These past few weeks Hingham High School students have been studying hard for their midyear exams. The exams took place on Tuesday, January 20th and Wednesday, January 21st with the make-up exams taking place on Thursday, January 22nd. These few days, and the weeks that precede them, are often extremely stressful for high school students, and I talked with several students at Hingham High to see how they feel.
Senior Carolyn Downey explained her feelings toward midyear exams by stating, “Overall, it was a pretty stressful week but having the experience of studying in the past really helped and I am glad they are over now and I think they went pretty well! After several years of taking these exams, I feel like I have my study plan down. I started studying the week before and often went to the library to really focus and I think that helped me lower my stress.”
As mentioned, midyear exams are a stressful time for students but studying correctly certainly helps. I spoke with Senior Meghan Koenen about what she does to study and how she felt this year’s exams went and she responded, “Honestly, I think getting a head start and finding a good place to focus is really helpful. I usually start to study the week before and I find that going to the library or Starbucks instead of just sitting in my house really helps me focus and stay off my phone. In the end, I think my exams went pretty well and I am hoping for the best!” Overall, Meghan, like Carolyn, found the library or quiet places a good way to stay focused and also seemed to plan her studying with plenty of time to avoid too much stress.
On the other hand, senior Arianna Sood offered some of her studying tips by explaining, “I prefer to study more at my house. However, my phone is often a distraction so I have started to use this device called a brick that locks the apps on my phone temporarily and it really helps! By having my notifications off and apps blocked I can really focus in the comfort of my home.” For Arianna, the biggest thing is keeping her phone off and out of sight rather than going to the library or somewhere quiet and secluded.
Overall, exams are stressful for all students, but it seems students feel they went fairly smoothly and are glad they are over now. However, if you struggled this year, it is important to try new ways to study so you can find what helps you relieve some of the stress of midyear exams and improve your performance!
