Although we all strive to do well on our midterms this should not occur at the expense of our physical and mental well-being
With exam season fast approaching, many students are slowly starting to forget about their own well-being. All-nighters, avoiding breaks and skipping meals will be the daily norm as libraries are filled to the brim with students focused on achieving one goal - getting a good grade.
Under the pressure of succeeding in rigorous university classes, students are forced to prioritize their GPAs above everything – but at what cost?
Under no circumstances is it okay to place your academics above your mental well-being, especially during high-stress periods like exam season. In fact, during times like these, it’s important to prioritize yourself to avoid psychological distress.
Under no circumstances is it okay to place your academics above your mental well-being, especially during high-stress periods like exam season. In fact, during times like these, it’s important to prioritize yourself to avoid psychological distress.
You should not be pushing through deteriorating mental health for the sake of an exam. By doing so, students are making themselves susceptible to psychological distress, academic burnout, and isolation from the damaged relationships. Indulging in these typical exam activities infrequently may be okay for the time being. However, when consistently making these activities common practice many long-term adverse health implications accompany that.
For example, you may have skipped lunch today because you have an exam at 4 p.m. You may think that using this extra time to study might help you do better on your exam than if you were to grab lunch.
In the short term, you are now starving during your exam which may distract you and make it difficult to concentrate on the exam. However, if you continue to skip meals you are putting yourself at risk for health issues such as mood swings and brain fog. Over time, more concerning consequences can arise too, like fainting and muscle loss, contributing to more illnesses that can cause you a trip to the emergency room.
Experiencing these extreme health implications will only worsen over time if students continue to study all night and isolate themselves from friends and family.
Even though exam season is riddled with anxiety and stress, it is important to understand that the habits we develop during these academically critical periods will have long-term negative impacts on our health. When our health is impacted, our performance on exams is also negatively impacted.
So, what really are the benefits of neglecting our wellbeing?
Although skipping study breaks may help you perform well on your first exam, it’s very likely that continuing these habits will prevent you from performing well on future exams. Additionally, you may begin to experience insomnia, psychological distress, and increased stress levels. Overall, these short-term practices not only have negative health implications in the long term, but they also impact your performance on exams as December progresses.
As hard as it may be, students should not sacrifice their well-being temporarily for exams as the consequences follow us well after. We must recognize that regardless of the intentions for indulging in these practices, there are very minimal benefits to experience during exam season.
We must recognize that regardless of the intentions for indulging in these practices, there are very minimal benefits to experience during exam season.
In fact, prioritizing our well-being can demonstrate academic benefits that will allow us to excel during exams. For example, eating nourishing meals throughout this stressful period can increase mental alertness and stabilize your energy levels allowing you to perform better on exams.
With exams quickly approaching, it's important to remember that sacrificing your well-being to upkeep an ideal GPA can lead to unhealthy habits appearing in the long-term concerns. Taking care of your health, such as eating well and taking breaks.
A flexible approach to university might save you and your sanity
By: Zara Khan, Contributor
Picture the ideal student. They somehow find the time to volunteer and hit the gym while they maintain their perfect grade point average. They finish their assignments far in advance and probably already studied for that midterm. You envy them and their perfectly curated bullet journal. They are a perfect model of human efficiency.
At the same time, there you are. Catching up on those missed lectures of yours, all while you have two essays due tomorrow and a midterm right after. There you are, going to sleep at 7 a.m., following a Red Bull-fueled study session with a brain that’s turned to mush. Okay, maybe it’s just me.
But if you are anything like me, you most definitely are haunted by a chronic sense of failure. You might feel as if you’re not doing what you should be doing. That you should have figured things out by now. That you should learn a certain way and aim to achieve certain things. In many ways, you feel like you simply do not measure up to that ideal student.
However, our societal notions of what makes a successful student are deeply unrealistic. Who has the time to perfectly colour code their notes? Who really manages to get everything done ahead of time? Most university students have never had to learn how to learn properly until now, so of course, we’re going to struggle.
We seem to imagine the ideal student as someone possessing inhuman amounts of energy. Someone who seems to be perfectly put together, studies for hours on end and finishes assignments far in advance. The fact that many of us seem to think that there is only one way to be a good student is concerning. So when many of us find ourselves struggling to measure up to that ideal, we seem to view it as personal failing more than anything else.
The fact that many of us seem to think that there is only one way to be a good student is concerning. So when many of us find ourselves struggling to measure up to that ideal, we seem to view it as personal failing more than anything else.
I’m not the ideal student. But what I find interesting is the fact that I’ve found more success as one that is not. In fact, I don’t take any notes during most of my lectures. Why? I’ve found that I actually retain the information better when I’m purely focused on listening. Instead, I might take notes that I need, prior to, or after class.
For the longest time, I tried to force myself to take notes during class, because that was how things should be done. What often resulted was a notebook full of the best doodles ever drawn, with absolutely zero recollection of what was actually taught. Not taking notes meant that I had more of an incentive to listen. But more importantly, it reduced the stress I often felt while trying to take good notes. Not only did I learn more, but I also saved a bit of my sanity.
[/media-credit] A doodle found in Zara's notes.
Now, I’m not advocating for you to eschew note-taking during lectures. Although, what I am advocating for is a flexible approach to education. For example, students believe that they should take a full course load which is about five courses for most programs. But what if you find yourself consistently stressed by a full course load?
Day after day, you find yourself struggling to handle the workload. The obvious solution is to decrease your course load. It might be slightly unconventional and it might take longer for you to finish your degree, but it might be a beneficial alternative to you. If the conventional path to a degree doesn’t fit your needs, you should look for alternatives.
In my case, I actually took this semester off. I didn’t exactly have a fun time last winter semester, online learning quite literally sucked out the joy of learning for me. Rather than forcing myself to learn in a way that simply doesn’t work for me (which would have likely dropped my GPA), I opted to take a break instead.
This confused a few people in my life. They simply couldn’t understand why I would choose to “fall behind.” A younger friend of mine was very surprised by the fact that I could take a semester off at all. She didn’t know that it was even an option.
Surprisingly, university can be quite flexible in many ways, yet few of us take advantage of this. Many of us seem to think that there is only a four- or five-year path to a degree. In reality, you can take as long as you like or as little as you like. In short, you can plan your education in a way that works for you.
This point doesn’t only apply to the length of your degree, it can apply to any aspect of your education. I’ll admit that I often pick between either going to the lectures or doing the readings if I find that the content overlaps. I’ll often ignore recommended guidelines for an essay if I feel like they are hindering the quality of my work (though I’ll check with my professors to be safe). My strategies are unconventional, but they work for me.
I don’t know if it’s just me, but I feel that sometimes I’m more distressed by the fact that I am not doing things as I should be, rather than being stressed by school itself. A constant nagging feeling tells me that I’m not doing what I’m supposed to be. That I’m doing something wrong by refusing to conform to those expectations.
Yet, despite all the inner angst about the whole thing, I’ve found that the most liberating thing I’ve done for myself is to completely ignore these societal expectations. Ignoring them has allowed me to figure out how I can make things work for me.
I don’t know if it’s just me, but I feel that sometimes I’m more distressed by the fact that I am not doing things as I should be, rather than being stressed by school itself.
Not all strategies work for all people. The fact that many of us try to force ourselves into a narrow mould of productivity is quite counterproductive. If you, like me, find yourself struggling to learn the way you should, do yourself a favour: forget about how you should be doing things. Find out how you would do them instead.
A list of ways for students to adjust to online classes
The start of the 2020-2021 school year has been an adjustment for many students. This adjustment period may continue into the winter semester now that classes are confirmed to be online. As you start to prepare for midterms and major assignments, here are some tips to help you move forward in a virtual learning environment.
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Creating the ideal study space
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Attending virtual classes
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Keep up your good study habits
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Ask for help
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Cultivate community
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Take care of yourself
This year is going to be strange. We’re all learning how to manage this new situation and it’s not going to happen overnight. It will take the time it takes, so be patient and kind with yourself as you navigate your virtual university experience.
By: Geena Sandhu
Assigned readings are an essential component of university life. Having said that, students should be given the option of purchasing their hefty 400-page McMaster University courseware as a digital copy with an included audio component.
Finding the time to sit down and read five assigned readings in one week is undeniably strenuous. As students, we prioritize completing assignments, papers and tests to the point where readings often become neglected.
This is where the solution of audiobooks comes in. Oftentimes, they are formatted so that one may listen to the text while simultaneously reading it.
We hear about leisure reading audiobooks, however, academia has also developed audiobooks. Many professors at McMaster have made their textbooks accessible online with a convergence feature, that is, the text being read aloud to the listener.
However, the long lines at the campus stores at the beginning of each semester indicate that many professors still prefer old school physical textbooks. Before pushing for more audio textbooks, is listening to a textbook as beneficial for students as reading it?
As a first-year student, when my professor announced the textbook could be accessed physically from the bookstore or online, I was hesitant towards the idea of an audio textbook because it was not something I was familiar with.
Even though the idea did not appeal to me, this semester I was obliged to try audio textbooks as one of my textbooks was only accessible through an online app.
Since then, the process of accessing my audio textbook at any time of the day through my iPhone rather than carrying a copy in my backpack has become exceedingly convenient.
One of the critical differences between reading and listening is that audiobooks are great for multitasking — on the condition that one of the tasks being performed is a menial job that does not hinder one’s mental capacity.
Since audiobooks are easily accessible, the text can be listened to while commuting to school, between classes, running errands, cleaning your room and in innumerable other instances. This is a great way to occupy extra time through doing something productive.
Additionally, scholarly textbooks can include words that may be too technical or advanced for students that are learning a concept for the first time. This may interfere in the process of the student comprehending the message. Consequently, students may become unmotivated to continue reading the required texts.
However, when an audiobook is used, it allows readers to effortlessly decode the message as well as learn the pronunciation of unfamiliar words as the narrator speaks.
McMaster is also a very diverse school where English is not everyone’s first language. The use of an audio textbook would be especially useful for English-language learners as audiobooks not only improve vocabulary and comprehension, but they also increase students’ ability to communicate with others.
Overall, the university should encourage instructors to offer audio textbook options as they benefit a wide range of students. Through audio, students will have an extra one to two hours for other productive activity, and also have a better time understanding the syntax behind a language.
My recommendation for students would be to set the pace of the narrator's voice to a speed that feels comfortable and compatible to your own. Students should also read and listen concurrently so that during a test, the words may appear familiar.
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By: Rimsha Laeeq
As a commuter at McMaster University, getting home early isn’t always an option. For students who commute, studying late for a midterm in the library or attending an evening event is hardly an easy decision to make.
When deciding to stay late on campus as a commuter, transit is an issue to consider. It is crucial for students to be involved in the many activities that the university hosts. Students should not have to worry about their safety when commuting home from school.
This is why the Hamilton Street Railway should extend their bus schedules to the later hours of the evening.
The HSR has many buses that operate throughout the day, from the eastbound to the westbound, including the 5, 1, 51 and the 10, otherwise known as the B-Line Express.
Nevertheless, after 7:00 p.m., the B-Line stops running, meaning off-campus students have to either arrange their own rides or take one of the three other buses, which usually requires transferring onto another bus in downtown Hamilton.
As an off-campus student, the last B-line bus I can take to reach home under an hour departs from McMaster at 6:43 p.m. With most events ending after this, it becomes difficult for me to get home.
My 50-minute commute on one bus turns into an hour and 15-minute commute over two buses, and includes waiting in the heart of downtown to catch the second bus.
Students living off-campus are often forced to leave campus early and miss amazing events that McMaster offers because their bus won’t run after a specific time.
Being a university student does not mean to solely “work with academics”. I believe it is important for the HSR to extend their bus timings not only for the safety of their students but to allow students to become more involved with the different events taking place on campus.
With extended bus timings, students can engage in the abundant cultural events occurring at McMaster, with the opportunity to meet several other students at the university from a variety of programs and levels. This gives students the benefit of learning about the diverse cultures present at McMaster.
Off-campus students shouldn’t feel like they don’t belong, or don’t have a say in many of the events taking place due to inconvenient bus timings. These students, including myself, need to be a part of the university culture.
When it comes to academics, H.G. Thode Library of Science and Engineering is open until 2:00 a.m. during exam season for students to effectively study, whether that be alone or in groups.
For most students, once you sit down to study and are motivated to do so, you can study for hours on end. With a restricted time period due to bussing, this can often demotivate students, as getting in a ‘grind’ mode may be quite difficult for some.
Additionally, students study differently, which means that they need to be able to switch up their study environments. Some students prefer to study on campus while others prefer their home. Students shouldn’t have to compromise their academics because a bus doesn’t run at a later time.
For students who commute using the B-Line Express, this bus only runs on weekdays. With midterms, exams or other events occurring on the weekend, students are forced to take two or more buses or find alternate means of transport to get on campus.
Students should not be afraid of staying late at the school they attend. They should feel safe and have no difficulty commuting back and forth from campus on the daily.
When considering the safety of students, their involvement at McMaster and networking with people to make their university career a more fun-filled experience, HSR bus timings should most definitely be extended.
For students who are currently commuting and have to stay late, the McMaster Students Union offers a volunteer service, the Student Walk Home Attendant Team, who will walk or bus with students to their destination. This service is open seven days a week from 7:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.
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By: Saadia Shahid
How does a student get good grades? I know the most obvious answer being shouted out is “by studying, of course,” with some sarcastic replies of “watching Netflix” thrown in the mix. But what if I told you both those answers were correct?
A balance of socializing and studying, which can include watching Netflix, is necessary to achieve those highly sought-after grades.
Though our cognitive needs are met by virtue of being university students, it is our need for "love and belongingness" that is present on Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Socializing is a basic human need. To become functioning members of the society, we must engage in leisure activities.
Yet, we almost never put time aside to socialize with our friends. Even when we do, studying takes precedence and ends up taking over the time we allocated for socializing.
This is often a result of procrastination. Whether it is procrastinating by scrolling through clickbait articles or watching videos, when we procrastinate, we take away time from both socializing and studying.
Procrastination is also looked down upon so badly. Rarely do we try to understand why the person might be engaging in procrastination. Procrastination is a sign of anxiety.
In my opinion, procrastination is often a hugely unrecognized sign, too. Besides anxiety, procrastinating habits have been linked to depression and low self-esteem.
If you find your friend procrastinating, don’t “leave them alone so they can study”. Study with them. If left alone, they may continue procrastinating for even longer, and worsen their mental health.
Some people do emphasize their preference for studying alone. In that case, make sure they’re okay and continually check on their progress and their mental health. In severe cases of anxiety, they may even lie about it.
As a perfectionist, I speak from experience. My habit of procrastination stemmed from being anxious about the imperfect outcome that might ensue. As a result, I took longer getting started on assignments with the thought that if I didn’t do well, I could justify it by telling myself that I didn’t have enough time.
So far this year, I have been doing better as I have come to terms with the non-existent nature of perfection. This is something creatives struggle with as well. Things like “is this good enough?”, “should I post this now?” and “I want to make this better” are examples of what goes through their minds on a regular basis.
So how do you achieve the grade you’ve been aiming for? Consistency is the answer. Being consistently diligent with your workflow will not just aid in improving your skills, but also get you your coveted grade. Doing well in a course is a long-term goal, and definitely doesn’t occur when you start an assignment a day before its due.
Procrastination also leads to long hours of isolation in the library behind laptop screens or a stack of books, taking away the satisfaction of “love and belongingness”, and according to Maslow, halting an individual’s growth.
So, the next time you find your friend procrastinating, ask them why, take them out to get them relaxed and help them get started on their studying. Mental health is no light issue.
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Exam season is now upon us and it’s time to form a strategy to tackle December. The most important part of that strategy is finding a way to take care of yourself during this month of studying. Be sure to take some breaks between your study sessions. Take our quiz to get some suggestions on how to spend these precious breaks.
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McMaster students may see changes in the Health Sciences Library study space and operational hours as soon as this year. Student Representative Assembly health sciences representatives Devin Roshan and Tushar Tejpal are working closely with HSL director Jennifer McKinnell to redistribute Sunday hours to Saturday and replace bookshelves with more cubicles and desks.
The initiative is part of the SRA health sciences year-plan and aims to address concerns about limited study space and hours in HSL.
“When I was elected, I had a lot of conversations with students who were saying that it was very difficult to find cubicles, particularly during midterms and exams,” Roshan said.
Roshan and Tejpal have been meeting regularly with McKinnell over the summer and into the school year. While short-term changes were difficult to implement, the plans for a summer 2019 renovation have recently been approved.
The renovations will involve removing some bookshelves downstairs and replacing them with cubicles or desks. In addition, new study rooms may be constructed under the main stairway, and some computers may be removed in favour of desk space. The project is not related to the current closure of the reading pavilion room downstairs.
Limited library hours have long been a concern of students and a priority of the SRA reps. In the past, SRA representatives have been able to successfully lobby for extended hours as the exam period approaches. For example, thanks to student advocacy, Thode library now stays open until 3 a.m. during the second half of the semester.
The health sciences representatives have been working to implement longer hours dating back to the 2016-2017 year. However, extending HSL past the typical 10:45 p.m. closing time is not possible, largely because the library is located in the same building as the Hamilton Health Sciences Centre, which has jurisdiction over the closing time of the library.
[spacer height="20px"]“In the past, representatives have advocated for extended hours, like in Thode, but that is actually not possible due to security reasons,” Roshan said.
This year’s representatives have taken a different approach, looking to redistribute hours rather than simply extending them.
“My plan is essentially to look at what hours are not being utilized and how we can better use those hours for students,” Roshan said.
Specifically, Roshan and Tujpal are advocating for a redistribution of two or three hours from Sunday to Saturday, so the library will open later on Sundays, but stay open longer on Saturdays. Right now, the library closes at 5:45 p.m. on Saturdays, and opens at 10 a.m. on Sundays.
According to the health sciences representatives, statistics show that there are relatively few students coming into HSL on Sunday mornings.
This plan is also more feasible than previous ones in terms of staff costs, which have been another factor that complicates extending hours.
“It is essentially a more cost-effective plan for us. Instead of asking for more funding, we are just redistributing hours so that we’re still at a balance for the cost,” Roshan said.
The next steps for the health sciences caucus for the extended Saturday hours project is to organize a health sciences faculty petition to get support for redistributing hours.
“Once we get a compiled list of over 80 to 100 individuals, we are going to present that information to Jennifer McKinnell and from there, she can go above to her superiors and present that and then hopefully that will lead to change,” Roshan said.
The renovations to the library are planned to begin in the summer of 2019 and finish before the fall. Roshan and Tejpal are optimistic that a pilot project for extended Saturday hours will begin this year.
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This one might seem counterintuitive, with the cold weather the last thing you might want to do is sit outside. But if you bundle up, bring a thermos of tea and a hat, studying outside will keep you from falling asleep. You can make yourself a snow chair and a snow table for your stuff. If you tell yourself you can only go back inside after you’re done studying, I promise you will be more efficient than you’ve ever been before.
It’s time to hit the gym, to get those practice problems done. Getting more oxygen to your brain will help you stay engaged, so consider combining your work out with your homework. Instead of a Beer Mile, do a Study Mile—read one chapter and then run one mile. This may not be a proven study method (I made it up), but it will make you seem super hardcore. Alternatively, there are some comfy benches on the second and third floor if you want to study the old fashioned way.
Bus, bike or walk to Dundas for one of the best branches of the Hamilton Public Library. A few tables and some hidden study nooks and crannies await your discovery. This building is next to some senior residences so you can absorb the wisdom of the elderly by osmosis.
A little known fact is that McMaster hosts a real live nuclear reactor on campus—and it offers free tours to students. During the tour your guide will track the amount of nuclear radiation you absorb, and while this is minimal, it’s still an incentive to minimize your time inside. So why not bring along a book? The longer it takes you to read, the more radiation you will absorb a fact that will have you done your reading in no time. Just don’t drop your book in the giant glowing pool, you won’t get it back.
Tons of student groups on campus want you to burst the McMaster bubble. So take up this challenge, and do your homework on an HSR bus. Discover the east end of Hamilton from the comfort of a hard blue seat. You’ll get to know some Hamiltonians and get your homework done. Just make sure to avoid the night busses, especially around Hess. You don’t want your textbook to get covered in puke!
By: Mitali Chaudhary
It’s time for sweatpants, bruised-looking under-eyes, and the I-just-woke-up hair: it’s midterm season. Luckily, exactly 95.87% of the stress can be avoided this year by these helpful DON’Ts for the midterms.
There’s no use in rationalizing the hours you plan to spend on Netflix, or convincing yourself of the reason you need to watch one more episode. You know it in your bones that there’s no way you’re stopping at “one more episode”.
2. Take five-minute Facebook/Tumblr/Reddit breaks.
They’re never five minutes long – the range is more like one to two hours – and you know it. It’s no use even getting on those sites in the first place because they suck you in. No one enjoys that soul-crushing post-surfing oh-my-god-I-wasted-so-much-time-on-the-internet guilt either but we all still do it. Because this activity is so addicting, it’s better not to engage in it in the first place, since we clearly get transported into another dimension where time always breaks the speed limit.
3. Put yourself through six-hour, no-break study blitzes.
Especially the night before the midterm. Although it may seem like a good idea when it first crosses your panic-stricken brain, it’s an extremely counter-productive practice. On average, the human brain can focus on a single task for no more than a stretch of 45 minutes. Taking short, frequent breaks while studying gives the brain some time to absorb what it just learned and gets it ready for another informational onslaught.
4. Become a total hermit.
Sitting in your room all day, only coming out to forage for food, is tiresome. We’re on the edge of Cootes Paradise! Taking short walks and getting some exercise into your schedule improves concentration, gets the heart pumping, and is a good way to spend a study break. It’s also a nice change of scenery—fall is beautiful at McMaster and it’s worth venturing out for before winter comes our way.
5. Procrastinate.
Okay that sounds like the most “duh” DON’T, but avoiding it is the best way to succeed during any time of the year. Dividing your hours up into study and break time as well as time to eat and sleep (good nights of sleep are key!) will help you focus on one thing at a time and keep you on track. Honestly, the hardest part about this is making a realistic schedule—you just have to stick to it afterwards, which is pure willpower. The feeling of satisfaction that comes with completing all your tasks in a day is worth it, I promise.
And with these five tips, as well as some smart studying, you’ll be able to breeze past midterm season with ease to face the more dreaded finals. You’re welcome.
