Photo by Kimberly Nelson

Late nights, stress eating, and irregular nap times are common experiences for students especially when midterms are rolling in. But what about student faculties, professors, and tutors? We have talked to some of these people to find out what their experiences with students are during midterms.

Annah Hackett (Librarian)
When students think about studying, they think about the library. Instruction and outreach librarian Annah Hackett shares her experiences with students during midterms. “What we are primarily working with them, at midterms are double checking citations, and reading over things for students…” Hackett said. Hackett also stated that the amount of students during midterms are definitely up however, it is nothing compared to the week before finals. Before Hackett comes face-to-face with students especially during midterms, students are required to schedule an appointment online and send her the assignments they would like to work on in advance so she has time to prepare. “So that way I can kinda look over because sometimes there’s specific databases I can recommend,” Hackett said.

Kyle Boulanger (Science Tutor)
Kyle Boulanger, a part time science tutor in the Academic Learning and Teaching Center stated that Grand View University isn’t like most Universities. “I don’t know if we technically have midterms like a lot of the other schools but we do have a lot of classes now that are having their 1st or 2nd test.” Boulanger said. He went on to talk about how there has been a number of science students that have been in and out of the ALT Center recently. “I have seen a lot of people for organic chemistry and bio-chem that have come in the last week or two just to get ready for their test.” Boulanger said. He was also one out of the two that was present when 20 students bombarded the ALT Center in search for help for their science test. Being a tutor, Boulanger does not have to schedule online appointments. For this reason, he does not have enough information on what students would like to work on beforehand.

Cathy Brent (ALT Center)
With midterms rapidly approaching many students are making last-ditch efforts to save their failing grades. So, this means students are heading over to the ALT Center to get help bring those failing grades back to passing. ALT center coordinator Cathy Brent said, one of the things she has noticed was the decrease in midterms. “Not everybody anymore gives midterms like they used to. You know it used to be we had a midterm, and you had a final and people aren’t doing that as much they’re doing more unit exams,” Brent said. Brent also stated that she hadn’t seen much of an increase in the number of students coming to get help in the ALT Center. But one thing that has stood out to Brent is that a lot of first-year students haven’t learned proper study techniques, so she sees a lot of freshman coming into the ALT Center for help. “Freshman that aren’t used to being in college and knowing how to study for tests and that sort of stuff,” Brent said.

Kenlyn Gordon (Certified Counselor)
With some people working under a lot of pressure during midterms to bring up failing grades or just dealing with the demands of life, students may be seeking to counseling as a way to cope. Kenlyn Gordon, who is a licensed mental health counselor here at Grand View University, works to help students that are struggling with life problems. Gordon said,“ Starting in October counseling starts to get very busy. I think that what happens is that midterms happen and school gets busy, and that creates stress.”