Types of Students during Finals Week

Doesn’t it seem like every semester finals come around faster than you thought they would?  Now you find yourself stressing about studying enough for each class and trying to figure out what grade you can possibly get in each class.  Everyone hunkers down in their favorite study spots whether it is in Cook Library, Liberal Arts, or your dorm.  Everyone seems to be so busy!  Here is a fun list of students that you will probably run into in your favorite study spot.

Crammer
Crammers use the remaining balance on their student account to buy Red Bull and coffee.  During finals week, you scope out areas, restaurants, and coffee shops open 24-hours. The night before a final, you glue yourself to your notes, dust off your textbook and start reading.  Your table at the library has a pile of old food containers, empty Starbucks cups, and papers everywhere.  Your eyes are bloodshot but determined.  Wondering why all the weird looks from students passing you by in the library? They see your sleeping bag and pillow and the I’ve-been-cramming-for-3-days-straight look on your face.

Cheerleader
Your motto at finals time is “you can do it!” Your idea of preparing for finals is to bake cookies for people studying, write “good luck” notes on your roommate’s door, and stand outside lecture halls with big YOU CAN DO IT signs. What’s in your calendar?  The dates/times of Dan’s, Carrie’s, Beth’s, Tim’s, and Emma’s exams, of course.  Someone has to pump them up and that someone is you!

Social Media Addict
Social media addicts FREAK OUT during finals because they don’t know if they will make it through the 1-hour, no-cell-phone final.  You secretly wish you could tweet your answers to your professors and then do a quick search in the app store for “complete finals app” and no luck.  Your idea of preparing for finals is to schedule posts in advance on Facebook, warn your Twitter followers months in advance that @socialmediaaddict will be MIA between 10:00am-11:00am on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and ask a friend to repin new Pinterest pins while you are taking your exams.  During each exam, you go through an entire pack of gum and tap your thumb to minimize your withdrawal symptoms. You hope that maybe pretending to post your next Instragram photo will help you focus more on the final and less on what’s happening on Instagram.

All-Star
All-stars make up a famous group of talented, well-prepared, and high-performing students.  The all-star student starts preparing for finals the first day of class. Right from the start, your dorm or house is filled with stacks of flashcards, highlighted notes, and marked textbook pages.  You can recite the date and exact time of each final and likely have your pencil sharpened and set aside for these special days.  In class, you’re the first one to raise your hand and ask, “Will this be on the final?” Even though the professor says no, you star it anyway “just in case”.  You want to be prepared, right?

Preparing for Finals Tips

• Use the AAC’s tutoring services & Professors’ office hours
• Create a Study Schedule
• Use your course syllabus or study guide to focus on the material you need to know
• Take breaks while studying; we recommend taking a 3-5 minute break every 30-45 minutes
• Sleep! At least the recommend amount
• Find a distraction-free study area
• Don’t wait until the last minute to study; start now!
• Study the material using a variety of methods (i.e., flashcards, completing practice problems, and reciting aloud the content)
• Form a study group
• Create a practice test

Jennifer Wendt & Jeremy Boettinger
Learning Specialists
Academic Achievement Center

Managing End-of-Semester Stress with Mindfulness

Mindfulness can help manage our reaction to stress. Stress is unavoidable in our lives, and mindfulness includes one set of tools that can help us cope with stress. When we feel stress, our bodies and minds respond in a way that prepares us for fight or flight. Often, this may translate into physical or emotional constriction, narrow focus, worry and fear about the future, or activities like procrastination or distraction (e.g., through drinking, TV, internet/Facebook, emotional eating, etc.). We learn that the only way to deal with our stress is to avoid it or try to make it go away. But just like that annoying song that you can’t get out of your mind by trying not to think about it, attempting to ignore the stress in our lives does not make it go away.

Mindfulness is about an alternative way to relate to feelings of stress other than fight or flight mode. The essence of mindfulness is learning to bring our attention to the present moment in an open, nonjudgmental way. By doing so, it is possible to learn that uncomfortable feelings of stress do not need to be avoided or pushed away, and instead it is possible to welcome those feelings without our typical resistance to them. As a result, if we are not spending our energy trying to avoid or mitigate stress, we have much more freedom to do the things in life that are important to us. Research has linked mindfulness to other benefits including more compassion in relationships, less avoidance of thoughts or activities, better physical health, better immune system function, less worrying about the past or future, better sleep, and a better ability to cope with a variety of everyday stressors.

I think a lot of people have the idea that meditation means sitting cross-legged on a cushion chanting “OM.” While that may be helpful for some people, mindfulness can take a variety of forms, and people can incorporate it into many aspects of their daily lives. While some people may benefit from having a more formal, dedicated time and place to meditate, others experience benefits from doing some mindful breathing or relaxation right before class or an exam; before, during, or after schoolwork or studying; while walking across campus; before or while spending time with other people; while eating a meal; and as they are falling asleep. During mindfulness workshops, staff from the Counseling Center teach short exercises that people can practice throughout their days to help achieve a more relaxed, worry-free, centered, and open state of being. At the same time, mindfulness is not a panacea, so students experiencing more severe stress, depression, anxiety, relationship difficulties, substance abuse, concerns with body image, or other marked distress, I would recommend that they set up an appointment at the Counseling Center (410-704-2512) to get feedback about the best course of treatment.

Exams can definitely be an added stressor on top of all the other stresses and pressures students already face. As finals are approaching this semester, consider practicing some basic mindfulness, which may even improve test performance. And if it seems like mindfulness is just one extra thing that you should do but don’t have time for, think again. There are even various apps or free downloads that can help you get started.

Jon Gorman
The Counseling Center

6 Ways to Ace the Interview of Your Dreams

You’ve sent in your resume for a job or internship position, and you receive that beautiful call back. They’re interested in you and want to set up an interview. Instantly your stomach is filled with butterflies and you shakily set a date to meet your future boss. After you get off the phone, thoughts are running through your head and you’re starting to wonder where to even start. Sounds familiar, right? We all go through this routine. And the only way to stop those butterflies from taking over is to inform yourself on the proper way to come out shining during your interview!

1. Know the basics! This means know the location of the interview, how long it takes to get there (including traffic), where to park and if it’ll cost. If you’re really freaking out over your journey to get there, do a test trail run. This will help you know where to go, what to do and help make the place become familiar. Also, bring multiple copies of your resume, and it couldn’t hurt to bring a reference list too! Put it in one of those nice portfolios or folders—this makes you look professional and well-put-together!
2. Research the employer! You don’t want to walk in not knowing who you’re talking to and what they do. Become familiar with the employer’s products, services, financial situation, and their values. You can do this all through Google researching, reading some articles and becoming extremely familiar with the employer’s website. Just imagine you’re Facebook stalking someone and trying to get a sense of who they are.
3. Practice! This might seem weird at first but practice your answers and what you can potentially say during your interview. This will help you from stuttering, saying those annoying “uhm” s, and having something to say instead of coming up with a half-cooked answer on the spot. It’ll also make you comfortable with yourself and help make the conversation flow. You can gain some practice by setting up a Mock Interview through the Career Center where you learn what you did awesome and what you can always work on!
4. Ask questions yourself! This too might seem a little weird. Usually when you think of an interview you imagine the employer asking all the questions but it’s important for you to participate as well. Before when you did some research compile a list of questions you would like to ask. This makes you look interested and eager to learn about the company and the people!
5. Wear something nice! Ladies, this doesn’t mean your prom dress and guys, this doesn’t mean a tux. Invest in a business suit that makes you look great. If you’re on a budget, check out consignment shops or borrow from a friend—but make sure that whatever you choose fits well and looks professional! Chances are, you’ll wear it again for big meetings and future interviews.
6. Be yourself! This might seem like the oldest and cheesiest advice but it’s true. Know yourself and what you want from the job/employer. What kind of position do you want? What can you bring to the table? How has your education and your experiences made you into the person you are today? Make sure you can state your career focus and objective (I want to obtain a job/internships in the ___ field or with ___ company to further my skills of _____). Let your personality shine and be comfortable with yourself.

Some additional tips for interviewing: Make eye contact but don’t have a staring contest, smile, have good posture, and don’t come off as over-confident or pushy.

If you would like to learn more, check out our Interview Preparation or Informational Interviewing Handout on our website (http://www.towson.edu/careercenter/students/skills/networking.asp). You can always stop by the Career Center and ask for help!

Shelby Hillers
Career Peer Advisor
The Career Center

April: NO FOOLING!! It’s Time to Plan and Select Your Fall Courses

So maybe you have been thinking, “it must be time to register for my fall classes”…..or maybe not!  And maybe you have been hearing the anxiety of your friends and associates about getting into fall classes.  And maybe, you have been staring at that  on your Student Center thinking to yourself, “what do I do now?” Well, April is the best month in which to complete your fall semester course registration.  And, while there are lots of valuable social and cultural benefits to being in college, let’s face it, academics and completing a degree program are the primary reasons you are here at Towson. Getting enrolled in courses that help you attain your goals and that meet requirements for graduation, requires a plan and you have to be the planner!  Ah yes, planning….one of those essential skills for success in college and life.  As the saying goes, “nobody plans to fail, but some people fail to plan”.  What follows is step by step approach that will help you to put together your plan and prepare to meet with a faculty or academic advisor (a must for all students!).

1. Contact your academic advisor(s) or your academic department ASAP to set up an appointment or meeting time.  The name of your advisor is listed on the right side of your Student Center.  Need contact information for your advisor or academic department?  A campus directory is conveniently located at the top of Towson’s homepage:  www.towson.edu
2. Prior to your appointment or meeting, review your Academic Requirements Report.  Academic Requirements shows you what requirements you have completed, which you still need to complete, and the courses that are required for your major.  Located in your Student Center, Academic Requirements is easy to use, but to get the maximum benefit of all the features see the User’s Guide which can be accessed from the Academic Advising Center web page:  http://www.towson.edu/academicadvising/index.asp .
3. Print the PDF copy of your Academic Requirements Report.  Many advisors prefer or even require that their advisees bring that report to the advising meeting.
4. Develop a list of 8 to 10 possible course options.  Do you still need to complete Core Curriculum Requirements?  Find a complete list at: http://www.towson.edu/academicadvising/corecurriculum.asp
5. Move courses from your Academic Requirements Report into your Academic Planner located on the drop down menu in the Academics section of your Student Center.  Academic Planner is an awesome tool that you can use to map out your entire undergraduate degree program.
6. Check the scheduling options and availability for your course choices.  Keep in mind that not all courses are offered each semester.   Put together.
7. Create a few alternative schedules.
8. Go to the meeting with your advisor feeling confident that you have done your homework and developed a plan that will work.  Your advisor may have some suggestions for modifications or improvements.
9. By being prepared for your meeting, you and your advisor can have time to explore your other interests or goals, for example, an internship or Study Abroad or research opportunities, etc.
10.  Congratulations!!!  You have made great strides in taking charge of your education by becoming an effective planner.

John McKusick
Director
Academic Advising Center

Managing March Madness

We are at the halfway point in the semester, so summer break isn’t that far off! With that in mind, how do you feel about your current position in your classes?  Do you find yourself struggling with managing your free time?  Welcome to the club!  People of all ages have trouble managing their free time, so you are not alone.  Become aware of how you manage your time by reviewing the questions below.

• Do you find yourself checking your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. during time you planned to be studying?
• Does your schedule reflect the important things you want to get done?
• Do you consistently find it difficult (or impossible) to meet your scheduled deadlines?
• Are you constantly late for class, work, etc.?
• Is procrastination your middle name?

If you have answered yes to any of these questions; then you probably have some difficulty managing your time.  No worries, here are a few of our favorite time management tips to help you finish your semester strong!

1.   Use a planner.  Get a schedule book for all of your activities (academic, social, etc.), but make sure that you aren’t using multiple schedules at once.  You should be sticking to one master schedule.  You can easily miss something if you write things down in multiple areas.
2.    Create a daily “to do” list.  Each day, you should write down what you need to accomplish in the order that you need to do it.  After you finish each thing on the list cross it off; this will give you a sense of accomplishment and help keep your daily goals in sight.
3.    Differentiate between flexible and inflexible time.  Inflexible time is when there are mandatory activities scheduled like class and work.  Your study time should also be considered inflexible time.  Your flexible time is for activities that can be shifted around if something pops up.  Also make sure that you aren’t overscheduling inflexible time throughout your day, because you will need time for unexpected issues and personal time to relax and have fun.
4.    Free time can work against you.  Having too much free or flexible time in your schedule can set you up for failure.  It is easier to procrastinate if you have large chunks of unscheduled time.  You’ll find yourself saying things like “I have time to do that later” and then later turns into midnight before the assignment is due.  Set yourself up for success and balance your time so that you can be more effective at achieving your goals.

Want to learn more about how you spend your time?  Check out this activity!

Try me out!

Feel free to stop by the Academic Achievement Center anytime to let us know your favorite time management techniques and to get more helpful hints for a successful semester.

Jeremy Boettinger- Academic Achievement Center

You Don’t Have to be Sick to Get Better

“I thought about coming in lots of times, but I thought my problems weren’t serious enough to talk about in counseling or that I’d be wasting time your time that could be better used by someone else.”

As a psychologist in the Counseling Center, I probably hear some version of this phrase from roughly half the students I meet with for the first time.  Whenever I ask about this hesitation, I often find out that because the student isn’t failing classes, feeling overwhelmed or out of control, or feeling depressed to the point of having some suicidal thoughts, the student doesn’t think that whatever is feeling problematic rises to the level of needing counseling.  Whether this is a function of a reduced, but still present, stigma surrounding seeking mental health services or perhaps some lingering skepticism/curiosity about what actually happens in The Big White House (Glen Esk), let me share with you the response I give after hearing these fears:

If it’s important to you, then it’s worth talking about.  You don’t have to be sick to get better.

There is no universally accepted threshold or measuring stick that will let you know that you need counseling.  In fact, if you have ever been curious about counseling but for whatever reason you have held off, I would challenge you to approach counseling from a position of using rather than needing counseling.  While it’s true that a number of students appropriately and effectively use our services to get connected and receive treatment for serious mental health issues, many of the 1500 students who used our services last year were using counseling as a way to continue growing and improving their lives rather than trying to “solve a problem.”

There is nothing magical or mystical about the work that happens in Glen Esk (although many of us wish we had secret powers – for me it’s a tossup between telekinesis and time travel).  Some students fear that if they come in for an initial interview (called an intake) that the counselor is going to push them to reveal some deep secret or troubling piece of their personality – that’s just not how it goes.  What actually happens is typically a three-part process:

First, you schedule an appointment, show up, and fill out some paperwork that helps you think about how counseling might be useful and assists us in formulating ideas about how we might be helpful.

Next, you meet with the counselor for the intake meeting, typically lasting 40-45 minutes.  This consultation often feels like an intimate interview of what your life experiences have been with the intent of helping the counselor get to know you and your goals as best as one can within a 45 minute window.  Many students report that even after this one meeting they felt understood and like they are able to identify strengths and stuck points that they can start working with in their day-to-day life.

The third step is identifying ways to put action to your goals – whether that’s getting involved with individual or group services at TUCC, connecting with opportunities on campus, or finding helpful resources in the community.  That’s it.

Thriving at Towson (and beyond) happens most successfully when you truly know your values, articulate clear goals, and engage in behavior that is consistent with those goals and values.  This reads as something simple in text, but can be difficult in practice.  Most of the work we do with students at TUCC is relatively short-term and based around your goals.  Students looking to do some life-hacking or just to improve their day-to-day lives often use our services in some of the following ways (the YouTube clips should give you idea of what I mean):

Improve friendships/romantic relationships	Get better sleep
Discover passions/career paths	Improve study habits
Enhance time management skills	Explore personal values/beliefs
Learn how to accept yourself and to love your body	Resolve those annoying roommate/family/friend conflicts
What am I looking for?  Why?  How?	Develop stronger coping tools
Build connections on campus	Figure out why I have been “feeling a bit off”
Building the road map for “where do I go from here?”	Receive feedback from someone who really wants to “get” you
Better understand why (fill in blank) makes me so angry	Take an hour out of my week to check-in with myself and ask, “how ya doin?”

If you’ve used or are using our services at TUCC and found it useful and think someone else might benefit – tell them about your experience!  If you’ve been on the fence, I hope that you’ll give yourself permission to take a small risk and embrace that you don’t have to be sick to get better and take a little time this semester to check-in with yourself.

Nathan Sharer
The Counseling Center

Visit our website to learn more (Website: http://www.towson.edu/counseling/).
Follow us on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/TU_CC
Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/TowsonCC

5 Ways to Seize Your Summer

Yes, it’s February—still. But it’s also time to start figuring out how you’ll spend summer 2013. If I know TU students, most of you aren’t planning to sit around doing nothing. (You’ll want to make a few bucks, for one thing.) But I’d like to argue that summer is the best time to think strategically about your future career. What you do this summer will make you more employable when you graduate—if you choose wisely. Which of these suggestions works for you?

1. Do an internship. If you’re waiting until senior year to conduct an internship in your field—don’t. A recent survey from the National Association of Colleges and Employers showed that nearly 75% of employers prefer to hire students with relevant experience. It’s a competitive job market these days (maybe you’ve heard?), and one of the best ways to set yourself apart is by taking part in more than one internship.

Maybe you haven’t chosen your major yet, or maybe you’re considering a career that is not traditional for your major. Non-credit internships are the answer, my friend. What better way to test out a potential career path than by immersing yourself in that environment? Internships outside your major are often easiest to land through family members or friends, but you can also get them through Hire@TU and other databases like Internships.com. Be sure to schedule an internship appointment with the Career Center (410-704-2233).

2. Amp up your volunteering. If doing community service gives you a warm, fuzzy feeling inside, consider committing more time and energy to the cause you care about. Employers will be impressed that you organized that charity 5K—not so much that you ran in it. Also, in some highly competitive fields, it’s very difficult to find part-time work or internships. But you just might be able to offer yourself as a volunteer. Paid or unpaid, it’s relevant experience for your resume!

3. Get a summer job that pays more than just cash. Sure, you need money. But your summer is too valuable to spend exclusively restocking shelves at Wal-Mart. Before you start applying, ask yourself: What are employers in your field looking for? (If you’re not sure, browse the job postings on Hire@TU or SimplyHired.com.) Will you need to demonstrate communication skills, technical ability, creativity, teamwork, leadership experience, research skills? A customer service job may be useful to a Mass Communication or Sport Management major, while a finance major might benefit more from working as a temporary office assistant.

4. Start a small business. An entrepreneurial spirit is always in demand, no matter your major. Not only will starting a business make employers sit up and listen, but it can also be incredibly exhilarating to take your own creative brainchild and test it out in the real world. Check out this article about low-cost business ideas that you can pursue while in college.

5. Meet professionals in your field. It’s hard to find time for informational interviewing when you’re busy with classes and exams. Summer is a great time to ask local professionals if they’d be willing to meet with you to answer your questions about their job. While you’re at it, see if you can shadow them for a day or two. The Hire@TU Career Mentor Database is full of TU alumni who have signed up to be contact by you. Don’t leave them hanging! If you’re looking for more contacts, join LinkedIn and use the advanced search to find local alumni working in careers of interest.

Five more summer-worthy ideas, just for fun:

6. Start a blog.

7. Teach English abroad.

8. Build an iPhone app.

9. Coach a youth sports team.

10. Teach yourself an instrument or language.

Finally—and this is just as important as any internship or summer job—take some time to relax, reflect on the past semester, and think about the coming year. You have three months to explore new things and try something different, and now—yes, February—is the time to prepare. Spend your summer doing something that will make you a better student, job applicant, and person. And have fun!

Kacie Glenn – Career Center