Happy Holidays Knights family!
Is your student excited to finish the Fall semester or rather stressed about it?
The reality can be that there’s a feeling of having lots to do and not enough time to do it this time of year. Students and families alike want to dive into the holiday spirit, but there are still classes to finish, final exams to take, and the process of traveling home for the holidays.
If your student is finishing up their first semester at UCF, they might not be used to how final exams work or know how to best prepare. Students might feel excessive anxiety toward finals, are still looking or good study places, or need to meet with an academic advisor to discuss concerns for next semester.
This leads to Winter Break being such a valuable time for students. Finishing a semester is not as easy as it looks, and students deserve some time to rest. However, the break also serves as a great time for you and your student to reconnect and have meaningful conversations before the start of another busy semester.
This month’s featured post focuses on how to help students prepare for finals, conversations to have with your student over Winter Break, and other helpful resources. Keep reading!
If your student is still unsure about when their final exams are, UCF has a helpful website where they can search by class day/time. Check it out here: https://exams.sdes.ucf.edu/2022/fall
Study Union is committed to promoting student’s well-being and academic excellence during what can be a very stressful time. Before and during final exam week, the Student Academic Resource Center partners with the Student Union and the Parent and Family Fund Grant to host multiple final exam review sessions in-person and online via Zoom spanning a variety of academic subjects. Each subject session is led by a Peer Tutor or Supplemental Instruction (SI) Leader. Find the full schedule of offerings here: https://ucfstudyunion.wordpress.com/.
Does your student need that final academic boost to help them make it through finals? If so, they should take advantage of the Academic Coaching & Engagement (ACE) program offered remotely during Study Union. ACE Coaches work with students one-on-one via Zoom to provide them with ways to improve study skills, test-taking skills, test anxiety, time management, and more.
Some quiet study places for your student to consider:
The Student Union:
John. C Hilt Library Hours:
All Knight Study Ferrell Commons/ Knights Plaza:
Submit Final Exam and Projects On Time
Final scores are highly weighted toward students’ final grades. Some classes require students to submit final exams on UCF Webcourses portal as well. It is very important to submit on time! When students submit their final work on time, it allows faculty to then their full allotted time to finish the grading process, and also gives students time to ask questions about grading before it is finalized in the system.
Check the Final Exam Date/Time and Make a Study Plan
Final exam schedules vary from class to class, so it is important to understand that every student will have a different schedule. Students should be aware of each class’s exam date and plan to review accordingly. The Fall 2022 UCF final exam schedule search can be found here: https://exams.sdes.ucf.edu/2022/fall. Also, students should check the material covered in the final exam because the exam might cover material from the whole semester or just material discussed since a midterm exam. If your student needs to adjust their exam schedule or have questions about policies related to final exams, the best point of contact is their instructor.
Utilize Faculty Office Hours
Not many students utilize their professor’s office hours. Let’s change that! Encourage your student to ask questions during the instructor’s office hours or send an email. This not only helps students perform better on the final exam but can build positive relationships with their faculty as well.
Avoid Excessive Stress
If your student is overly stressed about final exams, remind them it’s important to take care of themselves in order to perform well academically. We know that most students don’t sleep and eat well during the final exam week, but it's important for students to build healthier habits now so they can successfully navigate future final exam schedules too (they have eight total final exam weeks before they graduate after all!). Encourage them to avoid “all-nighters” and aim to get enough sleep instead. Eating well-balanced meals can also aid in staying healthy and going into exams feeling fueled and ready. Remind them their vacation is just around the corner too!
Find Effective Study Methods and Places
Every student has different study habits. Some students utilize flashcards, some prefer group studying, while some students have to talk about the material out loud. Encourage your student to think about methods they have used all semester that they found effective and stick to those. If they are struggling with finding the right study place or method, the Student Academic Resource Center has some great links to learning skills resources they can check out here: https://academicsuccess.ucf.edu/sarc/resources/.
Winter Break is usually when students take a full rest and have relaxing time with family and friends after a busy semester and, for some, a stressful final exam schedule. You might see notice your student is sleeping until noon (or even later!) or planning lots of time to see friends they haven’t seen in a while. This could be their way of recharging.
But you can help them recharge too: think about planning some events you can do together over the Winter Break! Family time during Winter Break doesn’t have to be fancy, just fun. Here are some activities that you can do:
You can also use this Winter Break to understand your student’s thoughts, views, and goals better. If your student just finished their very first semester in college, we bet you have tons of questions prepared for them! If not, here are some important questions that you might want to consider asking:
Calculating a GPA (Grade Point Average) can be confusing. This link explains how a GPA can be calculated.
Is your Knight graduating this Fall? Congratulations! You and your student might be finalizing your plans for attending UCF commencement ceremonies.
All commencement information can be found on the UCF Commencement website HERE.
Remember, when someone says, “Go Knights,” reply, “Charge On!”
Most first-time students and their parents or supporters are surprised at how early students can be prepared for the upcoming semester's course registration process. Meeting with an academic advisor before their official class registration date is very important, and there is no such thing as too early to meet with an academic advisor!
Starting Monday, October 17, students can find their Spring 2023 enrollment appointment date and time on the myUCF accounts. Their “enrollment appointment” is the date and time they may begin to enroll in courses for the subsequent semester (in this case, Spring 2023). If they haven't already, your student should make an appointment with their advisor and talk about their Spring 2023 enrollment plan, how to resolve holds, check on course prerequisites, etc. Students can meet with academic advisors multiple times, whenever new registration concerns arises. Meeting with an advisor now can help your student be confident with class registration and be more successful with registering for the classes they need.
Click HERE for additional information!