They’re baaack. The midterms are back to rear their ugly, sleep-deprived heads. How are you all doing? Still alive and kicking with me over here? I’m going to make this a quick and snappy post since I know you’ve only got a few minutes of freedom before that textbook starts reeling you in again (a big thank you for choosing to spend those precious few minutes with me!)

Wise choice, my friend, wise choice

Now if you’re like me, this is the time of the year when you start getting your act together and start reading those lecture slides and figuring out what you wrote on yesterday’s notes in between the legs of the giant doodled octopus. What? Am I the only one who draws giant octopuses on my notes? Fine, giant dogs then, jeesh. Point is, this is the get-cracking part of the semester. If you know college, then you know that the majority of professors grade you according to two criteria: midterm grade + final grade and if you’re lucky, you’ll get a professor who curves grades. Of course you can’t always cheer about that, since a 2 point curve isn’t going to make much of a difference to that 74. Still, two point curve is better than no point curve, says the 89.

Anyway, all that pressure can really break a student, which is why I’m stepping in here and sharing a couple of tips that will hopefully slay the dreaded midterm beast, or well wound it long enough for you to save yourself when the final rolls around. One beast at a time, eh?

Awesome Monkey’s Midterm Slaying Tip Numero Uno: For those who believe there is strength in numbers, get together and increase that number!

Personally, I’m not a fan of more than 2 people in a study group, but I’ve had friends who believe in the more the merrier. If the professor gives out a study guide for the exam, two words: Use. It. If you don’t, it’s like being handed a sword to slay the beast and using a plastic knife instead. Oy. What I like to do when the midterms roll around and my professor gives out a study guide is pair up with a friend in that class and split up the guide in half. We’ll each answer half the guide and then send the answers to the other via email a day or two before the exam and ta-da! A whole study guide answer sheet for the work of one! Of course, you have to actually have a friend in the class to begin with and it should be a friend that you trust to have decent answers and not just whatever pops up first on Google. Just sayin’.

Awesome Monkey’s Midterm Slaying Tip Numero Dos: For all the really creative minds out there, whenever you can, bend your personal hobbies and interests to work for you.

This only works in classes where you have to give presentations or write a paper on your topic or basically something where you have a little leeway. I’ll give you some examples to explain:

In one of my Psych classes this semester, I have to write a term paper – a psychobiography – on a famous person I choose, alive, dead, or fictional. So, to make this term paper easier for me, I chose a character I know, from Book 1 through 7, Harry Potter. (Yes yes I’m one of those nerds.)

Another example is a presentation I had to do a couple weeks ago for my Business Communications class. We were allowed to present on an organization of our own choosing, so instead of choosing some bigshot company, I chose The Zem Collections, a company that my best friend and I started together and obviously a company that I know, inside and out.

The point of all this is, whenever possible, make things easier for yourself by discussing something that you already know and have an interest in. It saves you time in research and it ups the motivation factor a bit. That’s always a plus.

Alright, I won’t keep you any longer. Here’s hoping we survive the Midterms. Brace yourselves! And most importantly, do your best. Good luck to you all!