Now that midterms have taken their toll, finals begin to rear their ugly heads again as the end of the fall semester quickly approaches. Students may be having trouble studying or just trying to grasp the new concepts that were taught the previous class, but some students have provided tips that may be able to help.
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With such diversity at Seton Hall in regards to what people study, everyone has a different routine or mindset when it comes to hitting the books. Although there is a number of different resources and guidelines that students use, the end goals are similar for many students. Sophomore IT management major Grant Turner said, “I make an emphasis to stay away from any distractions like TV or my friends.”
Although he said he finds himself involved in a number of intramural sports with his friends, Turner also said he has always made school his priority. His study methods are also a staple as to how he keeps his education a priority. Turner said that there are three main steps that he follows when studying for any sort of exam.
“I look through the important material, write it down and then check if whatever I wrote down is relevant towards the exam that I’m studying for,” Turner said.
Turner said he doesn’t reserve this method just for finals and midterms, he does this for every assignment that is given to him.
“I don’t think that I’m much different during finals or midterms,” Turner said. “Only the quantity of what I take in increases.”
According to sophomore biology major Vanessa Arias, adapting to all her new classes every semester is nothing new to her.
Arias said she finds that her study habits change from class to class and it also depends on the teaching style of the professor. As a biology major, Arias said she finds herself predominantly taking science classes which ask for a lot more attention than her other courses. She said she finds that going back into the text is a sufficient way to understand the material.
“I find that the best way for me to study is to do practice problems from the back of the book with my notes, and then again without my notes,” Arias said.
Arias said that she doesn’t think her work ethic is as high for midterms as it is for finals. “I’m not sure why that is, but I find I work well under pressure. I still study, but I wouldn’t put in as much effort as I would for finals,” Arias said.
There are many resources that students use on campus to help them get through testing times. A commonly used outlet is the Academic Resource Center (ARC), located in the Arts and Sciences building.
Sophomore Liem Pham is a biology supplemental instructor for the ARC and described how he helps students for exams.
“Every week, I design my supplemental instruction (SI) sessions to reflect what the students are learning/have learned in that week. Pham said, “Other than reiterating the information given by the notes of the professor, I try to connect the different concepts to each other and allow the students to engage in the course material.”
Pham said he follows a very rigid schedule to keep pace with all his school work. “I have to work extremely efficiently whenever I can so that I do not fall behind,” Pham said. “I always make time to relax though, because that is also an important part of being successful.” Pham said the biggest advice he can give to students is that they shouldn’t wait to the last minute to study the material.
Ronald Castaneda can be reached at Ronald.castaneda@student.shu.edu.
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