Midterms at Yonsei University (Scary)

Well, it’s no lie when people tell you that midterms are a different level at Yonsei University. My schedule this past week was PACKED. From October 16 to October 27, I had midterms clouding my mind.

For some, taking four classes may make the workload a little lighter, but for me, six classes were a lot. Out of the six classes, I had four exams (Marketing, Korean art, Brain and Cognition, and Korean 1) and one essay-presentation combo for my CIEE Communications course.

BUT do not fear! If I could survive, so can you. Here’s what you need to know:

1. Read the class syllabus early.

Figure out when your midterm is taking place. If you can, also check whether the midterm/final is cumulative or not. If you’re not able to find this information, most classes will reveal it on the first day of class! It is important to check so you can see what your workload might look like during exam week. Having three projects and three exams would feel a lot lighter than having six exams, so checking gives you the opportunity to prevent a tough midterm schedule.

2. DON’T GET SCARED, but be honest with yourself.

Most classes with midterms make the midterm worth around 30–35% of your grade, but don’t worry. If you attend lectures and take notes, I promise it’s manageable. However, if you know you’re planning to travel once a month and possibly miss class, you should consider changing to a class that is more project-based.

If you attend a class on the first day and realize it may be too heavy or challenging to keep up with, don’t stay just because you’re afraid of dropping it. Look to see if there is another class that fulfills your requirements and fits your schedule constraints, and make the switch! Dropping a class early is better than dropping the class halfway through the semester and not being able to add a different course to your schedule.

3. Plan accordingly.

I won’t lie and say I studied every minute the week prior to midterms, but I did lock in the weekend before and during the week of midterms. I was able to do so because I made sure I didn’t have anything else clouding my mind, like trips I had signed up for, group hangouts, or other planned travel.

This doesn’t mean you can’t meet friends. I made sure meetups with friends were only during times when I wasn’t going to be studying anyway, like dinner.

Set your travel plans after you figure out your class schedule and know when your important exams are.

4. Two words: STUDY CAFE.

One of the biggest helps during my midterm week was the huge number of local study cafes. This was perfect if I wanted to study with friends or by myself. The ambient noise and other students studying make the perfect environment for you to lock in.

A great plus is that most are open 24 hours and have cheap but very tasty drinks. Even if you have a tight budget, I think it’s pretty worth it to spend 3,000 won on a drink so you can get free/fast Wi-Fi, comfy seats, and some air outside of the dorms. Plus, you don’t need to buy a drink every hour or anything. Most of the time, I just buy one drink but stay for 4+ hours.

(If you’re looking for recommendations, a list of my favorite study cafes, food spots, and other things will be posted on my blogging profile.)

5. Sleep and Eat

As important as it is to study and put in the effort to pass these exams, remember that you are human. The thing that saved me during midterms was getting at least six hours of sleep the night before a test and making sure I was feeding myself throughout the week.

A lot of times, I’d talk to other students, and they would tell me how little they slept (four to one hour) to study, but then tell me they did poorly on the exam. I’m not sure how scientific it is, but if you’re too tired or trying to hide your stomach growling on exam day, all of that studying would have been for nothing.

Also, midterms are scary, but they are not the end-all-be-all. You are in a new country, experiencing a new culture. Every day, you are learning. I hope these five tips are helpful or at least give you some peace of mind in case you’re nervous about exam culture here in Korea.

I have always been bad at studying, and I’m not the strongest test taker there is, but with a reasonable amount of effort, I was able to do it. So, you can too.