October 7th, 2009
The days of putting off reading are over, professors are flying through lectures to cover all the material on the syllabi, and students are left wondering what happened to the carefree early days of the school year.
Yes, it’s officially mid-term season. In many respects, I feel like the first round of exams are the toughest and most important.
What makes them challenging?
Unless we’ve had the professor before, it’s hard to gauge what the test will be like. In addition to recalling the information we studied, we have to figure out nuances in the way questions are written and what exactly the professor expects from our answers.
I also find that motivating myself to study for the first exams a little harder than those later in the year. It’s not like finals where everyone is in lock-down mode at the library with their GPA’s hanging in the balance of one test. There is less urgency. I sometimes feel like even if I do poorly on the first exam, I can make up for it later.
Why are the first mid-terms so important?
I love golf, so I’ll use an analogy here. Professional golfers often say that you can’t win a golf tournament in the first round, but you can definitely lose one. That adage applies to grades, too. You can’t guarantee an “A” for the class by doing well on the first exam but if you bomb it, you put yourself in a big hole. Acing the first test makes all the others a little less critical.
There is a lot at stake here, and StudyBlue can relieve some of our stress.
I confess, I did not read every page of the (eight) assigned books for my History of Journalism course. Before I used StudyBlue, I was left with a dilemma: I could either read as quickly as possible through each book and sacrifice comprehension or I could gamble and take my time reading the books I thought would be on the test the most.
With StudyBlue, I can rely on my talented and energetic classmates that posted book notes online. By looking at their notes, I can see what they thought was important from the book and hone-in on those chapters for further details. Then, to return the favor, I’ll post my detailed notes about the most important topics. This process works, too. I’ve used it to supplement my reading, enhance comprehension, and boost test scores.
It’s simple, and we all win.
Wishing you good luck on the exams and happy studying,
Saul