Student Blog: Surviving Evaluation Season!

When getting ready for midterms, finals, and evaluations, staying confident creates a positive atmosphere when thinking. If not, then the flow of how you present yourself the day of can become overflowed with anxiety and throw you off your goal.

First off, creating study guides is a great start when it comes to preparing for any evaluation. A good resource is the site "Fiveable" It comes with sets of made study guides to help students focus on the main topics according to their subject. When doing so it's key to highlight the main topics and the use of color coding keeps all your notes organized. Following review in class assignments such as classwork if possible pop quizzes to see how the test questions are formatted and help prepare for the real thing. Lastly, online resources such as Quizlet, and IXL are great because they use a paced practice question algorithm. From this students use the strategy of memorization and problem-solving.  

As an architecture student, I do have exams within the semester for our math/science-related courses. However, what takes an excessive toll on us is preparing our projects for Pin Ups. Pin Ups are oral evaluations where you present and explain your project to classmates, other professors, and even jurors. Knowing your project inside and out is one of the essential parts of making it through Pin Ups. Confidence in yourself and your work helps be able to answer questions from the audience and by doing so your professor will gather a positive impression that could help your final grade.

Additionally, student health should be taken into consideration when approaching exam season. When pulling all-nighters students tend to wreck their sleep schedule and end up burnt out by the time of their evaluation so it's important to aim for 6 to 8 hours of sleep the day before the test day. Study for 1 to 3 hours and end it before you go too far and burn out all the information instead of resting for the big day. Next are eating habits students pick up when cramming for too long; always make sure to eat 3 meals a day to keep a balanced diet and straightforward mind. Similarly, unhealthy snack cravings that result from cramming can lead to migraines, stomach aches, and instability. Ultimately, stay hydrated!! Always keep a full water bottle on you to drink before and after your presentation/exam. 

Good luck everyone with your evaluations!

Remember to study hard, sleep well, be healthy, remain hydrated, and live confidently!