FIRST-TIMERS

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This blog is short–Friday was Canada Day, and Monday is Independence Day, so we’re all celebrating–we live in the best of countries to live in.

But I do want to shout out to all you first-timers who are taking a full-term course in six weeks–the summer sprint.

You’ve probably been cautioned about the pace and heard “Don’t let yourself get behind!” Now how does that translate specifically for summer session? There are some key pitfalls that you are more apt to run into during the six-week sprint terms than during the full fall and winter terms.

Here are seven aspects of sprint terms that have caught students who otherwise have done well during regular terms–and what they did so they didn’t get caught on succeeding terms:

  1. Group projects need very tight scheduling–your first meetings should be in the first week of class, and the project steps scheduled, calendared and started by the beginning of the second week.
  2. Ditto any major papers or projects you are doing on an individual basis.
  3. There can be unexpected tighter timelines for accessing resources–some online texts, for example, only allow limited concurrent access. Get online and in line early for project and research references. This is another reason for starting group projects and term papers early.
  4. Time to remedy soft spots is limited–if your quiz mark is low or you are a bit lost on STEM problem sets, contact the prof, student learning resources, and/or the TA for resources and book sessions immediately.
  5. Time for studying for finals is very short–you may have the full load of a thirteen-week course on the final, but only a very short time between the last class and the exam. The key is to (a) review on daily and weekly bases, and (b) to have group projects and term work in as early as possible. This will avoid having to review notes, labs, and a 400-page text at the same time as you are finishing a paper and a group project.
  6. Standards need to be realistic–perfectionism is the enemy of the summer sprint. Yes, you want an A+. That won’t happen if you don’t get everything done. During longer terms you may have been able to summarize over 1000 papers for a literature review, but  there simply is not the time to review the same volume of work with less than half the time available. It’s time to prioritize the course requirements, take advice from the instructor, make sure you cover that which is critical, but be very careful about killing your grade with attempted overkill of a topic.  
  7. Schedule and maintain your physical, mental and spiritual hygiene. That’s what keeps you at peak performance, and what gets you through to the end.

Overall, it helps to take a realistic, practical perspective on sprint terms. It’s early enough in the summer term that you can take advantage of these techniques–after, of course, celebrating the great countries we live in.

I’d like to explore with you how we can customize a program to move you toward your goals this fall. Connect with me here: [email protected]  

The information in this blog cannot take the place of support from your own mental health professional or community health resources. Reach out to them. And IF YOU ARE IN CRISIS PLEASE DIAL 911.