blog by zahra

Surprisingly, it wasn’t too difficult for me to get back into study mode after the break!  Hope you had the same ease of becoming textbook savvy again! (did I just imply that we shouldn’t have studied over the break? *cough, cough*)

Since yesterday, my professors have welcomed us back with are our midterm grades and the schedules for exam viewing.  Whether you are able to keep your midterm with you, or if you are only allowed to see it under your professor/TA’s supervision, it’s super important to go back and review your midterm, and really understand why and how you lost marks.  To me, there are 3 reasons why one wouldn’t go to review their exam:

1) “I got above class average”: So what?  Don’t get me wrong here, even I am motivated to do well on my exams by perceiving that I’m just a little smarter than most of my peers.  But just because you got above class average, it doesn’t mean that you did the best you could.  Don’t settle for “good enough”.

2) “The final exam is non-cumulative”: I’m sure you can still hear your class breathing a collective sigh of relief on the first day of class when the professor announced this uber-awesome thing.  BUT…just because the exam isn’t cumulative, it doesn’t mean that you’re not expected to understand concepts from the first part of the course.  Of course, the final exam will not directly test you on previous material, but you will be expected to know terminology and big ideas from the first half of the course.  Think about it in terms of your future career…whether it be medicine, dentistry, law, teaching, your success will always depend on cumulative knowledge.  I certainly don’t want to go to an ear, nose, and throat specialist who pokes me in the eye because he couldn’t be bothered to remember anatomy outside of his specialty.

3) “I did SUPER well (A+)!”: Congrats!  I have my personal rule-of-thumb for this one: if you aren’t allowed to keep the exam and the viewing time fits your schedule, go to see you exam.  There is always room for improvement.  If the exam is yours to keep, definitely look over it.  Personally, there tends to be at least 1 question that I wasn’t 100% sure about during the exam.  If I miraculously got it right, I’ll still review the concept and go through examples to make sure that I’m fully confident to tackle a similar exam question.

Remember, be proactive!  You’re paying for your education and you shouldn’t settle for being an average student. 🙂

Today was one of the busiest days I’ve had in a while.  I started off by waking up at 5:30am and commuting to UBC.  Sat in class for 1.5 hours, tutored a student for an hour, then jumped on the bus again to travel to BC Children’s Hospital, where I volunteer.  I had one of the best shifts ever at BCCH today, because I got to cuddle an infant and rock him back and forth, which is something I’ve been wanting to do since I started volunteering.  After 3 hours, I hopped onto the bus again, traveled back to UBC, and got ready to right my MICB 202 midterm at 7pm.

In total, I commuted using 6 buses and 1 Canada Line train.  But what fascinates me more about my day was my stress level the throughout all my activities (or lack thereof, should I say).  Despite having a midterm worth 33% in the evening, I wasn’t the slightest bit hesitant to attend my volunteering shift, nor was I frazzled by the number of hours I “wasted” in transit.  Today, I realized the true essence of studying ahead of time and truly being prepared for an exam.

Since the weekend, I had planned my studying in such a way that I could cater for my busy schedule.  I promised myself that I would not leave any studying (except for some review) for today, Tuesday, because I didn’t expect to have any time to cram.  Combining all this with my fascination for the immunology section that we were being tested on, I was able to maintain minimal stress levels.  I didn’t know that it was possible to juggle my exam schedule with my other commitments…I usually cancel all my appointments and volunteering shifts during exam time.  I always pride myself with having superb time-management skills, but I think I just upgraded myself to the next level!

P.s. Might I add that I also managed to find time to write this blog post at the end of my busy day!  Where there is a will, there is a way! 🙂

Sorry for being MIA for the last little while!  I’ve been meaning to write, but the task was always shoved to the bottom of the pile.

My midterms start tomorrow!  I’m sure some of you have already suffered the banes of university life.  Luckily, my schedule is treating me well…1 tomorrow, 1 on Tuesday, 2 the following Wednesday, and then the last one of Thursday!

I know I’m lucky, because I’ve heard of some pretty harsh exam pile ups.  Which begs the question, why can’t we apply for hardship during midterms, and only during finals?

I could write a whole persuasive essay on the practicality of why midterms can’t be moved, but I think Dr. Shelley Reid, my CLST 301 prof, sums it up really nicely:

“Your bachelor’s degree is worth much more than the sum total of your knowledge of biochemistry, organic chemistry, or even the meaning of the root term for the belly-button*.  It is instead evidence to society at large (including those who decide whom to admit to medical/dental/nursing school, if that is your goal) that you have developed particular skills, such as the ability to cope with the stress of competing—and possibly even conflicting—demands, and to cope with grace and finesse.  Partly it is a matter of time management, but it is also a mental activity: we all know that the weeks around midterms and final exams are stressful, and by surviving them you show your ability to handle both your time and the stress of competing demands.”

* [Editor Note: in CLST 301, we learn the Greek and Latin roots of medical and biological terms]

To me, this is a really inspiring way to look at our stressful situations.  I’m constantly reflecting back on the instances when I was so fixated on achieving something, a detail which now seems irrelevant and almost pathetic.  We need to look at the bigger picture, and not get rooted in that one stressful day, that one hectic week, or that once-in-a-lifetime horrendous exam schedule.  Even if it doesn’t seem like it at the time, there is always a small skill to be learnt out of every experience.

Good luck with your exams!