The dreaded week of midterms has finally arrived. Each midterm counts as 15% of your semester average and is a contemplation of everything the class has taught you all year. The midterm schedule can be found at http://schools.leanderisd.org/users/0091/VHS%20Midterm%20Exams%202013-14.pdf .

Start studying early: Cramming is stressful and leads to less success than passed out slow studying. If you do your test reviews early than you can go into tutorials or get help from a friend. In addition, looking over your notes for 20 minutes for six nights feels like a lot less studying than for two hours the night before the test and is just as effective.

Avoid electronics: Yes, you may need the computer for studying but you sure don’t need a TV. If you minimize distractions you can study a lot more in a lot less time. Think of how much time a single game of angry birds can take up; five minutes adds up. By giving yourself regularly scheduled breaks to use your phone you avoid checking it every ten seconds.

Make sure to get enough sleep: Without sleep you’ll be drowsy and you won’t retain information. Studying for the test for a few hours and getting adequate sleep is much more effective. Lack of sleep will only lead you to make foolish errors on the test.

Relax: Remember everyone taking the midterm has been in the class for a full year.  Just think back to what you have done previously and review your notes. Midterms aren’t like regular tests because they are simply reviews of what you have learned all year; there are no need to teach yourself new material.