Midterm grade NOT what you expected? Wondering what to do now?

Coming out of high school you might be accustomed to getting straight A's. Despite everyone telling you that university is not the same as high school, you still thought that you'd be able to keep up those high marks. However, now that you've started getting your midterm grades back you might be finding that the marks you're getting aren't quite what you had expected.

You might be thinking..."NOW WHAT? SHOULD I DROP THE CLASS? MY PARENTS WILL BE DISAPPOINTED! MY LIFE IS FALLING APART!!

Let me be the first person to tell you to CALM down!! It's going to be ok! You don't have to the class, your parents just want the best for you and your life is not over. Take a DEEP BREATHE!! Everything will be ok!!

So you didn't get what you thought you would...don't be discouraged. It isn't the end of the world...although it may feel like it right now. Here are some tips for dealing with less than ideal Midterm marks.

1. The BEST part about Midterms (if there is anything good about them at all) is that they are only ONE part of your grade! You still have time to improve you mark!! Midterms are NOT the END of your course. You still have other assignments, tutorial or lab work or a final that you can use to boost your grade.

2. Take the time to look over your grade. Look at how much of your grade the midterm is actually worth. Take the time out to go and talk to your professor or TA to figure out how to improve your grade, (If you're worried about talking your prof see my post ). Really look at your midterm and determine where you went wrong and how you can improve.

3. Try to put your grade in perspective. Of course we all want to do well, but how does this midterm mark impact your life. If you care a lot about your marks then a not so great mark might stress you out. I'm here to remind you that grades are one component of your whole university experience, and your time at university is only one part of your entire life. Although it might seem like a MAJOR ISSUE now, remember this too shall pass. Try not to stress yourself out too much over your midterms.

4. Try to STAY POSITIVE! If you didn't do as well as you hoped, don't be too hard on yourself. Negativity only makes you feel worse and doesn't actually motivate you try to improve. Get proactive, take the suggestions or improvements you get from your TA's or Profs and learn from them.

**Remember: If you find yourself really stressed out about your grades you can always check out CDS.**

- When I was in my first year, I had a really hard time adjusting to University life. It was the first time I'd ever lived away from home, I was in a new country where I knew no one, and I had just gotten back a midterm that I didn't do as well on as I had hoped. I was REALLY hard on myself and I didn't think that university was for me, I was really having a hard time. My Don suggested that I go and talk to CDS. Honestly I wasn't sure that CDS was for me...but I went and found that the people there were really nice; more importantly they were helpful. I know that sometimes it can be hard to ask for help but sometimes that's exactly what you need most. I highly recommend checking out CDS since they do offer FREE personal counselling!

I promise Midterm season will end! Lets get through it together. If you have any other tips for dealing with midterm add them in the comments section below! See you after Midterms!!

Take it one day at a time and catch me in the zone,
Nicole

Health Ed Keeping York Healthy!

I can't tell you the number of times I've heard people on campus complaining that there are no health info services on campus. The number of times I've heard people say they wish there was someplace people could go to get info on nutrition or stress management or sexual health is truly shocking!!

Look for the LOGO!!

For those of you that don't know, Health Education and Promotion is an organization whose mission is to provide York students with health info about different topics that are of importance in the lives of university students. 

There are 10 different teams that cater to specific health topics and student needs, they are: 

1. Active Living Team                                              6. Sexual Health and Healthy Relationship Team

2. Nutrition and Healthy Eating Team                      7. Peer S.H.O.P (Sexual Health Outreach Program

3. Leave the Pack Behind (Smoking cessation)        8. Men's Health Team 

4. Stress Management and Mental Health Team       9. Glendon Campus Team

5. Alcohol and Other Drug Awareness Team         10. Health Education in Residence Team

As you can see Health Ed covers pretty much EVERYTHING you'll need to about health while you're at York. The best part about Health Ed in my opinion is the fact that they are a student staffed organization, all the people hosting the events and running them are other students. Students tend to be more comfortable talking about health issues with fellow students and that's exactly what you get at Health Ed. 

Look out for Health Ed they are literally EVERYWHERE on campus! Whenever an event is going on you'll see them in their signature GREEN shirts/ hoodies. 

They are on campus every day hosting walkabout games, where they dispense info by playing a games and giving away really cool free prizes. Every Wednesday they host Wellness Wednesday at both Keele and Glendon so if you have a question or you just want to play a game and win a prize walk up to the table and check them out!

If you want to drop by and talk to someone feel free to visit the Health Ed office South Ross 171. If you want to get in contact with them you can e-mail them healthed@yorku.ca or check out their AMAZING blog www.healthedyorku.tumblr.com or follow them on twitter @healthedyork

I've been a part of Health Ed for 4 years and I can honestly say that they are a great organization with great people. It's good to know that there are people on campus that you can talk to if you need them! 

York's all about helping students succeed...they have some AMAZING resources you've got to check out!

Over 2000 students have visited the RED Zone so far this summer. As they come in, I've noticed that there are a few key questions that have been asked again and again by students in just about EVERY group I've talked to...

Will I be able to handle it?

1. How MAJOR is the difference between High School and University in terms of workload?
2. What kind of expectations are there for students in terms of work quality in University?
and my personal favourite...and the purpose of this blog...
3. Are there ANY services or resources in place that students can access if they need assistance?


I am here to let you know that York is ALL ABOUT helping students succeed! Here are the FREE services that York offers their students to make they feel confident, secure, and supported throughout their time at University!

York's got your back :)

There are 2 MAIN categories of support that York offers Students:
1. Academic Assistance
2. Specialized Student Support Services
**These are just the names that I've given them...they are by no means the ACTUAL tites!**

You CAN do it...but there is help!

Academic Assistance: This is offered to ALL York University students without exception. These services are designed to ensure student success and provide overall support for during the academic year. Academic Assistance Services include:

-Writing Centre: This is a essay writing and editing service that connects students with a Teaching Assistant, Masters Student or Past Professor who act as tutors for the student while completing an assignment. At the WC students bring in a draft of their assignment, hand it in to their tutor who then edit it and offer suggestions and support. The Writing Centre can help students improve their mark by one full letter grade. This is an amazing and underutilized service since most students are unaware that it exists. Well you...yes you...the person reading this now has a leg up on everyone else since now you know that this exists. The Writing Centre is located in South Ross Room 329.

-Learning Commons: For some students the Writing Centre is not a good fit, after all not everyone is comfortable with someone editing their work, especially a past professor. If that is the case then the Learning Commons on the second floor of the Scott Library might be more your speed. At the Learning Commons you can get help and advice on thesis formulation, research, essay structure and citation tips. The Learning Commons is run by Librarians who know what good research is and what makes a good essay.

-Advising (Faculty, College Level): There are two levels of Academic Advising that you can access at York. The first level of advising is at the Faculty level, this is the level that the majority of incoming students will be familiar with, since your enrolment appointments were held at your faculty. The second level of advising is at the College level, this advising is run through specific colleges within a particular faculty, or even across faculties. One form of advising is not better than the other, they just provide a slightly different user experience. Sometimes students prefer going to their college advisor's because they feel more connected to their college community, others prefer to go their faculty. It's more personal preference, the information will be the same regardless.

-Peer-to-Peer Tutoring: All Colleges have their own version of P2P tutoring, where an upper year student is connected with a lower year student and provides them with guidance, support and tutoring. Additionally there are other Peer-to-Peer programs offered via programs, faculties and departments at York. If you find yourself in need of a particular service I recommend heading over to your college to see types of P2P support they have available for you.

You don't have to do it alone!

Specialized Student Support Services: These services are offered to a select subset of the York University Community, students that have specific needs. These services include:

-CDS: Counselling and Disabilities Services have three offices, two at Keele, one located in the Bennett Centre the other in North Ross Room 108 and one at Glendon. These offices offer support for students in the form of personal counselling,  learning skills, learning disabilities, mental health disabilities and finally in the form of physical, sensory and medical disability aid.

-ACMAPS: The Atkinson Centre for Mature and Part-Time Students offers support for York students that are mature (over the age of 21 at the start of first year) and that are enrolled in part-time study. The ACMAPS office is located at 111 Central Square and they offer support in the form of workshops and advocacy for their students throughout the year.

-CASS: Centre for Aboriginal Student Services, offers specialized support for Aboriginal identified students at York. They are located at 246 York Lanes, they have a newly renovation office space that is open to Aboriginal students. The CASS office has study space, computers, printers and tons of other great services designed to help Aboriginal identified students succeed at York.

-York International: Located in York Lanes Room 200, offers support services for international students at York. This support includes assisting with cultural adjustments to Canada, immigration, financial and other issues. Also York International assists domestic students enter exchange programs to other universities world-wide.

All of the services mentioned here are offered to students free of charge. Take a minute to check out what's available because York has got you covered!