by Carrie Song

Carrie, a junior majoring in Statistics, shares some advice and tips for finding academic success while maintaining balance in a busy semester.

As we’re getting towards the middle of the semester, the excitement of school getting started might be fading away and it’s perfectly normal to feel stressed about assignments, midterms and other tasks. Whether you are just getting started on your college career or one semester away from graduating, here are some tips I find particularly helpful to make life and studying easier.

Rest
Yes, it might sound crazy but taking a break from time to time when doing intense studying can help you concentrate better. This could be zoning out for 5 minutes after finishing a problem set or going grocery shopping in the middle of the day just to take your mind off work. Personally, I love grabbing a boba and taking a short walk late in the afternoon, it relaxes my brain in a way that I can focus and be more productive when I get back. Also, try not to stay up too late at night, especially during weekdays, as not getting enough sleep will somewhat affect your ability to concentrate on the next day –trust me, you don’t want to fall asleep in lectures and having to make up the contents all by yourself towards the end of the semester.

Practice Regularly
In most STEM classes, the key to success is generally not how smart you are, but how much time you are willing to dedicate to practicing. Doing homework problems independently, organizing notes, working collaboratively with a study group… all these things are super helpful when you’re trying to get a satisfactory grade in a certain class. Having trouble understanding some of the class material? Go to o ice hours! The course staff are there to help students succeed in class. Even outside of class, there are resources that will help you succeed in classes such as the C.A.R.E. tutoring held by the Grainger College of Engineering. Make sure you understand the basic information or concept for a certain topic before you dive into the problem sets, plus constant review of these information will allow you to be more familiar with the subject.

Get Organized & Plan Ahead
Things can get really messy if you have 4 or 5 classes going on at the same time, especially when each one of them has assignments due at a different time. One thing I find particularly useful dealing with it is that I would filter out the big assignments (ones that gives you a longer period of time to finish), and spread them out step by step, making sure I’m constantly working on instead of forgetting its existence until two hours before it’s due. For the works that have weekly due dates, I tend to dedicate a time slot for them in each week and try to finish them during that time slot. This allows a sense of regularity in the messy schedule and in some way, makes a habit. Another thing I find helpful is to have an estimate of how much time you need for each task and give yourself some extra time to finish that task in case something happens. This way, you’ll be unlikely to forget about something and therefore have a higher chance in succeeding.

Change Study Spots
When you’re tired of your old study spot, go somewhere else and see what else you can find! I find it helpful especially during finals week and everywhere is crowded. A change of environment can be refreshing to the brain and get you back to focusing. Some of my favorite study spots are the ACES Funk Library, the Psychology building and the Illini Union!

With that much being said, it’s eventually up to each individual to find out which way works best, and I hope the strategies I’ve taken in the past could be inspiring to you and help ease some of that stress. Nevertheless, I’m sure you’ll do amazing in the semester, best of luck!