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Mid-Term Season…?

The first time I ever heard of the term “midterm season”, was during lunch at the anteatery. At first, I was confused and shortly after it didn’t take me long to realize what it meant. From the continuous banshee cry’s of countless students racking whats left of their brains for answers against the evil tyranny that threatens their grades. To the halls filled with the echos of students mourning the death of their sweet A to cheers from those just barely able to evade the catastrophe that looms over their grades. The throbbing sensation from the fear of just waiting for professors to decide those whose answers are deemed worthy of passing was so heart wrenching that barely few could sleep.

In my case although I didn’t really have a midterm yet, majority of my homework are worth a lot of points equal to that of a mid-term. After all the grading system of each class is never the same and this includes the grading system of my writing class, while most people were writing essay’s 3-5 pages worth a 100 points. Mine was 7-9 pages and worth 400 points and if that wasn’t already panic inducing, I don’t know what is. You could clearly tell the difference from week zero and now, the empty halls was just giving an eerie vibe almost like a ghost town because everyones busy studying or taking midterm.

Although I’m currently taking 3 classes this quarter, I assumed that I would be able to breath and take it easy while getting use to campus life but I forget to include the workload of each class is different depending on what you are doing. Starting from my lectures to the quiz’s in the beginning and the end of the week, it feels like a literal sword fight with my life on the line just to take each quiz. Whether I come out victorious depends on how much effort I’ve put into studying and so far the videos of me falling asleep everywhere speaks for itself.

This is your fellow anteater Caleb sig..n..ing ou..t..ZZZZZZZ

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It’s Midterm Season…

How is it already time to take midterms? People were not kidding when they said that time flies fast with the quarter system. I had my first round of midterms starting at the end of week 3. The stress didn’t hit me until a few days before. I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect for my first midterm, especially because 2 out of 3 of my midterms were online through Canvas. 

On a Saturday morning, I looked at my calendar and realized that my midterm was coming up in a few days! I grabbed my notes, pens, pencils, and computer and sat down at my desk. As I sat there, I began to think about how I wanted to approach my study session; I had no idea where I wanted to start. What do people usually do when studying for such a huge test? 

I decided to look through my notes first, find the topics I needed to work on, and figure out ways to practice those concepts. Since most of my lectures are online and recorded, I used those videos for review.

Since most of my classes are online, it’s been difficult to meet classmates to create study groups. However, I was able to have a study session on discord with some peers in my virtual class. At the beginning of the quarter, students created a discord channel to ask questions if anyone was struggling with homework or concepts during lectures. The night before the midterm, we would all join a call and review the most critical concepts from each lecture. The study session was great because everyone was able to help each other out. I felt grateful for this experience as it gave me another approach to studying.

Now, I’m preparing to take my second round of midterms. I’ve discovered a quiet study space in the Middle Earth Towers. There are two study rooms on my floor as well as a huge study area downstairs underneath the Laurelin Towers.  It’s nice to have a change of scenery!

I’ve realized how much I learned about my studying habits. What I need to do in order to be successful, where I need to be, and how to use my study time wisely. The midterms themselves are pretty intimidating. I mean taking tests aren’t everyone’s favorite thing in the world. I learned to make the best out of studying, but to not push myself too hard. 

If you’re still taking midterms right now, good luck! I believe in you, you got this! Just make sure to leave some time for yourself to relax and have fun too.

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My first midterm in my Freshman year

This was the first midterm I took in college, and the pattern of the exams was completely different from what I had previously taken in high school. In high school, all of our midterms were scheduled on the same day or two, and all of our classes were on the same schedule, so it was easier to plan my revision. But after I came to university, the midterms for each course were on different dates, and some were not even in the same week, so the timeline for revision became very long, which was a bit uncomfortable for me, so I needed to use some unique university study resources to help me plan my revision.

Our university has many large libraries where students study quietly and without disturbing each other, which is a good place to study for midterms. The next step was to divide my revision plan into several small projects to complete step by step. First, I made a study guide to help me review systematically, listing all the knowledge I had studied so that I could find the corresponding topics and knowledge points at once. The second thing is to mark out the important knowledge points, so that I can have a general concept of the knowledge points that may be tested in my mind.

Whenever I encountered some keywords and knowledge points that I was not familiar with, I would go to my own study guide and search for them, and look at the overall chain of related knowledge points, which allowed me to keep in mind what I had learned throughout my study at work.

The subject that was more difficult for me was sociology, but with the help of my friends, I still got full marks. I feel very happy about it. The day before the exam, I reviewed with my friends until three in the morning. I had to take another exam before sociology, so I was very tired that day. But the thought of going out with my friends after these exams keeps me motivated. At one o ‘clock in the afternoon, my exams were finally over and I could relax a little. I went to buy Halloween costumes with my friends and ate my favorite hot pot.

In addition to the intense review, I will also go to see the scenery with my friends to relax.

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Suitable Study Rooms in Mesa Court

The last two weeks are mid-term weeks, and students are reviewing for various exams carefully. I was also struggling with homework and exams, so I found several great places to study.

The libraries are definitely the best place with an academic atmosphere, such as Langson Library and Science Library. However, I am a person who likes to study at night, while the libraries are either a little bit further away from me (I don’t like to walk by myself at night) or close at 11 pm (sometimes it even closes as early as five), so I chose to find other places that were more suitable for my study. I live in MC, so the places I am going to recommend to you today are Mesa Court study rooms.

The study rooms at Mesa Court are divided into three areas: The Court, Conejo, and Community Center. The Court is located directly opposite The MC Mail Room, which is a spacious and bright 24h large self-study room with various seats to choose from. It also includes two private study rooms that need to be reserved, and one large room for discussion (no reservation required). Conejo is located diagonally opposite the Mail Room and contains only two private study rooms. These rooms here are slightly larger than those of the Court. Furthermore, students who live in MC but are far from Tower Buildings can go to Community Center, which is a self-study room located in the north of MC. Community Center consists of a public study room and three very large private study rooms, which are the largest private study rooms in the three sites.

All private study rooms are available from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., and each person can only make a reservation for two hours per day. While two people can book for four hours, which means you can call your friends and book a room to study together for a longer time. Compared with the Court and Conejo, there are fewer people that reserve in Community Center, so if you want to use the room immediately, the community Center will be a better choice.

I like to study in The Court room or book a study room in Conejo with my friends to review for exams together. The public self-study room of The Court is 24h, so students who like to study during the nighttime but have no place to go can come to the large self-study room of The Court. Since the study room is in the center of Mesa Court and needs to use the MC plastic card to enter, it is also very safe for students.

In the end, I wish everyone can successfully spend the mid-term weeks and achieve satisfactory grades!

Inside of The Court
Outside of the Court

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A Dramatic Retelling of the Online Midterm Experience

“Failed to load page.”

Quite possibly the worst message that could be displayed on your computer screen during an online, timed exam.

The message that appeared in front of me during my first college midterm.

Moments before, I was flying through each question, pressured by the time crunch of 75 multiple-choice questions in 60 minutes. I began to settle into a rhythm of answering questions as quickly and accurately as I could. My nerves calmed; it seemed that the stress festering within me in the nights before the exam was all for naught. Little did I know that the rhythm I had developed thus far would be hurled into cacophony as soon as I clicked to the next question. 

“Failed to load page.”

Upon reading the message, I launched into a full-on panic, desperately clicking the refresh button on the lockdown browser we were required to download for the exam. No matter how many times I clicked, this yielded no response, the cursed message still present on my otherwise blank screen. Its words seemed to morph into lips and taunt my lack of tech-savviness, exacerbating my alarm. The seconds seemed to tick by faster and faster, as if life had been set on 2x, 4x, 6x speed. My breath quickened. I could feel the particles of time slipping through my fingers. Images of a failing midterm grade flashed across my vision, as did the disapproving looks of professors, parents, and peers. 

And in the next moment, I snapped back to the task before me. Something had shaken me on the shoulders, awakening me from the panic. I closed the browser and re-opened my exam with no other issues. To my pleasant surprise, I was able to complete it with time to spare. Perhaps I was simply being dramatic. My professor, who I quickly emailed to inform her of the connectivity issue, was understanding; she even mentioned that several other students had this same problem.

I’m sure we’ve all encountered a similar situation during online classes or exams, especially considering the setting of Zoom University we endured over the past school year. However, I am grateful to have professors who are sympathetic to such technical difficulties, and may have experienced them firsthand as well. To those who are taking a midterm online, prepare yourselves for the possibility of connectivity issues and plan accordingly. Good luck on any midterms you have left, whether in-person or online!

Your friendly neighborhood Undeclared major,

Sabrina