Finals are approaching! I don’t know why I’m using exclamation points! It’s not exciting! Ahhhh!
The good news is that there’s a designated study space just for BICers.
On Tuesday December 9th, Morrison 100 will be open from the morning until 7 p.m. (Another group has it at 7 p.m. Booooo.) After 7 p.m., Morrison 102 will be available until midnight.
On Wednesday December 10th, Morrison 100 will be open all day. Coffee and some snacks will be provided in Morrison 100 on both days.
I know, I know. It’s like you’ve died and gone to BIC heaven. Since I just know you’re going to take advantage of these fantastic resources, I’m going to go ahead and give you some pointers on what to do when you’re in Morrison, studying your life away for that 4.0.
1. Divvy Up the Work
The BIC is notorious for assigning copious amounts of hard-to-decipher-let-alone-understand texts. (I remember reading Aristotle’s On the Soul and being like whuuu….?)
My advice is to split up the readings among fellow BICers so you don’t have to personally reread each individual thing on the syllabus. Email one another the reviews/outlines you’ve each made. Studying hard is good, but studying smart is better—especially when you’re studying for a million different tests at one time.
2. Turn Off Your Phone
Or turn it on airplane mode, at least. I get it, studying can be such a bore, but you’re going to really regret scrolling Instagram so many times when the exam rolls around and you know nothing about Japanese imperialism. Tell your friends you’ll text them back later. Like, in a week when this hell is over.
3. Review Past Quizzes
You never know. Your profs could totally recycle some of those questions. (Hint: they do.)
4. Outline the Essays ON YOUR OWN
Not everyone will agree with me, but in my opinion it’s best to share notes and information with your classmates but then work on the essay alone. This way, you can really impress your professor with a unique thesis. Reading the same ideas over and over again gets boring—give your profs something really interesting and different to read!
5. Don’t Study With Your Crush
It’s not their fault they’re so cute, but know that their cuteness WILL distract you from memorizing the development of early Christianity.
Better to study with friends. Get coffee with your crush later—after you’ve aced your exam.
6. Ask Your Professors for Help
Their job is to educate you, so don’t feel ashamed to ask them questions if you don’t understand a concept. I used to bother each and every one of my BIC professors before finals, and they were all incredibly generous with their time and patient with me when I had my slow moments. (There were a lot of them…)
Yay study rooms! Yay finals! Yay Christmas! GODSPEED!
(Author: Ada Zhang)