Today is the last day of October which means that November and the end of the school year are coming soon. Today on the blog I am going to give you 8 things to remember during this final month of school so that you can kick ass and end the semester on a high note!

1. Calculate your final grade

Right now it is really important to know where you stand so you can calculate where you want to be. Some professors don't make calculating your grade easy though. If your professor's grades are weighted, check out this grade calculator by Dr. Ben Eggleston at KU. I can't tell you how much of a life-saver this calculator has been to me over the years. I don't want to calculate grade percentages on my own! The great thing about this calculator? You can also figure out what average you need on remaining assignments to get a certain grade in the class, and figure out what grade you will get if you get a certain average on leftover assignments. Totes cool.

make sure your grade on blackboard/canvas is correct

Professors are sometimes a little forgetful. They may hand you something back with a grade and forget to put it up on Blackboard/Canvas. Sometimes they have other copies of your grade outside of Blackboard or Canvas but it never hurts to check. If the grade you calculate is drastically different from your grade online pay your professor a visit and get it sorted out. You would be surprised how something small really makes a difference.

For example, in undergrad during my sophomore year I took a Social Problem class. The professor uploaded our grades and I had a B, I really wanted an A but I didn't want to complain and I was just happy I got a good grade. Someone else in the class did end up talking to the professor about their grade which made him realize there was a mistake in the final grading. This didn't affect everyone, but it affected a few people and one of those people was me. I ended up with an A in that class because someone knew exactly what their grade was supposed to be and inquired about it. I know you might not talk if you end up with a decent grade, but it never hurts to do some last minute calculations during this time of year.

Always keep up with your assignments

Just as a quick note, always keep up with your assignments as they are passed back to you. As I stated earlier sometimes professors are forgetful and they hand you something back without recording the grade. If that happens you need to be able to have something tangible to show them in order to get the points you deserve and the only way to do that is to have the original paper with their grade on it. If you get something, keep up with it!

I know that a lot of people get expanding or accordion file folders in order to keep up with their work in. These are great because they are cheap and you can keep up with a lot of courses in one folder.

Be conscious of how much of your grade is still up for grabs

The final countdown is notorious for being a grade breaker or maker. Most professors have courses that are extremely backloaded which means that most of your course grades will come from the end of the course. This semester, for example, my final paper in my social organization course is worth 50% of our grade! Even though I currently have an A in the course, this paper is crucial, and I cannot afford to fail the paper.

You need to understand where the bulk of your course is coming from. Some professors do a great job of distributing the weight of the class throughout the semester, but you need to look at the syllabus to determine how things are weighted. Once you do this you can accurately pace yourself as you figure out how to spend your time during the rest of the semester.

2. write down an aggregate list of your final assignments

Around this time of the semester I like to sit down, open up all the syllabi for the courses I am currently taking, and create an aggregate list of my final assignments. I get really frazzled during this time of the semester and I forget things frequently, so having this list helps me stay on top of any leftover assignments. I usually print out this list and stick it on my desk or in my binder–wherever I am most likely to see it daily. Here is an example of what my list looks like right now.

In the above picture the top part is all of the assignments I have left in the two graduate school courses I am taking. In the bottom table I am helping grade papers for one of my professors so I have also listed the last few grading assignments I have left in that course along with their due dates.

You can color code your list, have a space to check off your assignments as you go, and even make a row that tells you the weight of the grade on the assignment. How you decide to do your list is completely up to you.

Write it on a sticky note

If you like something a little more tangible, get out your sticky notes and write down all your due dates on a sticky note. You can then stick this in your planner, on the hand rest on your laptop, or even on the mirror in your bathroom so it's one of the first things you see.

If you have a Windows PC like me (I also have a MacBook but I do most of my school work on a PC desktop as of this semester) they have an app called Sticky Notes where  you can make digital sticky notes and pin the note to your PC. This is great if you do most of your school work on a computer so you can access your sticky note with all of your due dates as soon as you turn on your computer.

Stop taking things week by week

During the semester it is easy for your motto to be, “If tomorrow isn't the due date, today isn't the do date,” but now it's crunch time! You have to stop taking things week by week. Once you get this weeks tasks done, your next step is to keep moving through your to do list as much as possible. If there is something you could be working on, and you are not waiting on your professor to give you further instructions, start working on it!

Take note of any upcoming schedule changes

This part of the semester gets really busy and things change all the time. With Thanksgiving Break coming up as well as Finals Week you need to make sure you know where you need to be and when. Take note of your finals week schedule, and any re-scheduled or cancelled classes that are happening as a result of the end of the semester. You never want to forget that your 8 AM lecture is cancelled and be the only one who shows up to the course.

3. get rest

Your brain needs rest more than anything. Sleep is how your brain processes vital information and turns words into long term memory. As you can see by this graphic from Amerisleep, sleep is very important to the brain

Information Source & Additional Reading

Since sleeping does all of this for your body, why would you want to deprive your body of sleep? I know finals are stressful, but don't cram and take your test. You need the information that you learn to transfer over to your long-term memory and therefore you need sleep to make that happen.

4. visit your professor before finals week

I am going to be honest with you–the only time that office hours are utilized is midterms and finals week. Visiting during finals week is extremely ineffective because at this time during the semester there is very little your professor can do to actually help you succeed. It's also ineffective to go during this time of the year because literally everyone and their mother is going to office hours during this time (and literally some people's mothers go because, you know, helicopter parents.)

You need to make it a priority to go now while the lines are clear and you can get in and get out of the professors office without waiting in those long finals week lines. This also helps your professor's thoughts of you because they know you are a more serious student than those who just come because of finals week.

5. Make a list of all the errands you need to run before the end of the semester

During this part of the semester you probably have a long list of things you need to do before the semester is over and you can go home to enjoy winter break. Here is a small list of things you may need to remember to do before you go home.

1. Schedule and attend your advising appointment. (Check out this article from my blog written by an adviser about how to have your best advising appointment.)
2. Register for classes.
3. Start finding housing for next year.
4. Fill out any graduation paperwork if you are graduating in the spring.
5. Return any book rentals/sell back your textbooks.
6. Make a list of everything you need to buy before the semester begins.
7. Make sure you don't have any unpaid parking tickets or bills to the university.
8. Start looking at and purchasing the textbooks you will need for next semester.
9. Make sure your financial aid is in order for the next semester.
10. Figure out any bills you need to pay for your apartment/house during the break.

This list is a small list, and there may be items on this list that don't even apply to you. Start figuring out your list of things you need to do before the next semester, especially things you need to do while you are in your college town.

6. Have fun

Yes, the final countdown is a serious time, but you also need to schedule some time for fun. Don't let this month get so serious that you forget to take time for yourself. Listed below are 10 fun things you can do during the next month to have some fun.

1. Get your nails done.
2. Go to the movies.
3. See a basketball game.
4. Go bowling.
5. Go to a concert.
6. Have a Netflix marathon.
7. Take a walk in the park.
8. Visit animals at the animal shelter.
9. Go (window) shopping.
10. Play a video game. (I personally suggest anything in The Sims franchise.)

7. Remember to study how you study best

During this time of the year your friends, your classmates, or people on your hall may want to get together for study groups. During this time of the semester it's really easy to find yourself in study situations that you are not used to. You need to remember how you study best and study that way during the final countdown. I personally can't study well in groups or in the library so I need to be on my own in my room or in my office at work. I know how I study best and I have to use that to study.

It's okay to spend a little bit of your study time in new places, but if you know you don't study well in a particular location, you also need to make sure you are scheduling adequate study time outside of those situations. So don't allocate 10 hours to studying and then spend all of those 10 hours in an environment that doesn't help you study.

8. Join me during The Happy Arkansan's Encouragement Month

Lastly, in order to kick ass during the academic final countdown join me on Instagram for Encouragement Month. Each day during November I will be sharing an inspirational quote and a message to go along with that quote at 9 AM CST. This will be a great way to get daily inspiration as you start the final countdown in November. I know we all need extra inspiration to succeed and kick ass during this time of the semester. I have already posted about the month a few times on Instagram so go check it out the link below to learn more, and follow me while you are there.

Final Thoughts

The final countdown is probably the hardest part of the semester, but I know you are capable of succeeding at this part of the semester. You are so smart and you will accomplish amazing feats during this last month of the semester. Remember to keep moving ever forward, have some fun, and get some rest during this last month of class.