Midterms are coming up super fast, and you can definitely feel the stress in the hallways. Instead of waiting until the very last night to open their heavy textbooks, a lot of students are starting their study sessions early this year so they don’t have to frantically cram. But since we have so many different subjects to master, how exactly is everyone studying? It turns out that people prep in totally different ways depending on what works best for them.
For some students, getting ready for the big tests actually starts during class time. Ashlyn Parkinson, a sophomore, thinks that paying attention to the teacher is the most important first step. “I study by paying more attention to my teachers during class leading up to midterms, and I review information both from the notes and in my head,” Ashlyn said. Instead of just staring at a page and zoning out, she likes to review her actual notebook and then think about the facts she has learned. She also makes sure she actually understands the lessons by quizzing herself. “I test myself with knowledge from the materials,” she added.
Other students like to make studying way more fun by turning it into a creative project. Payson Hartman, who is also a sophomore, uses a lot of creativity so she doesn’t get totally bored while reviewing. “I take notes. Color code them. Draw pictures. I make taking the notes into something I like doing as well,” Payson shared. By making her notebook more visually interesting, she doesn’t get as stressed out about the upcoming exams. Her method takes a lot of time and focus. “Then I’m reading the word over and over again to make it look pretty,” Payson said. For her, the process of rewriting and decorating her notes helps reinforce the information.
In addition to traditional notebooks, digital resources are playing a huge role in how upperclassmen prepare. One anonymous senior said that gamified learning platforms are their secret weapon for tracking what they know. “I get bored just staring at paper, so I use online study tools to keep things interactive,” the senior said. “Playing trivia games on websites like Kahoot! and Blooket makes reviewing feel less like a chore and more like a competition against myself.” For many, these game-based tools provide a fast-paced environment that helps students review vocabulary terms and key concepts without making studying feel as repetitive.
Whether you like Ashlyn’s style of listening closely and doing self-tests or Payson’s idea of using bright colors and drawing pictures, the main point is to start early. Finding a study style that you actually like can make a huge difference. Good luck to everyone taking midterms next week: study hard, and we can all get through it!
