Tag Archives: exams

The Food Struggle Of College Students

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Maintaining a healthy diet while in college can sometimes be hard. Harder than finals week! Late night study sessions are followed with late night snacks, and packed schedules leave little time for exercising. All of which lead to weight gain.

Here are some healthy snacks you can enjoy while studying and finishing
your assignments.


Instead of ice cream you can try…

Fat Free Yogurt: Yogurt
comes in a wide variety of flavors, even chocolate and cheesecake, and is a much healthier alternative to ice cream.

Fruit Smoothie: Blend up fruit, milk and nonfat yogurt and enjoy a healthy drink.

Frozen Grapes: Frozen grapes will give you the chill you’re looking for, along with having very few calories and
no fat.

fruit

Put down the soda and try…

Water: Water has no calories, and it
provides the hydration your body needs to give you better concentration and memory.

Cranberry Juice: Go for real cranberry juice, not cocktail, for the best nutrition

Skim Milk: Unless you’re lactose intolerant, milk can provide your body with protein, calcium and other vitamins it needs. If you are lactose then Soy Milk is a great alternative.

Orange Juice: A glass of OJ is a great way to boost your vitamin C levels.

Put the candy down and instead pick up…

Raisins: Perfect to keep on hand as they’ll stay fresh for months.

Blueberries: They are full of antioxidants and vitamins that will make your body happy.

Cherries: Easy to eat, along with being delicious, and tasty. They taste like a whole host of candies so you won’t even miss those sugary treats.

a woman scratching her head in front of a chalk board

School isn’t easy, studying isn’t easy, but we can still remain healthy. Your grades, along with your brain and waistline, will thank you!

Avoiding the Finals Crash

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a cartoon of a man collapsed at a desk

used with permission from cuatower some rights reserved

Ask most students, and a majority will agree that there is little to no sleeping during Finals week. This is not unique to any major, degree, or institution. It is pretty much accepted that during finals and possibly even the week before that students will not get adequate sleep.

While many can understand why this happens, you may be surprised to discover that this doesn’t need to happen nor is it at all beneficial. From personal experience, I can tell you that the correlation between sleep and grades on exams is often positive. There are some exceptions to this rule of course (like if you take this so seriously that you decide to sleep instead of studying), but if used rationally, this advice can help you do better than you might have done.

How does this work? First of all, if you are like most others who don’t get adequate sleep during testing, you may agree with me that you cannot concentrate as well during the tests as you would if you had slept. In fact, studies have shown that driving without sleep is even more dangerous than driving while inebriated (though I’m not advocating for that either) because of delayed reaction times as well as the risk of falling asleep at the wheel. When you are taking exams that are timed, it is really detrimental to be sleepy because your concentration level is not what it should be. The same questions that you may be able to answer in one/two minutes may take you five minutes.

How about when you have an essay or short answer final. These often require that you hand-write your responses. How many people can write as legibly when they’re half asleep? I know that when I try to take notes or write a paper while asleep, I end up with some gobblygoop or ____________ on the paper. I’ve had professors who say that they won’t grade illegible papers. That can mean an automatic zero!

Of course, another thing you need to be worried about is the coffee or other drinks that you are consuming to allow your body to stay awake an unnatural amount of hours. Caffeinated beverages like Red Bull, Coffee, Five Hour Energy, Coca Cola cause other responses besides keeping you awake. Caffeine is a stimulant drug (in the same class as cocaine). Other effects that you can have when taken in high “dosages” can be anxiety and palpitations. I have seen students fail exams because of nervousness after drinking too much espresso. Also, these drinks act as diuretics causing increase urine production. How are you going to take and or finish an exam if you need to use the restroom multiple times throughout the test?

The good thing about these issues is that they are easily manageable. Make sure to sleep before your exams. While seven hours would be ideal, realistically that might not be possible. Aim for a minimum of six hours of sleep before an exam. If you work a night shift, try to get the night before the exam off if you will not be able to sleep between your shift and the exams. Don’t drink too many caffeinated beverages. Sometimes cold water may be adequate to keep you up without causing adverse effects of caffeine.

I know that you’ll do great, just avoid a crash landing!

Why put off to tomorrow what you may never need to do?

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a cartoon diagram of procrastination

used with permission from UBC Learning Commons some rights reserved

So we are nearing the finish line. At that point when you have some finals, papers, projects, and assignments left, but are getting ready to complete those classes. This is also the time when we start coming down with “Spring Fever”. You know what I’m talking about. It’s so easily diagnosed.

You were doing so well in that class. You learned what the professor expected from you, what effort was really required to do well in the class, and you arranged your schedule to fit the requirements. So you cut down your hours at work, figured out what days you can hang out with friends, you may have even figured out which of your shows you will be able to watch.

But of course, all good intentions may not last. It started with that Thanksgiving dinner. Sure, you were saving a major paper top write on Thanksgiving because you would have SO much time, but alas, how could you work on schoolwork when the family is going to the parade, watching football, carving the turkey… Before you know it, it’s 6:00 at night, sure you still can write that paper, but now the turkey is kicking in. How are you supposed to write a decent paper when you have tryptophan coursing through your body? So you go to sleep. After all, you still have the rest of the weekend, Right?

We all know how the rest of this story goes. We both know that after something like that, combined with the Spring Fever and possibly Senioritis, it will be very difficult to get back on track.

Well, there’s good news and bad news.

The semester has a definitive endpoint. You have a final scheduled, a date when all of your assignments are due and when grades will be submitted. Even if you choose to request an incomplete, there will be a deadline to complete your work. This can be good because there will be an end to the class, a time when you no longer need to worry about how to calculate the slope of… (Unless of course you are a math major). You will need to hand in that 20 page paper whether or not it is properly formatted, has an adequate number of primary sources, or meets the requirements. There will also be a time when even if you have another five chapters to read before taking the final, you will need to take it.

This can also be bad news for the same reasons. Anything that you don’t finish now, you may never be able to do. You don’t have time to procrastinate. You need to do this work now so that you can get the credit for it.

Don’t delay, or you’ll have to pay!

5 Rules to Prepping for a Midterm

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Tis the season – for exams that is. Midterms are in full swing now marking the middle of what has been proving to be a fast moving semester. While it’s highly hypocritical for me to give study tips to anyone (my study habits are atrocious), hopefully the tips below will leave you one step closer to that A+ you’ve been working for.

 

Don’t cram.

It goes against every instinct we have as students before a major exam, but cramming does more harm than good. While it’s true you can pick up a topic you didn’t quite understand at the last minute, you also run the risk of blanking out on an exam – forgetting everything you crammed along with a sizeable chunk of the topics you had completely down.

 

Find an appropriate place to study.

Personally, I need the occasional distraction to study effectively. As backwards as that sounds, doing something completely unrelated to studying once every half hour or so actually helps me to better focus on my work. On the other hand I’ve met people who seclude themselves in a dark corner of the library, forgetting all their friends and family in favor of studying. It’s up to you. Choose wisely.

 

Eat Right.

This applies most the day before and the morning of the exam. Eating foods that are high in sugar or caffeine can lead to crashing later in the day or during your exam. Students should eat a light breakfast (e.g. toast, eggs, bacon or cereal with nuts or grains), and carry a snack to eat between classes. Fruit, nut mixes and drink plenty of water. Never skip a meal before an exam. Skipping out on food can leave you hungry during an exam. Nobody wants to focus on their empty stomach during a calculus exam.

Relax.

Don’t stress out over your exam. Spending more time worrying over an exam, means spending less time focusing on the material covered on it. Like cramming, excessive worrying over an exam can cause you to forget everything you’ve studied for. When in doubt, find a peaceful place and take deep relaxing breaths. Listen to a calming song or browse Facebook. Whatever gets you to your mental happy place.

 

Be Prepared (Bring a pencil).

Bring a pencil. Or a pen. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve sat down for an exam and watched my classmates sweat because they forgot to bring a writing utensil. Not everyone will have a spare pencil or pen for you to borrow. Not all professors will be nice enough to let you ask to borrow one. While it doesn’t seem like much, the stress of forgetting little things like a pencil or a calculator can throw you off enough to cost you serious points on an exam.

When in doubt, take a deep breath, and relax. Midterms aren’t the easiest time of year to get through and you’ll have to do it all over again later on this semester for finals week but I wish everyone the best of luck!