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First Midterm Experience

Hi Anteaters! I hope you all are doing alright and getting through midterms well. I just finished with my midterms thankfully, but I’ve noticed that the vibe around campus has been rather gloomy and just from looking at everyones faces, I can tell midterms did a number on some students. Fortunately for me no all-nighters were pulled, but my sleep schedule was definitely messed up. I’ve been going to bed around 3am almost every night from staying up and working on midterm projects, but now that it’s over I’m looking forward to getting my sleep schedule back on track. Hopefully you all are able to as well! And thankfully most of my midterms were project or essay based, so they felt like more of a workload as they lasted about two weeks per project, but I’d honestly prefer that over taking a timed exam any day. For those of you who had to seriously lock in and cram hard for an exam that determined a large amount of your grade….respect, and go treat yourself to something sweet, you earned it! Sweet treats actually kept me going through midterm projects rather than waiting until the end haha. Having a little snack or drink, really anything that can add a little happiness to a study session pushes me forward. In order to prepare for midterms week, I went on a massive H-mart run to gather all of my studying snacks lol.

There was so much good food and pre-cooked meals that were perfect for fueling my study sessions!

There was really too much to choose from and I ended up almost buying out the whole store lol. But anyways! The point is it’s good to treat yourself to a little something to keep you moving forward; don’t feel like you don’t deserve it because you all worked extremely hard on your first midterms no matter the outcome! I also found some of my new favorite study spots during midterms. A lot of people I know say they can only work in environments where there are completely no distractions and wehre there is complete silence. However, I find that to be the worst environment for me to study in oddly enough. The dead silence of a library just is so eerie to me and I end up distracting myself anyways. I found that the best studying environment for me were places that had a slight background noise and a cosy atmosphere…like a cafe!

Evening study at Cha For Tea! I need the caffeine and sugar to help me lock in lol.

I ended up spending a lot of my time studying either in Brandywine where it had a cozy vibe if you sat in the couch area, or at Cha For Tea where there was tastey food to fuel my study sessions and a nice atmosphere when it wasn’t too busy. (Cha took so much of my money during midterms ㅜㅇㅜ ) I need more recommendations on study places that don’t require money lol. (But also if you have any cafe recommendations plz share!) I also got to check out the study rooms in the science library when I had to meet up with classmates for our midterm projects. Those were super nice, and I think I might try to study there more often as well. It has a slightly more relaxed environment on the 5th floor with lots of cozy seating areas too. Hopefully, by now everyone is just finishing up with their midterms and can finally enjoy some time to themselves. You deserve some rest no matter the outcome! Now go and enjoy your three day weekend, and see you all next time!! >o<

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The “Studying” Side of College

After the quarter system gave me an extended summer, the past few weeks hit me with a reality check. I felt quite lucky that most of my midterms were spaced out, however, it did not give me much time to reset fully. But that’s college I guess, everything moves so fast. Speaking of, we are just over a month away from being a twelfth of the way through our undergraduate career. 

Midterms 🙁

For the last few weeks, I have consistently found myself in the mesa study room at unreasonable hours with one of these cracked open:

I should probably stop drinking these.

I had my first midterm during the second week of October for my Biology class, I ended up doing alright on it, but I will have to make up for it in upcoming assignments and exams to get my grade as high as possible. The week after was a bit more difficult because I had a math midterm on Friday morning, and an essay for my writing class due that night as well. That was one of the most stressful weeks I had in a while because that test and that essay made up such a huge part of my grade in each class. Without a doubt the most stressful week I have had since probably my junior year of high school. I feel pretty good about both, but still not sure. 

Close Call

Since there is a chance attendance will be counted towards my grade, especially for discussions and seminars, I make sure not to miss those easy points. I did get close though. After daylight savings, I woke up a bit too early for my nine AM class around seven, and had some trouble going back to sleep because it was so bright that morning. I felt very low energy throughout the day because I was up early technically but did not start moving until quite a bit later. I figured to make sure I got a proper night’s rest I should close my blinds so I am not blinded by the bright sun so early in the morning. Big mistake. I slept through my first five alarms (yes, I have 6) and was scrambling in the morning to get to my first class. Lesson learned: only close the blinds on weekends. 

My “trustworthy” alarm lineup.

Relaxation

I know this quarter so far may have been stressful, it certainly has been for me. The most important thing when feeling stressed is having an outlet. For me, it’s been calling home often, exercising, going off campus with friends, and Christmas music. Yes, Christmas music, just reminds me of a relaxing time that will come around eventually. This is something I have always listened to no matter the time of year, and I highly recommend 🙂

Some of the songs I like to listen to.

A view from the trail I go for a run on every Saturday morning.

Got to watch the soccer team beat CSU Fullerton for the Big West Playoffs.

Keep pushing!

-Rohan

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Sequels and Band-Aids

Dear Reader, 

I’ve been traumatized. I am recovering from the sequels that my first midterms left when I have a second round coming next week. Fortunately, I learned from my last experience and modified my strategies for midterm readiness. Here are my study rituals: 

When it comes to learning concepts…

Especially for science classes, an in-depth understanding of processes is key to solving application questions, this implies a bit of memorization and connecting knowledge you cumulatively sum from class to class. My ultimate strategy has been turning my little brothers (12 and 10 years old) into intellectuals. If I can have them understand cellular respiration (yes, all the cycles, the parts of the cell where they take place, the difference between animal and plant cells) and answer all their innocent, hypothetical yet challenging questions, then, as I corroborated in my last Bio midterm, I can get an outstanding grade. Use diagrams, label, describe, connect steps or systems, play with hypothetical scenarios (what if… situations), and while doing practice problems research the why behind the answer (why this option is right and this one wrong). 

When it comes to application questions… 

Most of the time, midterms are multiple-choice and this can be detrimental. My approach is to take the given information, analyze it, draw conclusions, read the question, and, lastly read the options. The point is: Don’t read the options first, formulate your own conclusion and then proceed to evaluate options and determine the best answer. Jumping straight into options will hinder your thinking process, distracting you from the topic you should recall to answer the question. On the other hand, when it comes to math problems, precision is your hangman. Identify minuscule errors made during practice problems, these errors will not go away and will cost you points in an exam. Learn how to round, use your calculator, rearrange formulas based on the information given, and understand the why behind the components of the formulas. 

To save you time…

Sometimes researching the reason behind the answers can be a lengthy and rigorous process. Finding the perfect YouTube video tutorial, the chapter in the book, the notes on the lecture to answer that tricky question, implies investing time in researching. In my experience, asking TAs and LAs the explanation behind the answers has taken me to navigate their thinking processes. Along the way,  they will pull out shortcuts, analogies, caveats, unwritten rules, and their strategy on how to see, start, and finish a problem. They are valuable resources that can amplify your ability to troubleshoot while saving you research time. 

Here my wisdom lies, from a traumatized first-year student to you. Thank you for reading and please show yourself appreciation and sympathy. You are not behind. Be patient and put in as much effort as you need to satisfy your own expectations. Embrace the struggle because the reward will be proportional to it. 

Best, 

Glenda Orozco. 

UCI mascot at Student Center (good study spots available)

UCI Science Library
(best study spots found on 4th floor)
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Exploring Clubs at UCI!

Hey Anteaters!

Hope you all had a good week 4 so far despite midterms. Hang in there, you got this! Honestly though, week 4 has been pretty hectic as I’m sure you guys are all experiencing as well, and I wanted to share some activities that I’ve been doing to try and take my mind off of school when I can find the time, as well as share these activities in case any of you are looking for new things to do on and off campus!

As I mentioned in my previous post, I recently  joined the badminton club. I’ve been playing badminton since freshman year of high school, so I was super excited about being a part of UCI’s badminton team. They’ve got both an A and B Team; one for beginners/rec, and one more advance and competitive. Luckily I was already familiar with the slightly more intensive style of training in A team, so adjusting to playing again after a long period of hiatus wasn’t too bad. On Tuesdays we focus on attack drills and thursday defense drills, and every other week we’ll have a fun hiking social or meet up at UTC where you can get to Know the members which is nice. I’ve only been to one however, so I’ve been struggling to make any connections with members. Not to mention that everyone there is an upperclassman (scary) and that there are practically no girls on the team…so if any girls are interested in joining a sport club…please sign up for badminton club once sign ups open again for winter quarter! But honestly badminton in general has always been such a great way for me to destress and take my mind off of things, really any exercising or outdoor activity is, so if you’ve been feeling overwhelmed these past few days from midterms, try getting some fresh air or exercising your body for even just a bit. It seriously helps clear your mind and keep you from burning out before your next exam. Just make sure to get back to your studies after lol!

Another club I want to quickly recommend even if you have no experience in dancing is UCI’s k-pop dance club Kkap!

They have free workshops every friday where they teach two k-pop dances. (You can check their insta for what dances they’ll be teaching, what time, and location) Everyone is so enthusiastic and welcoming there, it’s a great environment to connect with people, and just to get out and experience something new. I recently went to Kkap’s workshop this previous Friday where we learned Devil by the Window (TXT)! We also all dressed up in our halloween costumes; it was a lot of fun! You can check out the video performances from Kkap workshops on their Kkap TV Youtube channel! If you see a girl with long, blond hair dancing horribly it’s probably me lol!

Next blog I hope to share with you guys the places I’ve been exploring outside of the UCI campus, including the best restaurants, boba shops, and cafes I want to try out! Hopefully, after midterms I’ll actually have time to do all that lol! Until next time! Byeeee 🙂

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Halfway There! (Somehow)

Hey everyone! Hope you are doing well. This quarter has been moving so fast. I wanted to share a little bit about my first few weeks on campus. Since we got to move in a little bit before class started, I was able to focus on meeting new people and looking into extracurricular activities. Currently, I am a part of IM soccer, a few business clubs, and the Spike Ball Club. These have helped keep me busy and meet new people.

The first few days of being away from home and my family was hard. To counteract this I would call my parents multiple times a day just to hear their voice, and call my friends at other schools to see how they were doing. One thing that I was hearing about from friends and family a lot, was their weather complaints. I had none, even during the heat wave. The weather is nice down here. Another aspect of college I was worried about was falling asleep at night, but there is so much to do during the day by the evening all I want to do is crash. 

A picture of my roommate and me at CDM during Week 1.

The first couple weeks my roommates and I were going Newport or Corona Del Mar a fair amount, but lately, as classes have started to pick up we haven’t been able to. Speaking of classes, MIDTERMS! I hope everyone did well on the ones they have had, and wish them the best of luck for the upcoming ones. Personally, my first mid-term for one of my biology classes was quite difficult, but my econ test was not too bad. 

In high school, I could never focus in my room, I would just walk around juggling a soccer ball, playing music wasting a ton of time. In the dorm, I find it a lot easier to focus because there is less space, and when my roommates are there we are often both more productive. However, when I can’t focus in the room or want a new space to study, I prefer the Mesa study room. The libraries are super nice, but I live in Isla, which is at the bottom of the Mesa Classics next to parking lot 5, so they are a far walk.

My desk setup (pretty boring).

Every night I make sure to talk to my parents on the phone, as well one at least one of my friends from back home, get a workout in, and read for a half hour. These are a few of the things that have helped me build a new routine and unwind each day. Overall, I will say I have adjusted to this college life, but know it will still take a bit more time. I hope everyone is also getting comfortable in this new environment, it is a big change, but the best is yet to come.

-Rohan