Whether it’s the last week of your first semester or you’ve already entered exam break, we are all experiencing end-of-the-semester woes— the weather is erratic and cold, long hours are spent sifting through your heap of textbooks and notes (or putting off that work to do anything else BUT THAT), and after all of those painstaking exams, you’re left in the face of a whole new semester. But admittedly, all of this free time — albeit usually spent studying — to focus on exams can be a lifesaver. As we brace ourselves for the next week and a half, let’s look at it from both sides:
STRUGGLE: The scheduling of your exams is less than optimal.
Whether you have 3 exams back-to-back, or your exam is on the last day of break and you have one day to unwind before being thrown into the second semester (hello, fellow Physics 30 diploma test-takers!), your personal final exam schedule isn’t ideal— but then again, what IS the ideal exam schedule?
THE PERK: You’re either ripping the band-aid, or being gifted more time to prepare.
With exams in close proximity, there isn’t time to fall out of that hard-wired study mode— and just like that, you’ve got all of your exams out of the way, with hopefully several days to recover before the second semester! On the other hand, having spaced-out exams means that studying thoroughly for each subject won’t be so overwhelming. You can make better use of your resources, whether that’s a teacher’s tutorial time or going through those practice exams.
But the STRUGGLE: the whole studying process.
The questions of “how?” and “where to start?” come flooding in as you bring up all of your semester’s worth of material. You only have so much time until the exam, and you have to allot this time to practicing problems, reviewing course material, reading through the textbook, creating study guides… but it’s hard to determine what the most effective process is, and you begin to question if you’re actually retaining any of the information your eyes gloss over in the textbook.
THE PERK: Exam break is a time dedicated to figuring this process, and there are ways to optimize your studying.
Imagine juggling regular school with preparing for final exams; it makes our current reality seem a little more fortunate. No one has a perfect formula for studying to get a great mark on the exam, and understanding the material requires reading, practising, and focusing. Avoid the extreme ends of studying, whether it’s ignoring your studying until the day before the exam, or staying up until 3 AM every single night to drill concepts into your brain. Stick to the previous studying methods that you used throughout the semester: they’re tried and true.
STRUGGLE: You want to hang out with your friends with this free time, but you feel a moral obligation to focus on the task at hand.
Winter break was just a few weeks ago, but it feels like it’s been ages— or you/your friends weren’t available to spend time together during that period. It’s so tempting to use one of your free weekdays to organize a gathering with friends, and the potential burnout from studying doesn’t help.
THE PERK: Your friends are in the same situation, so you can use this time to be productive and enjoy yourself, or to just unwind and give yourself a breather.
It’s not healthy to constantly remain focused on one task, especially for studying. Giving yourself breaks is important, and that friend gathering might be the one thing to help you feel ready to pick up your textbook again. Alternatively, it might be necessary to give yourself a change in study environment; although it’s not always the most productive, friend study groups can be effective in making the studying process a little more enjoyable, filling in possible gaps in your knowledge, and finding a collective to share your exam struggles with.
STRUGGLE: The exam. Need I say more?
A whole blog post could probably be dedicated to the pains of the exam environment. That feeling of dread when you read the first question of the test. Believing every question is designed to trick you. Suddenly blanking out on a question. Trying to reason your way to the answer of a knowledge-based question when it’s a nearly lost cause. The pressure of a timed environment. The constant sniffling reverberating off the walls because it’s cold season. That one student in front of you who won’t stop tapping their pencil on the desk.
PERK: Once you’re done, it’s done. Congratulations, a course has been completed and you can move on!
Alright, it may be hard to look at test-taking from an optimistic perspective. But in the grand scheme of things, this final exam will take up a couple of hours maximum and you can rejoice about finishing the course afterwards. In fact, some people prefer writing exams as a final culmination of a course rather than something else like a massive final project. Furthermore, despite its other potential implications, the security of having double time to take the exam is reassuring. And lastly, for some of our grade 12 students, this exam might mark the last time you have to open a textbook pertaining to that one course that was… less than enjoyable, to say the least. Don’t get unnecessarily hung up on a single exam: push through and move on!
STRUGGLE: The second semester is on the horizon.
You’ve barely recuperated from the first semester, and four brand new courses are waiting to start once exam break is over. With everything that is happening right now, thinking about what is ABOUT to happen just adds to the stress!
THE PERK: The second semester is on the horizon!
Like a true optimist, think about the opportunities and the clean slate that you’re given for the second semester. For my fellow grade 12s, this is the culminating final semester of high school— the last six months to top off three years of hard work. Maybe you have a spare block this semester or you have your favourite course/teacher in your schedule; nevertheless, the second semester has yet to happen so it’s a good time to reorganize and keep the highs of last semester while fixing the lows.
Wishing everyone the best of luck on their exams!
