Didn't Do So Hot on Your Midterm?

Don't give up – this is a perfect opportunity to learn from your mistakes, see why you didn’t do as well as you had hoped, and find strategies to improve your scores in the future.

Tips for the Next Midterm

Create a study schedule ahead of time and study early.

Organize all the material into manageable sections.

Designate specific days and times for covering that material. This also ensures that you will have an adequate amount of time to cover everything comfortably.  Make sure to pencil in some down-time for your wellbeing too! Visit the UBC Health & Wellness Page for wellness break ideas that you could incorporate into your study schedule.

Use those lecture goals/learning outcomes.

Your professors provided them to you for a reason. Those lists are amazing for checking that you’ve covered everything your professors want you to get out of the class. They also provide great outlines for planning study schedules.

Study with other people if you can.

If you can answer your friends’ questions, then you are on the right track. If not, you know what you have to focus on! Plus, it’s amazing what a couple of confused people can end up figuring out just by putting their heads together! Connecting and collaborating with others—like forming study groups—is also a great way to gain support when balancing upcoming assignments, midterms, and labs.

Tackle those practice questions.

These sets of questions are usually ones that were used in previous years, so do as many as possible to get an idea of the type of questions you will encounter on your exams! Practice exams provided by your professors are also useful for getting used to their exam format.

Reach out to your professor.

Your professor is the expert on your course (and probably the person who created the exam) and can support you in developing skills for academic success. Your lecturers and professors do appreciate open communication – don’t hesitate to join their office hours! Disclosing any health or personal issues that affected your academic performance may allow you to work together with your prof to find ways to catch up or make up missed material. If your midterm went poorly, your professor may be able to go over the exam with you and identify content you may have missed that will help improve your score when finals season rolls around.

Sleep well and eat well!

Your brain needs to recharge and it never feels good to write an exam while feeling like a slug!

Get even more strategies to build skills for success.

We brought together an expert on the topic of learning with our very own Science Peer Academic Coaches to give you some suggestions and ideas for how to prepare and adapt your learning and studying as you get ready for future exams.

Relevant Resources

• Science Advising
• Science Peer Academic Coaches (SPAC)
• Science Learning Resources
• Chapman Commons Learning Resources
• Wellness Centre

If you are concerned about the impact of your midterms, talk to Science Advising. We can help you review your options and help you make appropriate changes to your course plan. If your focus on your midterm was affected by a situation outside of your academics you can also access Science Advising for support.