Midterm Season

My friends, you know what time it is; it’s time for midterms. Plus, that means we’ve hit the middle of the semester. I have a couple midterms in my classes, so I’ll tell you how I study for them and prepare for midterm exams, projects, or grades in general.

Exams

In two of my classes, I have exams to test what I’ve learned in the class. My Developmental Science, we have two midterms and a final exam. My Theatre History class has one midterm and a final exam. I study for these classes differently because they teach different things, which means other study methods. You need to learn each subject in how you best understand the content. Using that as an academic weapon will make you pass your exam and gain more of the content.

Developmental Science

I study Developmental Science by asking myself active recall questions along with vocab terms. I sometimes like to rewatch the lecture at 2X speed while studying. This is an excellent way to learn the content and remember certain things. We are dealing with many theories about the human mind, but we can look at ideas and data over the years of developmental psychology work. We learn about the brain, and I constantly review the different parts of the brain and their functions. The material within the class is primarily lecture-based, with a little bit of information from the book, so I study the lecture slides more than the book. This helped me a little with my midterm, but I still didn’t do as well as I thought. I plan to dedicate more time to remembering and learning the upcoming chapters’ content to help with the next midterm.

Theatre History

When it comes to any history class, I always love studying it. In this class, we are learning about different plays and performances during ancient history in places like Greece, India, Egypt, China, and other locations worldwide. We understand how each location puts on different plays while reading a play from that time. For our midterm, I’m pretty sure he will test on the performance and the history that was going on in the country at the time of the play’s performance and production. I’m interested and nervous about what we will be doing for the midterm itself, but I plan and looking through the slide shows, peer presentations, and looking at plays once more before going into the test.

Projects

None of my classes this semester have midterm projects, but I have had midterm projects in the past. Start planning at least a week or two in advance because college students tend to throw things to the last minute. Don’t wait till the last minute to start a project, but do it over short periods before it is due. This gives you time to reflect on your work before rushing to turn something in on time. Plus, these projects are an excellent way to take what you’ve learned and how you understand the different concepts within the class.

Grades

Don’t worry too much about your grades during midterm because it only reflects what you know. It’s just a way to keep you on your toes, but it doesn’t show how you will do near the end of the year. It never hurts to check your grades during the middle of the semester to see how you are doing. Don’t dwell on a bad grade too much because it’s not worth your time. By dwelling on that grade, you’re not getting better in that subject. Just look into how you’ve been studying for that class and if it needs to change so you can do better during the rest of the semester.

Midterm Burnout

This is also the time when people are getting burnout from their classes. One of the ways that I deal with burnout is by taking breaks, which reward me for the work I did that day. Even if I don’t feel I deserve the reward, I give it to myself anyway. Plus, studying isn’t about learning harder but smarter. It’s wise to let yourself take breaks, then not allow yourself to take those necessary breaks.

Last week, I didn’t go to classes because of making myself sick from burnout. I knew I needed to take a break; otherwise, I would have had a mental breakdown. That’s why taking time for yourself is essential, doing okay on your exams and well in your classes during midterm season. Along with being able to hang out with friends, whether studying with them, game night, or sitting in silence, it’s a great way to ensure you don’t run the risk of burnout. Just take some time to rest and reset, so you don’t end up hurting yourself and your grades in the long run.

You got this, friends!

Closing Thoughts

Thank you again for reading this post. I hope you all have a good day, week, month, and year! Studying for midterms is hard, but as long as you take your necessary breaks. Don’t dwell on bad grades, and don’t work too hard that you make yourself sick. Remember, nothing matters if you’re not feeling your best; you’ve got this!