Here is a list of coping strategies for getting your Fall term completed with some success and sanity.

Suggestion: Look through this list first. Then eliminate the 3 or 4 ideas that simply do not apply to you or appeal to you. Then pick perhaps 3 or 4 that look especially useful for your December; highlight them or keep handy as reminders. Keep the rest of the list for reference. And add one or two of your own tips, too! Now, go for it, get through, good luck…

* You (like most students) will be tempted to look back on how this school term could have gone better if only… Go ahead, briefly, and be sad or mad, but then focus forward. Do what you can do now!

* Your brain will not work as well as it could on exam day if it’s totally fatigued or fried. So take that health or fitness break; let your brain “breathe” or rest. It will thank you.

* Important distractions will often interrupt your study concentration. Don’t pretend that you can ignore them entirely. But if they can wait, make a “date” to deal more fully with them at a good time later.

* If you know you’re seriously unhappy in your present program, promise yourself to re-evaluate your options later, regardless of how your marks turn out this term. Even success should not obligate you to pursue a wrong path forever, and failure should not block all paths to your ultimate long-term goals.

* The holiday period ahead promises much hope and hype but often delivers the reality of family conflict, loss, separation, or other disappointments. Still, plan for what you can do with this break, even if it is just a break of some kind. Catch some sleep; catch a friend…

* When studying for exams, don’t try to memorize everything. When rote memory is not enough (or if it lets you down), you’ll need some broader understanding or reasoning to get you through.

* Distribute your preparation for several exams into rotating “chunks.” Don’t simply overdose on each subject in turn.

* If it’s too cold or dark to get a break outside, e-mail a friend. Browse a useful Web site like ours at Counselling Services (if you’re not on already), for more positive survival strategies.

* Break up your solitary studying with a bit of joint or group studying – or simply call a classmate with a question about the course.

* True confidence – in sports or music or exams – is not pretending that a success is guaranteed, but knowing that win or lose on this one, you’ll find a way to be OK in the long run.

* Always go for at least “part marks” on any longer exam question, even if you have to try a bit of B.S. (or common sense) in a pinch.

* Do not waste too much time grading your own exam as you are writing it: Your goal is to get everything you can before the end, even if the exam feels like a long shot.

* If your mental “critic” is standing over your shoulder nagging about your performance – on an exam or while studying – ask it to tone down the volume or the negativity, while you’re trying to focus on the task and get something done.

* If you have an exam time superstition or ritual (what do you wear to the exam?), that’s OK – because we always need some luck to finish off the work.

* True relaxation walking into an important exam is not being nerves-free; it’s having a realistic, flexible game plan to do the best you can even with any initial anxiety or other obstacles. With a good plan for things you can’t control, they won’t control you.

* Counselling Services and Health Services are still open during the exam period. For a late-night health or sanity emergency, yours or a friend’s, the 24-hour Crisis Clinic at Grand River Hospital (742-3611) is not far away.

* As always, pick the place(s) you can study best, under the circumstances – at home, at the library, in a certain lounge…

* Remember some positive reinforcement. Without binging (preferably), allow some treat (not always food) for getting something done. Also, plan ahead that if you’re not sure it went well, you’ll try just as hard on the next one, until the last one is done too.

* As always on exams, remember to start with careful reading of the question – it may not be what you expect – rather than trying to force an answer too quickly.

* Add your own: