Midterms

Midterms are probably the worst part of university, in the sense that they usually come up in September or October of your fall semester. Students are usually getting acquainted to the wild and upbeat life that is McGill, only to find themselves swarmed with one midterm after another.

So, what recommendations do I have for you?

Courses

Before sitting on the laptop in August, registering for as many courses as possible into that 18 credit limit, figure out whether you can really handle it. Six courses is pushing it, and McGill recommends you take at least five per semester. But it really depends on what the course entails. Most arts, math, and engineering courses don’t have midterms – like FACC 100 and MATH 133. These courses are honestly the best to take because you only have assignments and webwork to finish. You can often check whether the course has a midterm and how the grading is done before you register for the course. What I did was write all the midterm dates down and then choose my courses according to that. By doing that, my midterms were spread out and I wasn’t a bit stressed.

The Unseen Benefit

Some midterms are worth 15% of your final grade, some are worth 5%, and some are worth 30%. It really depends on the course. Most students hate midterms – granted – but you have to realize that midterms are about 70% easier than finals. They cover only 1/3^rd the portion and are set up in a way that you do well. In that sense, you get up to 30% of your final grade in the bag. That isn’t so bad is it?

Unsatisfactory/satisfactory

When registering for courses, if you have the unsatisfactory option selected, you have nothing to worry about. Your midterm GPA doesn’t count towards your final GPA, and your final GPA doesn’t count at all, so your cumulative GPA is safe. Of course, the system works in reverse too. If you GPA is horrible and you ace an unsatisfactory listed course, your GPA doesn’t improve at all. So be careful when choosing this option. Choose it only for hard courses or courses which you’re horrible in. I never chose this option, even for my hardest courses because you lose drive then, you’re not motivated to give it your all and fight for that extra %. Plus, what’s the point, you’re in McGill – STUDY! Haha.

Prepare in advance

The best piece of advice I can give you is to prepare well in advance. I’m taking about studying what you learn every day. I’m sure you’ve heard that almost every day of your high school life, but it’s true. Professors move slowly at first, but suddenly shoot through five concepts in one lecture. Then you’re left in the dust. Preparing in advance gives you that edge in the classroom, because while the Prof is moving forward, you can move too. I didn’t do this my first semester, and I can could never keep up, because every topic is based on the topic before it. Don’t ever trust old midterms! They might seem super easy, but the real midterm is often 10 times harder. Why? Because in the ever changing realm of professor pride, it’s now accepted that a mean, stringent and tough Prof is the “best” – they get talked about more, they get compared to Cornell Profs, and it feels good for them! – Stupid if you ask me....but oh well.