Midterm week at Swat (and everywhere else) is tough; there’s really no mincing words about it. It can be challenging, time-consuming, and stress-inducing. However, we overcome! And now, as a junior, I feel (at least semi) qualified to share a few of my favorite tips for surviving this week. I’m a predominantly humanities student, so some of my advice is more specifically related to that realm, but you can extrapolate. Get excited about good advice!
Tip One: Start early! This is beautiful theoretical advice that I should probably stick to more often, but I’m doing my best. Starting early, or at least having a game plan is huge. Every Saturday (midterm week or otherwise) I make a master to-do list of every assignment, reading, meeting, and event I need to attend and/or complete. I then divvy the to-dos from that list and put them under corresponding daily to-do lists. This way, I always know what I have to do for the week AND what needs to be done on a day-to-day basis to get me there. I find this is an especially helpful way of dividing up work when I have a lot of essays to write in shorter time period (i.e., midterm week). Even if you don’t end up following your schedule, it’s really nice to have it in front of you to make sure you’re not getting (too) behind. Plus, starting early makes it WAY easier to take advantage of all the academic resources Swat has for us. In my case, the Writing Center and the WAs have always been a massive help with my papers! Swat has a TON of academic resources and help sessions that are especially helpful to utilize when many things are due in a short period!
Tip Two: Learn what works for you! One of the most important things you do in college (in my experience) is finding how, when, and where you do your best work. I personally am a lover of a good Pomodoro (work for twenty-five minutes, rest for five, work for twenty-five, rest for five, etc.) I’m usually pretty good at working wherever I am, but the truth is if I’m sitting on Parrish Beach, I am certainly not working. Swat students love to sit in the sun with a laptop open and “study,” but if I had to guess, I would say only about 10% of us are actually doing work out there. Other than that, I know that I need a pretty quiet environment. I’m also quite easily distracted, so if I’m studying with friends, we all have to be committed to a group Pomodoro session. Also because I’m quite easily distracted, I really am a big fan of switching tasks when I get bored. Having a pass/fail first semester is really awesome for a lot of reasons, and an especially important one is that it helps you learn how you study best without the stress of wanting a particular grade.
Tip Three: Touch grass! We live on a 425-acre arboretum. The trees will keep growing if you get a C on your stats exam; the sun will keep shining if you write an incoherent essay; the earth will keep spinning if you experience failure! Taking a break is soooo essential all the time, but especially necessary during high-stress times like midterm week. During midterm week, I was admittedly quite stressed writing my many papers and doing my many readings, and whatnot, but I still always try to make time for myself. I watched an episode of a new TV show, painted in the Crum Woods, spent (maybe too much) time sitting in the sun on Parrish Beach with my laptop open pretending to work, saw an aurora borealis, and hung out with my friends when I could! I could have locked myself away and hunkered down alone for the week to get my work done, but not only would that make me incredibly sad, it would also (almost certainly) make me way less productive. Taking time off is critical (even if it’s just quick). Along with taking a break, I think having certain boundaries for yourself regarding schoolwork is really important. I personally will never ever pull an all-nighter AND I will never ever get less than 6 hours of sleep. Rain or shine, failure or success—my sleep is the most important thing to me. Find what’s important to you and don’t compromise it.
Ultimately, midterm week (despite its potential challenges) is just a week. It can be stressful and tough, but it’s also totally manageable if you play your cards right and take care of yourself. Advocating for yourself and your mental health is as important as finishing papers and completing problem sets, so if you ever need an extension or accommodation, don’t be afraid to ask! And always remember, fall break is the very next week. Good luck!
