For some, October means fall colours, infinity scarves and lattes—for students, October means midterms are approaching. This is the time of year when frosh celebrations slowly dwindle, and social lives are sort of put on hold until Halloween comes around.
If you’re in your first year, you may be associating midterms with anxiety as you slowly realize that you’ve somehow fallen behind on all your readings, and you’re not even sure what exactly your marks are in most of your classes. The most cliché piece of advice I can give any student (even if you’ve heard it a million times before) is to get organized. Go through your midterm schedule for each class on Webadvisor, and write down dates and times on a calendar at home. After you’re done, write down everything else you have to do—if you have shifts at work, appointments, assignments due, etc. Writing dates and times out on a wall calendar can really help to visualize what the next few weeks are going to look like.
Next, make a study plan. You might have more than one midterm within the span of 24 hours, so create designated study times for each midterm and stick to it. Everyone studies differently—I am the type that needs to take handwritten notes out of a textbook in order to absorb content, so I would designate times to take notes, and I would also give myself at least 24 hours before a midterm to review the notes I had taken. No matter what your study-style is, organize it and give yourself enough time to be able to relax and review the content before your midterm.
At this point, you’ve got your schedule worked out, but the big question is what do I need to study? Depending on your classes, some course material can be dense and nearly impossible to fit into a one-hour test slot. On the other hand, some professors may offer lectures that are separate from the assigned readings, so it may be difficult to pinpoint what content to focus on. There are two solutions to this problem: go to class, and talk to your professor. If you haven’t already gotten to know your professor (which is the best advice I can give any undergrad student) use midterms as an excuse to attend their office hours. Ask them what to focus on. If they happen to say “everything”, then move on to talking to your TAs and other students in the class to get an idea.
Knowing what kind of test your midterm will be (multiple choice, long answer, essay, etc.) is another good way to figure out what to focus on. If you know the format of the test, try to imagine what types of questions your professor would ask. Think back to lectures and past assignments to get a feel for the types of content your professor focuses on, and imagine the questions he/she might ask. If you’re not sure, talk to other students in the course—your course’s TA might even be able to help you with this.
Finally, one of the most important things you can do during midterm season is take care of yourself. Eat right, stay active, and give yourself enough downtime. If you are about to spend a whole eight to twelve hours in the library, take the time to cook yourself a nice breakfast. While you study, make sure to get up every 30-40 minutes, take walks, and stretch—this will help to boost your brainpower.
I am a strong believer in rewarding yourself. If you’ve just spent a good amount of time studying, take a break and do something you enjoy, whether that means watching an episode of your favourite show, leisure reading, working out, etc. After you’ve completed a midterm, before you go back into studying for the next one, treat yourself – even if that means just splurging on a fancy drink at Starbucks. However you decide to reward yourself, you deserve it!