled the Pomerantz Career Center and all the services offered to students. This made me believe that the University of Iowa does not only wants their students to succeed while they are here but also after college in the job market.

Here is an example of what they do:

• As a Freshman, I was able to get guidance to make a professional appearance on LinkedIn
• As a Sophomore, I used the career center’s video guidance and template references to upgrade my resume, and I connected with campus partners and professionals I met on LinkedIn
• As a Junior, I began looking into graduate school applications. I practiced my elevator pitch, looked over how to rock an interview, and how to write a personal statement.

You may realize, you can make some good progress with the resources online. However, you would be missing out on mock interviews, actual courses to further your skills, career fairs, and my favorite: one on one guidance.

I met with a Career Coach at the Pomerantz Center recently and it was probably one of the most motivating, impactful, and informative meetings I have had at the University of Iowa. After this meeting, I actually wished I began using these in-person resources sooner than I did. We started with the idea that I needed to write a personal statement for graduate school, but we addressed I was experiencing writer’s block and wasn’t really getting anywhere. I had things I wanted to say or at least address in my personal statement, but I alone could not weave them together seamlessly or figure out what information was necessary.

In our meeting, instead of focusing directly on the essay, we transitioned into why I wanted to go down the career path I am on, what my strengths were, the kind of person I am and want to be, and more. We created a mind map of what I thought was important to include and what messages I wanted to convey to those reading my statement. This turned into my outline.

Generally, I write with ease and don’t necessarily need an outline. However, with such pressure on how much this singular personal statement met for my future career, I was having a hard time sticking to a single theme. I wanted to include all sorts of little aspects and details of my life that I thought were important, but they didn’t necessarily stick to the theme I was trying to convey.

Meeting with both my academic advisor and a career coach in the Pomerantz Center helped me stick to the theme I was trying to convey. However, those other aspects I thought were important to include in my personal statement weren’t thrown out of my application. In our meetings, we found what I wanted to convey to admissions committees, and found a better spot for this information in my application.

I genuinely think meeting with advisors and coaches in person rather than using just the online resources helped me make the best application I could for medical school that made me stand out for who I am. Without the one on one experience working through my application, I would be stuck in writer’s block, have a more general application, and probably include a lot of information that could have a maximized effect if it was included in another area.

I highly recommend not only coming to the University of Iowa to use this great and personal resource for all your future endeavors but also to feel free to get a head start on your professional appearance by using the online resources available to you now. The best part is even after you graduate (for one whole year) you can continue to use the in-person resources that become available to you when you enroll as a student.

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It is getting warm enough for some days now that I can say winter is over! Experiencing spring on campus at the University of Iowa is so exciting and I can’t wait to share some of the things I am looking forward to. Here is a list, use it as a bucket list for spring:

1. Studying outside (bonus points if you are in a hammock or bring a blanket to the Pentacrest)
2. Walking everywhere (ditch the bus because the weather is nice)
3. Walk it Out (A showcase of diversity through fashion and music, and to my knowledge the biggest multicultural group on campus!)
4. Sidewalk sales (downtown shops tend to put clearance items on the sidewalk when the weather is nice)
5. Using the parks and courts on campus for a catch, spike ball, volleyball, or basketball
6. Live music (there is always an event going on in the pedestrian mall across from campus that has some live entertainment when the weather is nice)
7. Thursdays on the Terrace (Weekly events at the Iowa Memorial Union on campus to give students a break from studying and a chance to win cool prizes)
8. Wilson’s Farm visits (a farm close to campus where you can go pick your own fruits, vegetables, and flowers)
9. Iowa City Farmers Market (the biggest farmers market I have ever been to and there is always such a great variety of vendors)
10. Hiking or biking trails (trails are short around here, but perfect for a Saturday morning wakeup call)

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1.) Apply for scholarships for next year

It seems early to apply for things regarding next year, but application portals are closing left and right. Whether you are a potential, incoming, or current Hawkeye, apply for scholarships for the chance to help lift some of the burden of the cost of college. The University has some of its own opportunities, but don’t forget to check out your hometown opportunities or nationwide scholarships as well.

2.) Plan a closet cleanout

You won’t need ALL of your warm winter gear after spring break. Keep a few sweatshirts for days when the weather is gross, but pack away all of those bulky coats and sweaters before the break. If you are a current Hawkeye, you can take them home during spring break. This is what I do, and I swap them out for a bin of summer clothes to take back to Iowa City. If you are an incoming Hawkeye, this is a good time to plan what warm clothes you want to bring to college. Donate things you didn’t wear this winter, and pack things you will wear again.

3.) Plan classes ahead

You may need a backup plan for your back-up back-up plan in terms of registering for classes depending on your level of education. At Iowa, generally, seniors register first and freshman register last for classes. Get a grasp on what you want to take, and keep an eye out for the availability of your ideal schedule. Whatever you do, DO NOT get hooked on one schedule especially if you are an underclassman. You have plenty of time to take that one class that didn’t have a seat left, you have plenty of time to readjust your work schedule to accommodate the classes you have to take, and you have plenty of time to practice waking up earlier. Trust me, a schedule unlike your top pick could be flustering, but it is best to (roughly) plan ahead in registration so you are not scavenging classes the day of your registration.

4.) Give a good push

You are so close to spring break. You could be going on an insane vacation or just picking up extra hours at work, but no matter what, spring break is your time off from school (ideally). Study for those mid-terms and push through those projects. You will have the break you deserve soon.

5.) Re-evaluate goals and progress

Going into spring break is a great time to self-reflect. How is your semester going so far? Are you keeping up with the goals you set? If not, that’s okay! You have a whole week coming up where you do not have to worry about physically being in class. Use this time to set yourself up to achieve your goals. Of course, take the break you need, but towards the later half of the week, aim high. Do what you have planned on doing all semester: start waking up early, eat healthy, hit the gym, get ahead in homework, and start studying for that test.

6.) Submit your housing application

If you want to live on campus, housing applications are OPEN. This means people are already choosing their rooms. The faster you do this, the better chance you have to get a room you want on campus.

7.) Apply for opportunities!

Spring semester is the time to apply for activities in the fall. For incoming Hawkeyes, this may just be a self-reflection on what activities or clubs you want to participate in soon. However, keep an eye out for opportunities meant for freshmen specifically, there are lots! Whether this be first-year (honors student) Primetime, a course meant to transition you to campus, a course meant to help you find where you belong, or something to do with getting into research, there is a program made to make you feel valued and like you belong here. Simply do some google searches “uiowa” with what interests you and see if there is a program you can apply or sign up for right at the start of your college experience.

For current students, apply to help new students to campus feel welcome and oriented during OnIowa!, play to your strengths that make you unique and involve something you love in a research workshop (I did this one!), apply to the executive board of a student organization you love or plan to join a new one, and plan to attend the career fair after the break!

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No matter how hard I seem to study or prepare for finals, I am always exhausted after they are over. Many students feel this way because of the emotional tax that finals week takes. Stress is high, and sleep is low. It takes a while to feel like things are back to normal, and that hurts around the holiday season. Here is how I recuperate after finals:

1.) Eat well

After finals, I know my body needs to be nourished. Getting a full meal after my last final (and a healthy one) always makes me feel like I have a little bit of life back together. Giving my body the vitamins and nutrients it needs will help in the long run of recovering for finals too!

2.) Get a treat

College finals are not an accomplishment to ignore. The whole week is taxing on the body with stress, not to mention the exams themselves. Having a pick-me-up in the form of a sweet treat at the end of the week is enough to make me smile and feel like I accomplished something big.

3.) Drink no caffeine (after finals)

As a normal college student, I drink a lot of caffeine on a normal day. During dead week and finals week, this amount sometimes doubles. When I am done with finals, I always feel like I need a caffeine detox. This comes with a headache, but I always sleep it off or take some medicine for the headache so I don’t develop a dependency on my finals week caffeine tolerance.

4.) Sleep

I couldn’t tell you how much sleep I loose during finals week. I never feel like I can catch up, but a day of just sleeping as much as I can without an alarm to wake me up always makes me feel rejuvenated. Especially after not drinking caffeine after finals, I can sleep off the headache.

5.) Clean my room

Having a clean environment always gives me some peace of mind. My room tends to become a little disorganized during finals week so doing a little cleanup makes me feel like I am back to normal.

6.) Visit friends

During the school year, I visit with my friends often. During finals week, not so much. When finals are over though, it is wonderful to catch up with friends and not have to worry about school.

7.) Pack to go home :)

Packing to go home gets me excited to see my family, go home for the holidays, and get out of the school environment. Getting what I can ready always gets me in a good mood.

I hope you all rejuvenate quickly after finals and the semester went in your favor. Now enjoy your break! You all deserve it.

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Knowing what to expect in college for a workload is probably among the hardest things to guess because it all depends on the classes you are taking in a given semester, but looking at class structure can give you a great idea of what you are getting yourself into. If you know how you like to be assessed, even better! You can create your schedule to be tailored to you and you can prepare yourself for assessments that will be given over the semester in the form of exams, essays, and group projects.

I have yet to have a class that incorporates all three of these methods, however, I have found that science-heavy classes (without a lab) will be your heavy exam-based classes. Here, there are often so many students in the class that exams are the most efficient way for a professor to access your knowledge. On the other hand, humanities and lab courses have the most papers and essays because this is the easiest way for the professor to see if you can apply the knowledge you have discussed in class in a context that may not have a “correct” answer in ways such as the hard-core science classes. In terms of business-related classes, you will find the most group projects here. Professors in this realm like to try to emulate true team projects as you would see in the workplace, so they find that judging group project work and progress is the best way to access your knowledge in business-related classes.

What I have found to be my favorite is trying to have a good mix of these types of courses to keep my sanity as a student. In my freshman and sophomore years, I had a humanity-related general education class every semester that had me write papers or complete presentations. This was a good break from the exams from the hard-core science classes that are related to my field of study.

I found that I took this diversity in my schedule for granted this semester when I signed up for all science classes. There is no scheduled “exam week” or “midterm week” in college, so depending on the class, you can have an exam every 2, 3, 4, etc. week. For me, none of my classes were on the same exam cycle, so I have had an exam (or 4!) every week. This became terribly exhausting. I felt like I fell into the bad habit of cramming for exams and I wasn’t getting assessed to my full potential. Needless to say, I’m throwing some classes for my humanity-field minor into my schedule for next semester to prevent this from happening again!

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To-do lists get me through my traditional day in college, but there comes a time when some things just don’t fit in a typical day’s to-do list, and get procrastinated. Now that fall break is here, I have been finding myself stuck with a to-do list that I have procrastinated on over the semester. This puts me in a college-student-conflict of deciding to procrastinate more and take advantage of my break or taking advantage of my free time to get things checked off that list. Keep reading for how I am finding the best of both worlds during my fall break and how I plan on using this strategy while school is in session!

This fall break, I was so excited to come home and just take a well-deserved break. However, my haunting to-do list regarding preparing for exams, post-graduation plans, work, research, job shadowing, and more was constantly on my mind. Knowing I had a full week to accomplish my tasks, I soaked in some good family time for the first couple of days of break and got some Christmas shopping done. Then I set a schedule for myself to get this work done.

I thought it would be more break-like for me to just do my work when I felt bored and had nothing else to do. I found this worked well for a while, but a schedule made sure things still got done. I tried making soft deadlines for myself and this helped a lot by ensuring I didn’t overwork one day and had nothing to do the next. It also allowed me to be spontaneous to visit with friends and family while I was home.

Another thing I began doing was prioritizing my to-do list in chunks. This has helped tremendously by making sure I do not feel bad if something does not get done in the time I need it to because I knew I was getting the most important things done. Chunking my workload has allowed me to take breaks and take time off if I need to.

In school, I plan to use this to-do list approach of chunking my list and setting my own deadlines. I envision this will help me ease some stress related to deadlines by breaking up my assignments into pieces and hoping to get them done before the actual deadline!

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