By: Cara Chatellier
The ninth week of a ten week course can be a very telling time. There is a strong urge to coast through. You have to fight every fiber in your body to skip your discussion posts and put your feet up.
Being in my third course, I have learned a few tips to power through final posts, papers, and tests to complete courses and pass with flying colors.
Here are my top 5 tips on how to excel during the final days of your course with Brandeis Graudate Professional Studies!
Tip 1: Map out your time
During the final weeks of your course, it can be easy to put off work until the last minute. Make sure you are mapping out chunks of time where you can sit down and focus.
Find a quiet place away from children, spouses, friends and other distractions. Many times I will stay late in my office to finish my course work. Nothing keeps you motivated like being a lonely office building– you can’t wait to finish and get home!
Tip 2: Don’t ignore discussion posts
Discussion posts account for at least 30% of your grade in every course. Even if your research paper and final project and looming, you never want to ignore your discussions. These posts allow you to apply your knowledge from that week, ignoring them is only a disservice to you!
Tip 3: Find a Study Buddy
Finding someone you can do school work with makes buckling down and getting things done a bit easier. Whether you are hunkered down at your local coffee shop or sitting at your kitchen table, having a pal to commiserate with makes the task a bit easier.
Having trouble finding an in-person study buddy? Try OnlineCollege.org, a website that shows you how to create a virtual study group!
Tip 4: Reward yourself
Once you have finished your paper, or your discussions for the week, give yourself a little treat. Nothing motivates me more than knowing chocolate and peanut butter are waiting
for me after I hit submit on my second reply of the week.
Tip 5: Make sure you’re sleeping enough
The UCLA newsroom explains, if a “student sacrifices sleep time in order to study more than usual, he or she is likely to have more academic problems, not less, on the following day.”
It’s important to study, but cramming is not the answer! Space out your time and get your ZZZZZZ’s.
I hope you found these tips helpful! Best of luck in your final days and make sure you celebrate once all your assignments are submitted, you earned it!
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