You’re Welcome Freshmen (or new students)

Semester exams are coming up! Only one month left… However, it’s not only these exams that you should be worried about. It’s the week before review week that’s intense. Don’t be surprised if you have a solid 5 summative assessments that week. This is why it’s also known as “Summative Week”. I know I’m only a sophomore, but having already taken two semester exams, I think I’m qualified enough to give some advice on how to study and review for Summative Week and semester exams from what I find most useful and productive.

• Relax.

It’s all going to be okay if you know how to deal with the stress being thrown at you right now. The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another. By this, however, I don’t mean that you should be so relaxed that you decide not to study and just flunk all your exams. Just be able to chill out and know how to sort out your time. This leads me to my next point.

• Plan Your Time Wisely

Look at the exam schedule. There will only be three days of exams for us. These days will have two exams that last two hours each, with a lunch period in between of each. On the last day, however, there will only be one exam. Now that I’ve given you some background information about these exams, here’s my advice: look at your grades right now. Look at what you are struggling with or think you won’t do as well in. This is a good starting point because you can start looking at your notes right now. I’m not saying to go gung-ho on Khan Academy or anything (yet). But if you have nothing to do during your “independent study” period, just take around 2-3 minutes to look over your notes and refresh your memory a bit. A little will go a long way. This will make choosing what to study the week before (or the day before… you know it) easier and less stressful.

• Study the Exam Coming Up Sooner

This one is pretty straightforward… If I were you, and I had a math test the next day and another exam two days later, I wouldn’t be studying for that other exam too much. Or, if you are less worried about your upcoming exam, study for the one you are worried about for a little longer.

Honestly, these are really the best tips I can give that work really well for me. When taking notes, I do like to color code things and write on some index cards so I can take them with me easily, but these tips are super basic, easy and the best advice I can give you.

On the first day of exams, we will be taking English and Science. The following day will be Social Studies and Math, while the final exam will be World Language.