Alyssa Thompson

I’d also map the next 12–18 months with your advisor now so you can lock in the sequence and get pre-approval for any coreq or concurrent prereq you’ll need. If a class is sinking you a timely W is better than a low grade, but check SAP and scholarship rules so you don’t hurt your completion rate; if your school offers grade replacement, plan to retake. To free bandwidth fast, ask your employer for a short-term hours cut through midterms/finals and lean on tutoring and office hours so the courses you keep lift your GPA.

I wouldn’t cut sleep; it tanks retention and makes catch-up harder. Do a quick triage with your advisor: prioritize only the must-have prereqs move non-essentials to pass/fail or withdraw if allowed, and plan to scoop up a missing class in summer or intersession. Then time-block 10–12 focused hours per tough course and hit office hours and tutoring early, and ask your boss to compress shifts to fewer days so you get longer study blocks.

Co-sign the structure-first approach but then preload a tiny shorthand legend so your tags are lightning-fast (wlog iff, by def, cont, C-S, MVT), and number the pivot lines so you can reference them when you fill the triangles which, yeah... i also leave a two-line buffer after any dense algebra and add a quick end-of-page recap: statement, proof method, key lemmas used.

Write the aim at the top and then chain the big steps with arrows and theorem names. Leave blanks for heavy algebra and fill them the same day. Ten minutes of cleanup beats an hour later. You got this.

Oh sure and dropping a class to save your GPA sounds like a brilliant plan. You'll just magically make up those credits later without any hassle. And that withdrawal on your transcript? Totally invisible to grad schools. Yeah, push graduation back and rack up more tuition debt, what could go wrong. Sounds like you're already nailing this adulting thing.

Switching to a tablet made my notes searchable and organized & totally worth it despite the charging hassle.

I used to freak out about cramming for exams and but then I tried breaking it down into daily chunks. First, list all the key topics from the syllabus. Spend the first day reviewing notes and identifying weak areas. That way, you focus on what's important. Next, allocate two days for in-depth study of those weak spots. Use active recall techniques, like flashcards or teaching the material to yourself. Practice problems if it's a subject like math or science. By day four, start mixing in review of stronger areas to keep everything fresh. Finally, the last two days should be for full practice exams under timed conditions. Review mistakes immediately. Get good sleep each night. it helps retention. This method got me through my finals without pulling all-nighters.

Do spaced repetition daily; ditch everything else.