As the first semester concludes and students have finally transcended the stress and hassle of midterm (mid-academic year) exam preparation and execution, it is time to reflect on the overall exam process this year, and apply what we learned from this experience to similar upcoming tests like the SAT in March, Advanced Placement exams in May, and general final exams in June. Alas, as the stressful and busy times gradually come to a close, this article compiles both themes of advice and reflection, given by various upperclassmen (via survey), in terms of how students prepared, accomplished, and mulled over the terrifying yet often rewarding process of midterm examinations.
Q: How did you study for midterm exams this year?
A: “It depends on the subject, I have different methods of studying. For example, APUSH is very memorization based, so I worked more on quizlets or notes on videos, while pre-calc is a lot of just practice.
A: “Reviewing past worksheets.”
A: “Cramming and going over study guides.”
Q: How did you allocate your time when studying for different exams, especially in the midst of school, work, family, and extracurriculars?
A: “I definitely had a hard time dealing with all of the aspects of my life, but I guess just putting school over certain things that aren’t completely necessary.”
A: “Setting time slots for studying and starting the work ahead of the due date so I could stay within the same 2-3 hour time frame everyday.”
A: “Setting a schedule ahead of time based on which exams I thought would be the hardest/ easiest.”
Q: How did you take care of yourself when you were stressed for exams?
A: “The gym.”
A: “Setting aside my work for self care.”
A: “Taking a break, hanging out with my pets, or taking a nap.”
Q: What did you like to do when you encountered a problem on the exam that you had no idea how to solve?
A: “Think back to class or practice problems. Otherwise, I just tried to use what I knew about the topic to make sense of the question.”
A: “Try to get to the root of what the question is asking.”
A: “Star it and move on, then come back to it once I felt ready to try again.”
Q: Did you prefer to use auditory, visual, or tactile learning and retention strategies when studying?
A: “All three.”
A: “Visual.”
A: “Tactile and visual learning.”
Q: How did you prioritize different subjects when studying?
A: “I considered how well I’ve been doing in a subject and whether or not that teacher is allowing corrections or extra credit.”
A: “The subjects I struggled with, I studied more for.”
A: “I looked at my overall grades and confidence for class, then based my priorities off that.”
Q: How did you avoid procrastination when studying? How did you stay focused?
A: “Putting my phone away– best thing for me.”
A: “Putting screens away.”
A: “I liked to work in 30 minute intervals with a 5-10 minute break, which let my mind take a breather.”
Q: How did you personally overcome test anxiety?
A: “Getting prepared and feeling prepared.”
A: “Trying to focus on what’s in front of me.”
A: “Going in as best prepared as I could be and reminding myself of that. Also, I didn’t stress out about the results as much because I know it’s not the end of the world if I fail a test.”
Q: If there was one piece of advice you could give to individuals taking exams in general for the first time, what would it be?
A: “Study for the subjects you usually don’t do well in, consider accommodations, prioritize the subject whose teacher doesn’t allow corrections, don’t stress too much, eat food before taking the exam, bring water to the exam, and ask questions. It’s better to go in sort of knowing what you’re doing; the feeling of the unknown always raises tensions and anxiety.”
A: “Study as much as possible, especially for classes you don’t understand. Also, go in for extra help.”
A: “Don’t stress yourself out, study to the best of your ability, and go into your testing confident.”
Q: If there was one thing you wish you did differently when studying for or taking midterm exams this year, what would it be?
A: “One thing I’d wish to have differently would probably be the use of study partners. I had done it before in another class, and I feel like talking out concepts with at least two other people is really helpful. It’s also just fun.”
A: “I wish that I had dedicated more time to studying as a whole, specifically for classes that I knew would either be more challenging for me personally or graded harsher by the teacher.”
A: “I wish I had spread out the work I had for studying and applied the information, that way I could have been more ready for my memory-based midterms.”