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Top 10 Tips for Beating the Mid-Semester Slump

2 by Professors' Guide Professors' Guide Tags: boost GPA, midterms, study tips

5 Questions to Avoid During an Interview

Top 10 Tips for Beating the Mid-Semester Slump by Professors Lynn F Jacobs and Jeremy S Hyman

T W IT T E R

Many students feel out of gas just as the semester is heating up. Right around Midterms. Even though the semester isnt even half over (and in many cases, much less than half the grade has been awarded), some students are already in a giant rut, wondering if this lame semester will ever end. But theres hope. Especially if you follow our 10 best study tips for just-about-now:

#1 Make a move. Most people have a favorite place they like to study. But sometimes the place isnt really conducive to good studying: it could be noisy or unpleasant, or it could simply have bad associations for you (like when you studied there unsuccessfully for the first test). Suggestion? Find a new place to study, one that will allow you to prepare really well

for your midterms and, hopefully, put you in a better, nondefeatist mood. Youd be amazed at how much a change of scenery can help.

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#2 Dont go it alone. Many students get in a rut by staring down their computer, textbook, or notes all by their lonesome self. Your studying might go a lot easier if you join a study group, either in the flesh or virtually by Skype (Skype can now accommodate up to nine students). Not only will you feel better when you see other people sharing your pain, you might be able to have them explain to you some of the more difficult concepts that you didnt fully get your mind around.

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#3 Play with a full deck. Once in a while, you find as you get into your studying that youre missing a key element that you really need to have. Perhaps you skipped some classes and dont have notes, perhaps you didnt get some handout, or perhaps there was an article or reading that you didnt download. Since some professors test by samplingthat is, they select from among the material and figure that how well you address that issue is representative of how well youve learned the other materialyoull be at a big disadvantage if you havent had all the material available to study. Why take the risk? Get all the stuff before you start to study.

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#4 Look to the skills. One of the main depressants around midterm time is when you realize that you didnt really want to study Platos theory of knowledge and the theory of forms in the Phaedo. Sure, you had this humanities distribution requirement, and it seemed like Honors Introduction to Philosophy would be a good pick. But really? Youll take some comfort, and be better motivated, if you attend to the skills youre learning in the process: things like careful reading, perspicuous writing, thinking on your feetall skills that you can use in other courses and eventually incorporate into a career.

#5 Visit the pros. Around midterm time professors and TAs are quite happy to visit with students, and to receive their emails, especially if youve been following the course and have good questions to ask. Not only will this help you improve your grade (in the best case), itll afford you one-on-one time with a real expert in the subject youre studying. And if thats not a lift, we dont know what is. Extra Pointer. If theres a review session for the midterm, well, thats a no-brainer. . .

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#6 Divide and conquer. Studying will go a lot easierand youll feel a lot better about itif you break your preparation into bite-sized, manageable pieces. Not only will the task seem smallerwhich will keep you upbeat about the activityyou will avoid procrastination and (surprise) build up speed as the preparation goes on. 5-Star Tip. Use the lulls. If you find yourself having free time between the major sessions preparing for one course, fill in the time with drudgework from other courses. For instance, if youve planned five two-hour sessions to prepare for your two-variable calculus midterm, but you find yourself with an extra 20 minutes on your hand, memorize a few German words or a few slides for your art history class. Even squeezed-in studying reduces the load.

#7 Increase your efficiency. The task of studying sometimes gets needlessly increased by doing things that neednt be done. Doing all the reading again, copying over your notes, spending huge amounts of time on issues that will count at most 10 percent of the testall of these are counterproductive activities that add to your workload and make the task seem overwhelming. Reality Check. If the professor has given you sample questions or problems in advance of the midterm, make sure that you focus your studying on these. Very often, the questions that appear on the real test are minor variants (or, in the best case, exact replicas) of the questions handed out in advance.

#8 Dont be an apatosaurus. According to popular images, the apatosaurus (or, as he used to be called, the brontosaurus) spends his life looking backwards. And so might you, especially if you havent done all that well on previous quizzes and tests in the course. Dont. Keep in mind that each test or paper is independent of all the previous ones, and consequently, theres no reason you need to do badly on the upcoming test just because you did badly on the last one (especially if youve taken the time to read the comments, redo the problems, or figure out how you could have done better).

#9 Shed commitments. Sometimes students feel overwhelmed around midterm time simply because they have too much on their plate. If you find yourself swamped with service projects, social activities, or family responsibilities, see if you can put one off or (gasp) tell someone no. After all, your

midterm week should be at least as important as being a greeter at the community art gallery.

#10 Give yourself a reward. Studying will go a lot easier if you take one big break and do something you really, really would like to do: go to the $150-a-seat NHL game, buy the two-hour spa treatment, or spend at least part of the night at the club youve always wanted to go to (but have never quite gotten around to). Not only will this lift your spirits, youll find yourself studying better when youre in a relaxed and upbeat mood. Bonus Tip. If youre sick, stop studying and get an extension. No one is served when you have to rush out of the exam room to throw up (and you wont get a good grade on that test, either).

If you liked the tips in this article, youll love the 837 tips in our newly-revised The Secrets of College Success: Over 800 Tips, Techniques, and Strategies Revealed. Write us with questions or blog ideas at jeremy@professorsguide.com. And follow us on Twitter @professorsguide. Wed love to hear from you really. 2014 Professors Guide LLC. All rights reserved.

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2 COMMENTS
Terri L.McPeck
MAR 03, 2014 @ 14:13:30 REPLY

I am working on High School so if you can help me with That then I will go on from there