Oh No, It's Only March! Tips For A Successful Second Half

My name is Christopher DeMilia, and I am one of the coaches here at the Academic Achievement Center. I'm a senior majoring in psychology, and have been a coach for two semesters.

I hope everyone reading this is feeling nice and refreshed after being away from campus and everything that goes along with it during Spring Break. Whether you've just been around the world and back, or spent the week catching up on some much needed sleep (or perhaps on those LOST episodes that you haven't watched because of school), Spring Break was a much deserved time to unwind from all of the stresses of college life. The semester, however, is only half over. Despite the wonderful weather outside, it is still only March! Here's some tips that will help you during the second half of the semester:

1. Make sure to keep attending class! You've worked so hard throughout the long winter months, and now that good weather and March Madness has arrived, you want to go outside and and enjoy yourself. It's alright to watch the NCAA Tournament games or to try and get a tan when you have the time, but never do so at the expense of going to class. Work just as hard as you did for the first half and you will be rewarded with the grades that you want. Besides, we're college students ... we have four months to get a tan later!
2. Interact with your notes. Sometimes attending class, taking notes, and reading the book still doesn't prepare you for an exam, and with finals coming up this is even more important. Study for an upcoming exam before your professor even gives you a study guide and it will pay off. For each chapter you go over, create 10 questions from your notes, and then answer them in the same format that your professor uses for their exams. You'll be more than prepared for that next test!
3. Reward yourself for a good grade. Play Ultimate Frisbee with your friends. Play catch. Relax outside in the sun. If you save these activities until after an exam, you'll be able to have fun and do them guilt-free.
4. Don't forget to talk with your professors. Seeing your professors during their office hours allows them to get to know you outside of class and see that you really are determined to do well. Go over previous exams with them, especially if you got a grade that you didn't expect. This can help you figure out how to prepare better for the next exam (and eventually the final).

I hope this can be of some help to you. Follow these four steps, and I believe you will be well on you way towards having a successful semester. It may seem like there is a lot of time left, but it will all be over before you know it!

I got a WHAT?!?!?

Early last semester, I received a huge shock in the form of a big red "D" on the front of my Philosophy paper. When I saw it, it felt like the wind got knocked out of me and a lump the size of Texas rose in my throat. And then I thought, "How is this possible? I don't get D's!"

It was true, I had never seen that grade before, except once on a high school Chemistry test that I had not prepared very well for. I reinvented myself at UConn as an "A-student" and I couldn't believe that I had earned such a terrible grade. Up to that point I had a 4.0 in my Philosophy Major and hadn't considered that it could change. "As and AAC coach, I'm supposed to be an expert at this, not someone who gets D's!"--I thought.

After a night of feeling sorry for myself and coming to terms with the fact that the paper I thought was "not my best, but good enough" really was pretty awful, I remembered a few important things.

AAC Coaches' 4.0 Challenge

In addition to being a tutor at the AAC, I also work at the CUE building and have been sitting here eagerly awaiting to sign up for the AAC Coaches' 4.0 Challenge that will take place here in the CUE in room 130 at 5:00pm. There will be a brief explanation about what the Challenge is at that time and then, if you should choose to accept, you can sign up!

The basic premise is that if you are planning on "doing better" this semester, why not just go for the gold (a 4.0, that is)? Whether or not I actually get a 4.0 this semester, I think this Challenge will be a good reminder, even as the semester drags on and I start to get a little tired and a little lazy, that with a little extra effort, a 4.0 won't actually be to far out of my reach. I mean, if I go to all of my classes and do all of the homework/reading well and on time I think it will be pretty hard to do poorly. Plus the Challenge will offer workshops and events like study breaks and stress-relief seminars to help me stay on track troughout the semester. So I think it's a great opportunity and will be a good support system for me to do well this semester.

If you are interested in joinging the Coaches' Challenge, come to the CUE today at 5:00. It's pretty late notice, so if you're interested in joining but couldn't make it, email aac@uconn.edu or go to aac.uconn.edu for more information.

A's are Risky Business...

Now that I'm well into my fourth year at UConn, I often look back at how I got where I am now. Each semester I have been challenged but motivated and achieved at a level I am proud of. But, to be frank, if the student I was in high school could see me now, she wouldn't recognize herself.

In high school I sometimes felt like I was in the shadow of my very bright, very hard-working, and well-known sister. She had always done well in school and it was kind of her thing; I found my interest in other places like my art classes and extracurriculars. I never really did that poorly in high school, but I did spend a lot of time just doing enough to get by with a grade that was good enough. I did enough to get into UConn (and so did you!), but I made a lot of excuses for why I was perfectly satisfied with getting OK grades and reassured myself that if I really cared, really tried, or really studied then I would be getting straight A's.

Even though I thought I was smart enough and capable enough there was still something in the way of me really doing what it really takes to get those A's. I don't think there is anyone out there who means it when they say they don't want A's or that they want C's or B's. The reality is that A's feel really good to get and D's really don't. A's feel different than B's and a lot different than C's or D's. So the question arises, why would a student not want A's if they feel so good to get?