Let’s face it – it’s crunch time. You’re up later than you ever imagined, you’re forgetting to eat, and you’re falling asleep in class. It seems like every moment you’re not in class, you’re trying to learn material you know you should have picked up on weeks ago. You’ve had enough, and you’re asking, “How am I going to make it to mid-semester break?”
Unfortunately, there is no cure-all for midterms week, but here are a few tips to help you through.
1) Make sleep a priority
I know this doesn’t seem possible, but not getting enough sleep has a huge impact on your performance. You won’t be able to pay attention in class or retain the information you need to succeed. When you reach that point when the words or equations on the page are blurring into one another, it’s probably time to go to sleep. It might even help to set a time each night when you will go to bed, no matter what.
2) Eat as many full meals as you can, and have snacks available for when you can’t
Your body needs the vitamins, protein, and carbohydrates from a complete meal in order to thrive. If you’re not giving your body what it needs, you will probably have trouble concentrating and staying healthy. The last thing you needs this week is to catch a cold.
However, there are those days when you know you just can’t sit down to a meal. On those days, make sure you pack a few snacks with you or leave yourself a few minutes to stop at Entropy to stock up. Try and choose snacks with staying power, like nuts or a granola bar. A growling stomach is only going to distract you – and everyone else in the room – from focusing.
3) Figure out when you’re most productive
You may find that you work best early in the morning, before you start classes. Or, you might get the most done late at night. Take a look at what you’ve done in the past, and see when you seem to be most productive. Once you realize what times of day just don’t work for you, use that time in your schedule to eat, relax, or take care of smaller assignments before diving back into studying.
4) Find out where you like to study
Our campus is full of places to study – whether you like working around other people or in complete silence, near food or completely cut off from temptation. Sometimes it’s difficult finding the right place for you, especially if you don’t have time to fully explore the buildings. To give you some ideas, I’ve asked a few CMU students where their favorite study spots are, on and off campus:
“Late at night I like UC Danforth or the UC poolside. West wing cluster is also generally pretty productive for me. I usually try to avoid the library.” – Dale Zhang, sophomore in CFA
“I like to go to the first floor of Wean, or the upper floors in Gates. Specifically, POP Commons on the 9th floor with the whiteboards and whiteboard tables. Also, the reading room on the 9th floor if you can find a friend with a key.” – Peter Marino, junior in CS
“I usually go to the fourth floor of Hunt, or the courtyard area outside Resnik. If I want to be in the dorms, I’ll study in a friend’s room” – Jabril Vilmenay, freshman in CIT
“There are a few places other than my apartment that I like to study, but none of them are really on campus. I really like the cathedral of learning sometimes, but I mostly like studying in the Mellon Institute. There’s just something about being surrounded by all the science!” – Amer Khouja, junior in MCS
“I’m all about the first floor of Hunt, or the room that looks over the pool in the UC.” – Corinne Rockoff, junior in H&SS
“When I was an undergrad, I used to study in the entrance of Doherty off to the right or the second floor of Wean in the little nook by the bathrooms. I also used the little lounge on the seventh floor of Gates.” –Christian Bruggeman, CS alum and ETC graduate student
“I like to study in my bed.” – Julia Pflugrath, junior in CIT
“My personal favorite is the lounge in the basement of Baker. No one is ever there past 7 in the evening, it’s spacious, the couches are nice, and you won’t ever have to worry about being distracted.” – Dan Nelson, junior in MCS
5) Know that you’ll get through it
When you’re plodding through the worst of it, it’s hard to see the end. During the times when you feel overwhelmed, and your mind is racing through your list of tasks for the day, take a minute to close your eyes and picture yourself walking out of your last midterm. That moment will happen. Do your best now to make sure that when that moment arrives, you’re walking out confident.