The week that we all dreaded has arrived… midterm week. We all knew it was coming but we have been in denial since we came back from Christmas break. Now that it is midterm week, we must face the stressful days of pulling all-nighters and defeat these midterm exams. Exams can take a toll on many people, so hopefully these tips can help you succeed.

1. Know what you need on all of your exams.

Calculate what you need on the midterms for each of your subjects by using the formula: 0.4(Q1)+0.4(Q2)+0.2x=what you want to get as your final grade. For example, if I got a 95 for Q1 and 96 for Q2, I would insert those values, so the equation now equals 76.4+0.2x=what I want in the class. If I want an A (93) in the class, insert that value and solve for x. 76.4+0.2x=93, so x=83; therefore, I will need to get an 83 on the exam to have an A in the class. This allows you to value your time wisely and can help you decide which classes you need to devote your studying to.

2. Focus on a few classes at a time.

Take advantage of only having two exams per day. Tuesday should be dedicated mostly to first and second hour. Wednesday is dedicated to third and fourth, and Thursday is to fifth and sixth. This allows more studying time for the exams that are the next day rather than cramming for all six exams in one night. Also, having half days allows for a lot of time to study for the next day’s exams, so use it to your benefit.

3. Don’t study EVERYTHING.

You may feel like that you don’t remember anything from the whole first semester, but your brain can remember more than you think, so don’t stress out. You are most likely to have forgotten details from your first chapter from the beginning of September, so review that and also review any of the chapter that you did not excel in on the tests. If you did well on tests, then there should be no need to review the chapters, so only focus on what you don’t know.

4. Use your time.

Many people enjoy procrastinating and thinking about how they are going to fail their finals rather than actually studying so they don’t fail. Do not procrastinate! Dedicate a time to go over your first final for the day and after that time is over, stop and focus on your second final. In this time, try not to have any distractions like your cell phone around. Use the half days to study after school so you can go to bed at a reasonable time and get some well needed sleep for you brain. However, if you don’t decide to study after school and you find yourself struggling to stay awake at 1:00 am, go to bed and wake up about 30 minutes before you usually would. Around 4:00 am is when your brain usually retains the most information, so by squeezing in that last-minute studying could be beneficial.

5. RELAX!

Midterms are 20% of your grade, so if you have been staying on track the whole semester you should be fine. Don’t stress too much otherwise your going to worry to the point where you WILL forget. Go into the exam with a relaxed mindset and just let your brain do its work and complete the answers you do know. Your teachers don’t want to see you fail, so just remember that they will be fair grades and you most likely will do well.

Midterms may be a stress-filled week, but these tips and your preparation could make it a little less stressful. Happy studying!