Before You Go

Alright, the time has finally come, our amazing iUP seniors are graduating from high school and entering college. As they enter their first year of college, they quickly get stressed. The workload and pressure become too much. This article will hopefully help all those iUP students struggling with the weight of college assignments and tests.

Tip #1: Meditate

Meditating from time to time in college is very helpful, especially when a student has a bunch of assignments. It is important for college students to take breaks in between classes and after studying. They can burn out or become mentally or physically exhausted. Meditation allows students to just relax, take deep breaths and stay away from their work for a bit. For example, taking a walk can help with relaxation.

Tip #2: Make A Study Group

Making a study group is another very helpful way to cope with all the weight that is on a student. Creating a study group can also make students feel less alone. By making a study group, a student can possibly make lifelong friends and enjoy studying because they have company. This tip is helpful mentally and socially to all students that are struggling to carry the weight that is put on their shoulders while being in college.

Tip #3: The Pomodoro Method

The Pomodoro Method is a method that helps students with time management. How this method works is by choosing a task to work on and how long they will work on it. Then the student sets a timer for 25 minutes and works until that timer goes off. When the 25 minutes are up, the student will take a 5-minute break. The student does this three more times, and after the fourth 25 minutes are up, the student can take a 20 to 30-minute break. This method is very helpful for students to organize their time. This method also allows the students to take breaks so they can do non-academically related things to relieve stress.

Other Opinions

Here are some thoughts from fellow iUP students. When asked how college students could cope with the weight on their shoulders, Sreenidhi, a 6th grader, says “Maybe having a scheduled time for everything. This is called time-blocking, where you write down everything you are going to do and the time you are going to do it. For example, it could look like: Wake up at 7. Get ready at 7:05, Go for a run at 7:10, Eat breakfast at 8, Attend Ms. Mitchell’s class at 8:30, Go to Mr. Franks’s class at 9:30. This way, it helps you be organized so you can stick to your schedule and be more productive. They could also maybe form study groups with their friends and have a teacher oversee their study group.” This is another thing that will help when using the Pomodoro Method. Next, a student by the name of Amira Santos Figueroa states “Try to work as hard as you can but stay calm. Even with all the overwhelming assignments try to think of a schedule that works for the student. and something that will help the students is thinking of how fast the time will go by if they do things correctly and the outcome and benefits of getting a better job if they graduate! :)” This piece of advice is really helpful for students that are about to enter college. Makenna Horne, an 11th grader at iUP says “I think it is important that students take time for themselves and their mental health.” I couldn’t agree more with this. The final student that shared their opinion is Autumn Friesenhahn. Her piece of advice was “Breathe and take breaks to do something you love.”

Do You Feel Ready?

I enjoyed making this article and I hope that this will help many iUP seniors take on the weight of college. I must give a huge thank you to all the amazing students that shared their opinions, I couldn’t have done it without them. Now before you go, I must ask, “Do You Feel Ready?”