Saturday, September 22, 2007

3 days of insanity, 2 exams, and all in one week

College life is stressful. There is no doubt about that. As freshmen, we're trying to figure out the balance between fun, sleep, class, laundry, and remembering to eat.
One of the most stressful things about class is going to be the exams. Here are some things to do to make exams less scary:

-prepare in advance. Don't cram 2 hours before the test. It may have worked in high school, but it doesn't work so well for college.

-ask for help. If you don't understand, talk to your TA. Talk to your peers. Form a study group. It's better to ask before the day of the exam.

-go to the office hours. Ask your prof if you don't understand. Chances are that if you don't understand, there are other people who also don't understand.

-find the resource room. For my chem exam, I went to the chem resource room. they sell old chem tests, reviews, TA's notes, and everything that you could possibly need to study.

-relax and get some sleep. it's pointless to study at 3am. your brain tends to process things in your sleep. even if you don't understand what you're reading before you go to bed, just get some sleep. You'll function better and be able to show what you do know.

College is also full of interesting experiences. If you are taking a class with a lab, be prepared for something to happen at some time. If it's chemistry, know that chemicals will spill and that people play with the bunsen burners and that there is a chance of a fire. When these things happen, try to remember a few things:

-remain calm. keep your head together. take a deep breath and think before acting. the last thing you want to do when there's some lab emergency is freak out and make things worse.

-grab your things as you leave. chances are that you're not going to get back in the building for a while. Don't be niave. People steal things. if there is a fire, your stuff might not be there when you get back. If there's a chemical spill, you might not want your stuff back.

(if you couldn't tell, this was my week!)

1 comment:

sarcastic lobster said...

I completely agree. I find my self constantly tired because of the lack of sleep I am getting right now. The homework for the classes seem to take alot longer. Sometimes I feel like not doing anything. But better planning should be able to fix all my problems through my freshman year so far.