midterms

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We are now half way through the semester. Now is a good time to check in and see how things are going.  At the beginning of the semester we discussed short term and long term goals.  Now is a good time to assess your progress and how determine if any adjustments are needed. How are your short term goals shaping up?  Have you been successful in achieving those goals? Did you miss the mark? How about the long term goals, are you close to making the mark?  Did you under/overestimate your projected progress?

If you have achieved your short term goals and are on track to achieve your long term goals, you should reward yourself.  The reward doesn’t have to be big or anything major, it would be a simple treat to acknowledge your efforts and keep you on track to meet the next set of goals.  Think ice cream, favorite dinner, or a movie; a small token to reward your efforts.

If you have not achieved your short term goals and not on track to meet your long term goals, you should begin to evaluate what has happened (or not happened) to meet the marks you set.  Was there an event that prevented you from achieving the goal?  Did you underestimate the time, work, or commitment to achieve the goal? Assess the progress of the goals and determine if you have enough time to revamp the goals, reduce the goals, or increase attention to complete the job.

The same assessment of your goals, should be the same assessment of your studies.  Are you on track to pass your classes? Did you do well and feel confident during midterms?  Are you giving EACH subject the required attention?  Are you spending enough time in the library?  Are you going to your professor to ask for clarification?  Are you utilizing peers, campus resources, and time wisely?

With half of the semester under your belt you should consider how successful you will be in the course.  Asking yourself if you will pass the course, if you should drop the course, or if you have enough time to turn things around.  If you are passing, you want to continue utilizing the system you have in place and seek any ways you can improve in any area.  If you are considering dropping the class, you will need to examine the ramifications of withdrawing from the class. Will this affect your transcript, your grade point average, and length of your coursework completion? If you have enough time to turn things around, look at how you arrived to this point.  What are your study habits? Where can you pick things up?  What can you do differently? Are you utilizing your resources?

Midterms are a time to complete a self-check.  If things are going well, continue on the path and end the semester strong.  If things are not going well, change the course and dedicate more time effort and energy into ending the semester strongly.

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It is just about time for midterms, you are just about half way through the semester. It is usually around this time stress levels begin to surge.  Before the stressful time commences, you should mentally prepare by finding balance, peace, and taking time for yourself.  Your mental health is the foundation for your academic success and overall well-being.  Be sure you are listening to what your body, mind and spirit are telling you. There are a number of things you can do to stay mentally fit as you navigate through the stressful times of the semester. Be sure to review helpful de-stressing tips below. These tips could be helpful to you or a friend as you navigate midterms. Be sure to keep your mental health in shape, but also check on the health of your peers.  Midterms and Finals bring out the lowest points in a student’s semester and having a good support system will be just what a peer may need. Be sure to build your support system and be open to being a part of someone else’s support system.

Exercise– take time to release some endorphins to help you look and feel better. Exercising will give you a chance to focus on something other than the stress of school.  Go to the fitness center on campus, take a group class, or simply walk around the campus.  The physical activity will help de-stress and will also help you sleep better.

Get some sleep– rest is the next most important thing to your academic success after studying. It is important that you try to regular full night of sleep. Attempt to sleep in a quiet dark room uninterrupted.

Prepare for the task ahead– be sure you have a plan in place on how you will successfully study for up to six tests at one time.  You cannot cram for all of the exams one day before the exam.  You must develop a plan to effectively dedicate enough time for each course.  Taking time to study prior to the week of the exams. Dedicating a little time each day to each class will help you take achieve little piece of the puzzle, by the time exams arrive you will have the whole picture.

Stay spiritually grounded– if you have a spiritual background, now is the time to dig deeper into your faith.  You want to stay spiritually fit before and during these stressful times.  Being spiritually fit will allow you to be calm and centered during the exams. If you do not have a spiritual background, now is a good time to explore your spiritual needs.  Don’t know where to start? Ask a friend, look at campus groups, or see if there are spiritual resources on campus.  Showing up is the first step and all you have to do is determine how you feel.  If you do not like what you see or hear you do not have to stay or return.  Just because you do not like one option does not mean you cannot explore other options.

Utilize campus resources– The campus has a wealth of resources available to you.  Your tuition covers the costs of these resources so feel free to utilize them.  Outside of the fitness center and the spiritual resources that may be available, you also have access to counselors and advisors.  Your advisor and a counselor can serve as sounding boards during stressful times. They can listen to your concerns, allow you to vent, and help navigate your steps.  Don’t be ashamed or feel like you are imposing, these professionals are on campus to be of service to you.  So if you need them just reach out and set up an appointment.

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Sometimes it is hard to find the time, or the motivation, during the winter months to work out and keep in shape. We find ourselves indulging in “comfort” foods and curling up with blankets, staying warm indoors. There are some things we can do to help keep in shape during these cold months.

1. Find a workout buddy. It would be even better if you found a whole group of people. These buddies can help motivate you and push you to go to the gym, even when you do not feel like it.

2. Do something you love. It does not matter if  it’s Zumba, yoga, or running, do a workout that you enjoy.

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The start of each new year, and the start of each new semester, brings around a time to make changes and resolutions. But how do we keep those changes?

The way I have found MOST helpful is to make a goal list.

Use a planner, post-its, an app on your iPad, whatever works for you.  Look at the picture in this post, it is one way to set up a goal list.  You can use post-its to write down the goals ad be able to switch them out when they are completed. 

Another great way to keep to your resolutions, especially if they are related to coursework, is to set up an Assignment Checklist.  This is just a simple table that lays out the due date, assignment and whether or not it is completed. Take a look at my sample one below.

Just make sure that you break up the goals into manageable pieces. Setting a goal to be fluent in a language by the end of the semester, without setting smaller goals along the way, won’t happen.

Take the semester day by day and enjoy the rest of Freshman year!

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Yes, midterms are here upon us. Here are some tips to help you prepare for these dreaded exams.

1. Take advantage of office hours.- Many students don’t take advantage of  their professor’s office hours. It is a great chance to get one-on-one time and ask any questions you may have before the big exam. Let your professor know you plan on coming, and double check on their hours. Sometimes they offer extra hours during the exam period to accommodate all students.

2. Do not skip review class.- Make it a priority to go over your study guide, notes, and bring any questions you may have to class. Don’t be shy when asking questions, if you have a question, most likely other students do too.

3. Do not cram.- To avoid cramming, organize your time by putting aside time to study each day leading up to the exam. The more that you cram, the less likely you will be when it comes to remembering the actual material.

4. Step away from Facebook- We are all guilty of taking too much time looking at Facebook, Tweeting or pinning ideas on Pinterest. Your fantasy wedding board can wait. Do not have your computer with you, unless you really need it. The temptation to check those sites will distract you from preparing for your exam.

5. Stress management- Hit the gym. Take a coffee break. Go for a walk around campus. Grab a meal with a friend. Taking a break from constant studying will help keep you sane.

6. Study in groups- I always found that studying with a friend or two helped make studying more fun. For example, my chemistry class in my senior spring semester seemed to go fine. Then one day, we learned that our professor had died that weekend. We were then stuck with a professor that knew his information, but could not teach it to students who were not science majors. It was a horrible time. Studying with two girls from my class made it fun. We even acted out the one of the chemical processes to help us remember better.

 

Good Luck!!

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With the holidays arriving, everyone can imagine that feeling of being entirely way to stuffed with food, yet we all somehow mange to eat a piece of pie or have a dish of ice cream. Sometimes, our college lives can get just as packed as our holiday stomachs. From personal experience, I have always had the need to be busy. If I wasn’t busy then I felt like I was unproductive. This semester I took on an incredible load. I was trying to handle three jobs–a clerical assistant job for 3 hours a week, my RA position, and an environmental educator assitant postion for 16 hours a week. As well, I was taking 5 academic courses, which meet for 3 hours a week and the whole 6 hours of studying that accompany each one. I also needed time to sleep, eat, and be sociable. In short, this was just WAY too much. I was a stubborn student and ignored all of the advice from those who care most about me.

I eventually had to withdraw from my co-op (the 16 hour a week job). It was too much to handle with also trying to write my senior thesis. Lesson to be learned: It’s great to be involved and be involved in more than one organization. It’s great to have jobs and take on certificate programs. Just watch how much you take on. You don’t need to stuff your plate SO high that you can’t enjoy it all.

Any questions about  this topic?! Email the iRA team. We’ll be happy to share our advice.

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Great news… you have survived the first weeks of college.  This is a big feat to be proud of; some students have not made it this far and wished they had. 

I encourage you to take an honest look at how you are progressing.  Evaluate how you have been spending your time (too much or not enough socializing?), how you study (have you been studying?), and areas where you may be struggling (making friends, studying, taking quizzes).  Taking a realistic look at these areas and making adjustments now in October are better than trying to fix it during finals, pulling up a low GPA next semester, or better yet flunking out of school your first semester.

Utilize the resources you have on your campus, to help you be successful. Talk with your RA; they are there to help you and if they cannot help, they know who can. Talk with your professors, get a tutor, or join a study group; if you seek help you are more likely to perform better.  Seek counseling; it is normal to get overwhelmed and need to sort things out with someone.  Your student fees cover the cost so you might as well utilize the service.

Here are some tips from current RAs on preparing for your midterms:

  • Believe it or not, going to class actually helps people perform well on midterms.  Some people think they can miss several classes and then show up for the final and pass. If you complete your chapter reading before class the class lecture will be your second or third time processing the information and you have a better chance of understanding it.
  • Discover the type of learner you are: kinetic, visual, or auditory. Knowing your style can allow you time to adapt your studying to the style that works best for you.  Some people need to make outlines, others make flash cards, and some create songs.  Figure out what works best for you and give yourself adequate time to prepare.
  • Start early and do not procrastinate. Do not put studying off for the week before the test.  Each week you should review the information so it stays fresh in your mind.
  • Try to study in groups. Make a study group in the beginning of the semester.  Sometimes it is best to hear the same information come from your peers instead of your professor. This makes it easier to see your errors and receive feedback.
  • Prioritize your test and to study smart. There is only so much time available to study, make sure you focus on the most important subjects and do not over obsess about the classes that have little to nothing to do with your major.  I once focused so hard on my ceramics midterm that I did not focus enough attention on my chemistry midterm.  In the end, I was doing fine in ceramics and did not need to devote as much attention to ceramics as I did chemistry. 
  • Do not study in your room or with friends (classmates are different). Go to a study room, library, or cafe (somewhere with no distractions including your computer and phone) just sit down and immerse yourself in what you are doing. Shut everyone and everything else out, but then every hour take a five-minute break to get up and do something else, then come back and focus on studying.
  • STAY OFF of Facebook, avoid Twitter, do not get wrapped up in a Law and Order Marathon, or give attention to any other guilty pleasure you may have. It is easy to be sucked in and not focus on studying.
  • The night before a test, get a good night sleep and then wake up eat breakfast and go over all of your notes again as a quick refresher.

Here are more tips from current RAs to consider while taking your midterms:

  •  When taking a test, turn your phone off. If it accidentally goes off you will distract the entire room and your attention will be focused on the call versus the information for the test. 
  • Be confident! Trust that you know the information and do not talk yourself out of a correct answer. 
  • Relax! Take a deep breath, pace yourself, and try to remain calm. Rub your eyes and/or your neck gently, smooth, and with a little pressure. Why? Because it lowers your heart rate intended to calm you down.
  • Never leave an answer blank.  You have a chance of guessing right instead of getting an answer wrong because you left it blank.  Scan through the rest of the test for any clues or hints to what the answer may be.
  • Double-check your exam. Go back through your answers and make sure you have the answer you believe is correct.  This is will also ensure you have reviewed your essay/short answers, did not skip an answer, answer a question on the wrong line, or discovered an answer later in the test.