Midterms and What Are They?
Typically midterms are to help you know and show your progress halfway through the semester. It is quite literally the middle of the semester and it’s to test you and your skills. Most classes have midterm exams, projects, or just grades. These things help keep you on track and reflect on your knowledge in the course. My midterm grades are coming in soon and I’ll see how I’m doing in all my classes for this semester. I’ll talk about creating schedules, study resources, and most of all BREAKS.
Create A Schedule
The first thing that I like to do is to create a schedule to study the different subjects. I mostly make it through a digital organizer called notion. Notion is an all in one tool that I use for work, school, and my podcast. I always start my week on Sunday during the school year because that’s when the official start of the week starts for me. I input my classes and what times they go for. Then, in between the classes, I make time to study certain subjects. I always bold my classes because those typically don’t change times but certain things like studying times and places. This will help you with making sure you are using your time well. Plus you can hold yourself accountable for not staying on the study schedule you set for yourself.
Study Tools
Quizlet
I use this to remember terms and definitions for classes. For example, in my contemporary environmental issues class, I’ll be making a Quizlet set to help me connect all the ideas of environmental changes and terms throughout the course. I’ve been using this tool ever since I was in middle school and it helps a lot. I feel like if you didn’t use Quizlet at some point in your life then you are missing out on something special. It has all kinds of things you can use to help you understand multiple things in your course. Like flashcards, learn features, tests, and games like matching. I love using this to help me just know what I’m doing in my classes. If you don’t use Quizlet I suggest that you use it because it will help you a lot even in classes that you’re struggling with.
Practice Exams (From Classes Before)
If your class typically has midterm exams then there are most likely past exams you can take a look at and know what the current exam might look like. This is a really nice resource because the professor wants to see you do well and know what you’re doing. Last year I took a college course called Intro to Psychology and my professor provided past or practice exams we could take up until the test just to see what we knew. If your professor provides practice or past exams you can take, take them. It will help you in the long run, that way you can kind of expect the same sort of questions that will be on the mid-term exam itself. Two of my friends are using practice exams to study so they understand the material in the course. The course they are studying is Intro to Geology. It’s very content heavy so taking these practice exams will help them absorb the content.
Asking Questions Before, During, or After Class
There is a reason office hours were invented in the first place. Students have questions. Go to office hours because it can help gain some information about what you are studying which helps in the long run. If you need help with something that you learned about in class your professors are always wanting to help. Professors want you to go to office hours because they want to see you succeed. Nobody wants you to fail; plus if you fail then the professor fails in a way. They only want the best for you and only want success for their students. Most of the time professors are very understanding and will work with you to make sure you understand anything and everything in the class. I know because my Creative Writing professor has helped me with my stories and is currently helping me revise one of the current stories I’m writing right now. My own experience with office hours, it has helped me understand the content of the class and the subject we learn about in the class itself. So I can’t stress enough that you go to office hours and ask questions. Professors only want to see you succeed and have a successful college career.
Study With Classmates & Friends
Classmates
First of all, something you don’t understand someone might understand perfectly, while you might understand something perfectly and someone might not understand that very well. You guys can help each other learn the content together as almost one person in a way. That’s why it’s always good to have someone and some people that take their studies seriously. Plus if all of you guys are struggling with the same thing you guys can try to understand it as best as possible.
Friends
Even though you might not be in the same classes it can be really fun to study with friends. Plus I think I study smarter and harder when I know my friends and I are trying to get as much work done as possible. It’s a great way to recharge your social battery along with getting valuable work time in for classes. A couple of weeks ago I studied with my friend in the library. We didn’t talk, all we did was just work and it was nice. She also did help me figure out how the printers work on campus so thank you, you know who you are. Along with a late-night study session in Currier, we were doing our thing and my friend was freaking out about the characters for Mandarin. Even though you might not have the same classes just being closer to someone who is working just as hard as you are is such a good thing to have.
Find Locations You Can Focus In
Upper Levels of the Main Library
The reason why you shouldn’t study for midterms on the 1st floor of the library is that so many people walk through that area, from tours to big lectures, and others just get something to eat at the campus cafe. In the upper levels of the library, there is not much activity going on so you won’t be disturbed if you try to focus. I like to go up there when I don’t want to deal with the extra noise I get on the lower levels of the library itself.
Back Corner of the Ground Floor in IMU
If you face away from the tours that go past you in the IMU then it makes it the perfect place to study for a midterm. There is also a little seating area where you can just relax and most of the time you get people coming out of the Hawk Shop. Other than that you can just sit around there to just focus on whatever your midterm is over.
Burge Basement
Surprisingly I’ve had a lot of focus time in Burge’s basement area. I know it’s surprising but it’s actually really quiet down there. During the typical school day, people are working a lot and during the evening hours, that’s when you get the ping pong and games that are down there. I was down there a couple times just to rest and it helped me a lot even though I haven’t had a typical midterm exam or even a project.
Coffee Shops Downtown
If you go to the very back of the cafe you can get some good focus time because it’s away from people ordering their drinks. I’ve found this very helpful when it comes to my creative writing assignments. This a great place, as long as you don’t go every day. Plus the vibe of the place helps me just try to get as much work done as possible.
Common Room of Currier
Specifically in the back rooms of the Currier study space. It’s very quiet back there which is nice to be able to focus on your work. It’s great mostly because when you need some time to yourself going to the back corner of Currier or any common room in the dorms on campus makes it easy to focus for midterms.
Closing Thoughts
When it comes to studying for any type of midterm it can be hard, but if you take these tips I suggest you can move one step closer to getting a good grade on that exam or project. Quizlet saved my life on multiple occasions when it came to studying. Even if it wasn’t for a midterm. Studying with friends and classmates helped me as well but I wish I did it more often in high school. These tips are definitely good things to help you out. Thank you again for taking the time to read this post. Have a great day, week, month, and year!
