Midterms for the Spring 2026 semester at Asbury University are approaching, with midterm grades due March 4. As the semester reaches its midpoint and spring break nears March 16–20, many students are entering one of the most academically demanding points of the term, as exams, projects and presentations pile up.
Students at Asbury experience midterms differently depending on their major. Lecture-based courses often use written exams or quizzes. On the other hand, art and design students participate in critiques and project evaluations that require weeks of preparation and public presentation. Some students, depending on their major, do not experience a particularly stressful midterm period.
“I don’t know how, but every semester so far, things have kind of worked out to where I don’t have a bunch of exams all at once,” said junior Spanish and communications major Ke’Olani Perez. “I never really feel the midterm hit like most people do.”
Perez said her experience may be shaped by both her major and scheduling patterns.
“Most semesters, I take only one Spanish class at a time and I’m usually taking multiple communication classes a semester,” said Perez. “With those [classes] they spread things out.”
Perez’s experience contrasts with that of some STEM majors, whose exams often cluster during the same week.
Senior math major Bailey Soard said midterms can be demanding due to how upper-level math and science courses are structured.
“I’ll study the full week before. It’ll probably be, like, six to nine hours of studying per class,” said Soard. “Then usually the midterm covers all the content up to the day before we take the exam.”
The preparation leading up to midterms often makes a measurable difference in both exam performance and how students do for the remainder of the semester. A 2022 study published in npj Science of Learning found that students who distributed their study time performed significantly better on exams than those who didn’t. The study shows that this kind of “spaced practice,” rather than just cramming study time into the night before, can be extremely beneficial when preparing to take exams.
Sleep also plays a crucial role in success during stressful academic periods like midterms. Students who maintained more regular sleep schedules earned higher grades on midterms and quizzes than those who stayed up late or slept inconsistently. According to the National Sleep Foundation, insufficient sleep is associated with difficulty concentrating, reduced memory retention and lower academic performance. The National Sleep Foundation generally recommends that college students aim for seven to nine hours of sleep per night.
Performance at midterm may influence course standing, but it can also signal what kind of support a student may need. There are various academic resources available to students at Asbury, including open office hours, tutoring through the Center for Academic Excellence and Kinlaw Library’s online databases and e-books. As midterms approach, faculty highly encourage students to access these resources and remember that midterms are less about perfection and more about endurance and about using the midpoint as an opportunity to recalibrate.
