You read that right. And you may wonder what in the world would compel anyone to review their midterms – don’t we all hate them? Even for classes we enjoy, spending excessive time and energy to memorize and regurgitate information can feel taxing at best. I personally enjoy learning; I enjoy school, and I know not everyone feels that way. Is there anything redeemable about these stressful experiences more than being one step closer to completing your degree?
I’d say so.
The morning of writing this, I completed my first midterm of 2022. To prepare for this exam, I’d created a study guide and worked through it, held study sessions with friends, and beaten my own record in Quizlet Match quite a few times. I felt adequately prepared – if you’re able to prepare for your own midterms to this point, I’d recommend it.
Feeling ready allowed me to focus on the content instead of looking at the questions and panicking about how if I’d only known to study that particular event or term … come on, I’m not the only one who’s ever done that. And it can be gratifying to show off all your hard earned, if not recently memorized, knowledge.
The second redeemable aspect to the experience was scheduling an intentional time in my calendar to take my exam. I chose Saturday morning. It wasn’t the relaxing start to my weekend I would have wanted, but it meant I didn’t have other commitments to juggle and that I was in my prime thinking time.
Maybe you don’t need to schedule out your midterms, or your midterms aren’t take-home; there’s not a lot you can do about that. But if you can choose to take your midterm at a time when you have the most energy, I’d recommend that as well. If you can’t, perhaps there are ways to maximize your energy for the time that you have to take your exam: getting good sleep the night before, eating a nutritious lunch, etc.
The third thing that made my experience better was a mug of tea beside me. Better yet, it was caffeinated. Again, this is a benefit of take-home exams, but if this idea also appeals to you, you could bring a travel mug or treat yourself to Common Grounds! You deserve it. And a celebratory CG treat after completing your exam…? Up to you (but you can guess what I would recommend.)
I want to note that I know it’s not that easy. Many of my friends study more time-consuming subjects than I do; some people need extra assistance (of many forms) to keep up academically. I don’t mean to make light of something that can be stressful for many of us. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, however, it’s that talking about our shared experiences can be uniting and enlightening.
So, I suppose after all that, I would recommend my midterm experience. Or, rather, I’d recommend studying adequately as you are able, choosing a good time to work that maximizes your energy, and treating yourself during or after your exam. We’ve all worked really hard this semester and Spring Break is literally just around the corner.
