A Bear's Life: Student Stories

Student stories from our peer counselors

Surviving Midterms (Spring 2024, Week 7)

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Welcome back Missouri State Bears! We are already at week seven of the semester which means it is midterm season. When outlining my assignments for the week I realized I had several study guides to create and terms to study before the week ahead. Coming into college, I viewed midterms as a daunting task that I needed survival mode turned on. I have learned that with good study habits and preparation, midterms don’t have to be anything to fear but instead something to manage. 

Plan Ahead

The first tip I have for midterms is knowing enough time in advance when you will be tested. You can find most midterm dates in the syllabus of the class. I find it easiest to write all important assignment dates in my planner including midterms. You can pick up a free 2023-2024 planner in the CAST office if you need a fresh slate for writing important tasks out. Once you have the task written out you can better map out a schedule of when to start studying. 

Schedule Study Times

Setting aside designated time to study for each test will ensure that you complete the studying but it will also help avoid the feeling of being overwhelmed. I personally don’t study well in groups but for those who do, I advise planning at least two weeks in advance. Two weeks gives the group enough time to bring questions back to the classroom before taking the exam which is key. While you should have an understanding of the content being tested it is okay to ask questions for clarity.

Utilize Office Hours

One tip that I think many students tend to skip over until they hit survival mode is meeting with professors. Don’t wait until the week of or after the midterm to have a conversation with your professor. In the weeks leading up to the exam if you find yourself struggling or wanting further guidance, attend study hours. If fear arrives at the thought of meeting one-on-one with a professor, try practicing first with a friend or a peer mentor. A peer mentor is an undergraduate student who wants to meet and help students combat these fears and other issues that arise as college students.

Takeaways 

Midterms are designed to enhance your understanding, not to instill fear. So as midterms are just around the corner be sure to plan ahead, schedule study times, and utilize office hours.

~Aubrey

(Bio: My name is Aubrey Hardy, a junior studying special needs education. Fun fact: I grew up on a farm.)

Effective Study Tactics (Fall 2022, Week 10)

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Welcome Back Bears

Everything is starting to get back into a routine after Fall Break weekend but that means that classes are back in session. I don’t know about you but for me, midterms and class assignments are still rolling in hot. This is my fifth year at Missouri State and believe it or not exams, quizzes, or anything standardized really make me nervous but I’ve learned quite a few things to help myself out. Things like finals, quizzes, and exams are all a part of the college experience but that doesn’t mean you wouldn’t appreciate some good tactics. For my blog post this week I wanted to give you some effective study tactics to survive midterms or any exam for that matter.  

Effective Study Tactics: Surviving Midterms   

Check-in with yourself  

Studying while you’re trying to maintain your other classes and your personal well-being can be hard, so check in with yourself. That means that you are taking time to assess how you’re doing emotionally and physically. Carve out time to eat, take care of your personal hygiene or do the things you like to keep yourself moving forward.  

Plan effective times to study 

College courses really differ from each other so you’re constantly altering how to study for each of your classes. It definitely works to plan out when you study in preparation for an exam, especially if there is a lot of material to cover. Cramming doesn’t work for everyone, and you want to be able to alleviate some of that stress early on. Planning effective study times also keeps you prepared and ready for the questions you’ll be answering

Teach an imaginary lecture  

While you’re studying it’s important to remember that there is a mixture of memorization and repetition going on. It helps to imagine that you are teaching someone else or a group of people the material that you are studying. During an exam, you could recall your imaginary lecture when you are stuck figuring out the answer to specific questions.  

Don’t be overwhelmed with material 

When you get overwhelmed with everything, you’re attempting to study you can potentially forget things that you know or even want to give up on the entire studying process. Make sure you’re taking breaks and breaking the material up in order not to feel like you’re studying everything at once

Study in comfortable environments  

Personally, I like to study in a quiet environment with a large table where I can spread my study materials. Find study environments where you can comfortably study and not be interrupted by outside factors. You’ll be able to retain more information, be able to interpret information and of course, focus.  

You can check out some of my other tips that can help you during the exam period for relieving stress and studying in my Tips and Tricks for Relieving Stress and Studying post. 

Midterms or any college exam can be really scary because you want to do your best while maintaining your ideal grade. However, it’s always good to remember that it helps to have different strategies. You want to get through midterms and exams unscathed, but you also want to learn your dos and don’ts for studying as time passes. I’m going to be wishing you all luck on your future exams in the hopes that my tactics can help you out in some capacity. This week I’ll leave you with a quote by Colin Powell,  

“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure”.  

~Alexandria 

(Bio: I’m the middle child of seven kids in my immediate family. I’m currently a sophomore business major at Missouri State University.) 

 

Getting Ready for Midterms (Spring 2022, Week 8)

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Midterms Are Coming

Around this point in the semester, I can feel the stress coming on. The thought of our midterm exams is something easy to stress about, but can be manageable if prepared for correctly! Today, I want to share some easy strategies to help you get ready for your midterms this spring semester!

Better to be Early than Late

Everyone knows that it is better to be early than late in many situations. Luckily, studying for midterms is no different. Even though some classes may not have midterms for a couple weeks, it is a good idea to start studying early. This is due to a lot of reasons such as:

  • Allowing more time to cover content thoroughly
  • Better metacognition or being aware of what you do and don’t know
  • Reduced anxiety about not having enough time to study
  • Better chance at doing well on the exam

Even though it’s difficult to get going early, give it a try and see if it works for you!

Find a Study Buddy

Believe it or not, you aren’t the only one stressed about midterms. Your classmates are too! Because of this, it is a great idea to find others to study with. Being able to work with you classmates can allow you to:

  • Keep each other motivated to study
  • Learn about how other people understand content, which can also help you
  • Divide up work to make it less daunting on everyone
  • Teach each other content, which is one of the best ways to learn

Working alone can be scary and stressful, so try and reach out to a couple peers to see if you can study together for you upcoming midterms

Stay Organized

With everything going on around this time, it is good to stay organized. It’s common to have more than one midterm a week, and maybe even some on the same day. Because of this, it is good to keep things organized. Some ways to do this are:

  • Keeping a schedule of all the exams you will take
  • Listing out the content that needs to be covered for each exam
  • Scheduling time dedicated to studying
  • Making space for taking breaks during preparation for exams

Being able to stay organized won’t only make you do better, but it can also help reduce the stress that you will feel approaching test day!

As always, thank you so much for reading my post and I hope this gives you some helpful ways to prepare for midterms this spring. Have a great day!

Previous Posts for Midterm and Exam Preparation

Spring 2021 Finals Week – Alexandria

Spring 2021 Week 14 – Michael

Fall 2020 Week 10 – Michael

Fall 2020 Midterm – Rhiannon

 

(BIO: My name Is Michael Rexroad, a transfer student from Metropolitan Community College in Kansas City. I am a senior currently studying cell and molecular biology with a minor in chemistry and biomedical science.)

Tips and Tricks for Relieving Stress and Studying (Spring 2021, Finals Week)

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Tips and Tricks for Relieving Stress and Studying

Hello Fellow Bears, we are currently coming to the end of the semester and are starting our finals. I am always trying to figure out the best ways to study while keeping myself from stressing out to the point that I do not succeed or my grades turn out poorly.

I am going to give you a few tips for studying but also some stress-relieving tips. Your education is important but so is your mental health and if you find yourself struggling, this information could be a big help. These tips and tricks can be used anytime, not just for finals. I’ll be using them next month when I take a summer course for accounting

  1. Keep Track.

I have learned the hard way that making sure all of your work is completed is the best thing you can do for yourself. You want to make sure that you are earning all the points you can for the semester and staying up to date with what you need to know for exams.

  1. Review.

Final exams usually consist of the things that we learned during the semester, so going over that information can be extremely helpful. Surprisingly, not everyone looks over the class materials but doing so can make things easier. Professors may utilize the same questions or ideas from the material or just flip it around to challenge you with what you studied.

  1. Use resources.

You cannot always study the same way for each of your classes; the material in each class might be harder or easier or have different amounts of materials that need to be studied. Take advantage of the resources on campus or any electronic resources that can help you better prepare. Resources like your phone’s note-taker and calendar can be useful, along with websites like Khan Academy, Quizlet, EasyBib and Chegg. Some websites and apps feature tools that you can use to create your own notes, test your knowledge of the material and keep you on track with your own schedule.

  1. Take a break.

Studying is important for any test or exam but that is not going to mean much if you get burnt out over the material. Studying in increments of up to twenty to thirty minutes with a break in between can help you to better retain the information and remember what you studied. You can always change the duration of each break if you prefer a longer or shorter one.

  1. Sleep.

Make sure that you are getting enough sleep and preserving your energy because you cannot do as much if you are tired and can’t keep your eyes open. You do not want to miss out on any study time, be late for an exam or be sleepy during those exams.

  1. Ask questions.

Even though it is the end of the semester, it is still important that you ask if you have any questions. Having as much clarity as possible can help set your mind at ease and clear up any confusion. The pandemic has changed quite a few things so if you do not know something or just need more help to understand specific material, do not be afraid to ask or approach your professor.

Almost done.

The summer is quickly approaching, and I am proud of the fact that I have made it through these last few semesters online.

If you are graduating, I wish you the best in your future endeavors and if you are continuing on during or after the summer, I know that you can succeed to get to whatever you have set your mind on.

~Alexandria

(Bio: I’m the middle child of seven kids in my immediate family. I’m currently a junior business major at Missouri State University.)