On Hiatus

Get College Smart is taking its own advice and will be on hiatus for the holidays.  We will be back in 2012 with new features and more advice to help you succeed in college.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

-Get College Smart

This Holiday . . . Take a Break! Part II

For many of you, the semester has come to a close, and you are happily situated at home (wherever that happens to be), enjoying holiday activities, friends, family, and down time. 

The rest of you may be more like me.  I am up to my elbows in a minimester course, helping 10 brave souls to develop and improve their writing skills.  Others of you may have full-time jobs and/or families to care for and no time to slow down. 

If you fall into this second category, let me encourage you to find some down time in the midst of your busy daily lives to rest and enjoy the holiday season and all it has to offer. 

This may seem like an impossible goal, but if you are planning on diving into another semester this coming spring, you need that down time to refresh, revive, and give yourself the strength to face 15 weeks of academic challenges. 

Even one day of doing nothing, lounging around in your pjs, or having a family night of fun can help.  So embrace your inner couch potato and allow yourself to take a break this holiday!

Friday’s Fact

Check in each Friday for your weekly Get College Smart fact.

Image Credit

Let’s go bowling!  This week’s fact (which just so happens to be a Saturday fact) pays tribute to the College Bowl season and the granddaddy of them all, the Rose Bowl. 

As many of you know, the very first bowl game was the Rose Bowl game of 1902, where Michigan routed Stanford in a 49-0 victory.

This year’s bowl season offers a lot of exciting matchups.  Is your team playing in a bowl game?  Who do you want to see come out victorious?

Wrapping Things Up

Did you think that your final exams and final projects were the only things you needed to worry about at the end of the semester?  Not so, my friends.  There are a few things that you should take care of before you head back home.

• Check your final grades (if they’ve been posted).  Even though you may not want to know the outcome of your semester, you should check your grades before leave campus so you can address any issues or inconsistencies before your campus shuts down for the holiday.
• Address any issues you discover.  Before you leave (not after) is probably the best time to address any issues you have or questions that come up about your grades.  So email your professors – or, better yet, locate them in their offices (if you can) – and discuss these issues and questions.  Be respectful (no professor likes to deal with an emotional or cranky student), ask specific questions, and make sure your concerns are logical and real.  If you handle the situation like an adult, your professors will be responsive – and even helpful!
• If you can’t find resolution, try speaking to the department chair.  This piece of advice is only for those of you who have spoken to your professors and still have real concerns.  If you have clear evidence that indicates the need for a possible grade change, and your professor is unwilling to hear you out, then you need to take your case to his/her supervisor, the department chair.  That said, you should NEVER talk to a department chair before speaking to your professor.  A chain of command exists for a reason, and in all cases, the chair will refer you to your professor if you have not yet spoken to him/her.  So don’t waste your time (or theirs) by trying to jump to the top of the chain.

Addressing any grade concerns you have immediately at the end of the semester, rather than waiting, will make life easier for you and will ensure that you a) follow up on the issue and b) have your case heard while the semester’s coursework is still fresh in your mind.

Also, don’t be shy about talking to professors about your grades.  If you don’t understand why you earned a grade or how your final grade is calculated, you should ask.  I always prefer that students leave my classroom understanding why they have the grade they see on their transcripts, and so do your profs. 

Friday’s Fact

Check in each Friday for your weekly Get College Smart fact.

 Image Credit

Spending a lot of time in the library lately?  If so, you should try out one of these libraries on CampusGrotto’s Most Beautiful Libraries list. 

The library above can be found on the campus of the University of Texas.  Pretty impressive, right?  Take a look at the list to see if your campus library is mentioned.  If it is, pay it a visit.  Studying is always more enjoyable when you can do it in a beautiful place (relatively speaking).

Last Minute Final Exam Advice

If you’re a regular reader, you’ve seen lots of advice on how to study for college here.  If you’re new, take a look at the archives to see what you missed.  And read on for a few last minute pointers.

1. Take care of yourself.  Eat regularly, exercise, and try to get plenty of sleep.
2. Moderation in all things . . .  Avoid binging on sugar, caffeine, and alcohol.  Binges will only serve as a roadblock to your goal of doing well on your exams.
3. . . . this includes studying.  Try to avoid the all night cram session – you will find that you have a hard time remembering everything you have studied.  Study in shorter blocks (2 hours or so) and then take a break (30 minutes to two hours) to refresh and re-energize yourself.
4. While you should focus on studying, you shouldn’t crawl into a hole to do so.  Make sure you spend time around your friends and/or family (if you leave near them).  It will help to keep you grounded and sane during this stressful time.
5. The day of the final exam, get plenty of sleep the night before, make sure you eat that day, arrive to your exam early, and wear layers to ensure your comfort during the exam.

Hang in there – it will be over before you know it.  Good luck!

Friday’s Fact

Check in each Friday for your weekly Get College Smart fact.

Click to view the enlarged graphic.

This graphic seems fitting for this time of year, when exams loom around the corner and stress levels are high.
 
Don’t let stress get the best of you.  Instead, take care of yourself, get organized, study as best as you can, and get help when you need it.  If you do these things, you will give yourself the best opportunity to earn the grades you want and survive the end of the semester.