Midterm Madness: Are You Ready?

Midterm madness is upon us. Now’s the time to flex what you’ve learned (or not). Proper preparation promotes positive progress. In most cases, midterms are around the time of homecoming, so there is a lot going on. Even in the midst of all the activity, it’s important to focus. Here are a few tips to help and keep your stress levels down: 

• Create a schedule
  Having a schedule is great, but you have to discipline yourself and stick to it. You should have created a study routine that would keep you on track so you won’t have to cram. 

• Study with your tribe
  Have you found your tribe yet? If you haven’t found your study tribe, you could be headed for serious trouble. Even if you like studying alone, your classes may be a little bit more challenging. Bouncing ideas and possible test questions off each other helps get your head in the game.

Tips for Exam Day

• Get enough sleep
  Make sure the night before your exam you get enough sleep. The last thing you want to do is take an exam when you’re tired. 

• Be prepared
  Make sure you pack everything you need the night before. If you need a Scantron or blue book, stopping by the bookstore the day of your exam is not a good idea. Have extra pens, paper and pencils just in case. 

• Eat breakfast
  You may not be a breakfast person, but putting some food in your system is a good idea. Grab some yogurt and granola or orange juice and eggs to make sure your stomach doesn’t start doing flip-flops or start rumbling during the exam. 

• Be comfortable
  Make sure you have on comfortable clothes and bring a jacket. If you can bring a bottle of water, do so. Try and use the restroom prior to the exam to make sure you can take the test and be uninterrupted. 

• Review your notes
  If you have a chance, try and do a quick review with your flash cards. If you had to learn certain dates or a series of definitions, this will be a good way to keep things fresh in your mind. 

• Be early
  Get to the exam early. This will give you a chance to get settled and review your notes. 

• Manage your time
  Wear a watch to keep track of the time. This will give you a good idea of how much time you have left. Don’t rush through the exam. Take your time, skip the questions you don’t know the answers to and get to the ones you know first. That way, you will have extra time to go back and get to the ones you really need to think about. 

These tips should help you get through midterms stress-free. Moving into the next term, make sure you use those tips to crush your study game and you’ll be just fine.