A tradition continues during exams: fun yet...salty?!

Well, it’s that time of year again…final EXAMS.

Although you may shudder at the thought of writing 4 to 6 three-hour exams in the span of two weeks, exam season is a very exciting time around campus. For example, McMaster's upper year engineering students will get together and hand out saltine crackers to the first years as they enter their exam sessions in order to calm their nerves and settle their stomachs.

It’s so much fun cheering them on and getting them pumped up to write their exams! And the University provides lots of support for students who need a little extra help. You can always visit the Student Success Centre or Student Wellness Centre for counselling, academic and peer support.

Check out some photos of all the goofy Redsuits in their element, handing out crackers. We all remember how it feels to be an 'Engineering I' student going through our first set of final exams. As you can see, our Redsuits are here to greet new students arriving in September, but they continue to welcome the new members of our Mac Eng community throughout the year. This is just one of the many established traditions we value and continue to bring to life! Check out our McMaster Engineering Society website page dedicated to our traditions.

 

Happy Thoughts...

With the end of exams comes the beginning of summer! The sun is shining and the weather is (finally) clearing up. I can tell you that makes it very difficult to study indoors.

However, I’ve got to power through and study for these last few exams in order to enjoy my summer. Then it’s nothing but fun and frolicking all summer long! Maybe I’ll have time to get some work done in there…

Hope everyone has an amazing summer.
Cheers! ~Genna

Ho-Ho- Holidays!!!!

 Season greetings from all of us in Eng I Outreach office!

Congratulations to engineering students who finished off exams yesterday! Especially the first years who just finished their first semester as a Mac Eng student!

Take a look at the gingerbread house that some of the upper years made to help the first years celebrate! It’s a little in shambles after the students ate it… but it was definitely a tasty celebration of the end of exams J

I think I am speaking for everyone when I say winter breaks are just so much more relaxing when you are in university. Why, you may ask?  Well, the winter break is at the end of the first semester, thus we are done with those courses for good and can stretch our legs and take a nice relaxing break before the new semester comes and pull us back in the library!

If you followed our survival guide like you should have, I assume you had a swell time writing your finals and most likely are sipping eggnog while reading this. I would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! In case you do not celebrate Christmas, I wish you the happiest holidays and a pleasant winter break. Go pour yourself some more eggnog or make a ginger bread house or climb the Kilimanjaro, sky is the limit!

Give yourself a pat on the shoulder; you made it through another year! Take moment to remember your happiest memories and maybe some moments which were not exactly happy, but maybe made a positive change in you, made you a stronger person and taught you a valuable lesson.

Life is all those memorable moments, so take a break and prepare yourself for a whole new year! May this year to be the best one yet!

How to survive exams & make it to the holidays!

Exam season is here! It’s tough times for university students, especially engineers. Here are some tips from my friend, Helen, and I on how to survive exams and make it through to Christmas break! 

[Disclaimer: All advice to be taken at your own risk!] J

Mary’s survival tips for exam season:

•  Make a study plan.  Remember, there are two types of lessons, the easy ones which you don’t need to study and the hard ones which you cannot learn so don’t waste time studying them.
•  NO Procrastination! Are you procrastinating right now? If you have an exam to study for stop reading this and go back to studying!

OH, you are still here….sigh. Ok, here are some more tips I guess:

•  Stay away from your phone and computer as much as possible. Those texts and notifications can wait. In fact, throw your phone out of the window this instant!
•  Put that coffee mug away! It makes you hyper and makes it hard to take naps and get your 12 hours of sleep per night.
• Eat a lot of chocolate. It makes you happy and keeps you focused. (You can make exercising one of your New Year’s resolutions in less than a month). 



Just chilling with the associate dean :) (L to R: Mary, Helen) 

•  Eat food, take breaks and stay alive. Make yourself a nice 5-course dinner to reward your hard work during the day. Remember:  Grandma’s food is delicious because she spends a lot of time prepping it, so do not choose a lousy recipe just to save time.

Helen’s survival tips for exam season:

Ok folks, my turn now. Let me tell you the key to doing exams Helen-style.

•  Look ridiculous. For the ladies, throw that hair into an obnoxious, messy bun atop your head. Sweatpants? Yes...  all day, every day. For the men, ‘tis the season of bedhead, and although Movember has come to pass, the university community will see their fair share of unshaven-ness. (Count how many neck-beards you can spot! Decembeard? Yep.)
•   Stay glued to your electronics. How else is your friend going to wake you up in the morning? Or tell you that you wrote down the wrong time for the exam?
• Caffeinate yourself. Coffee, tea, and Coca-Cola are staples to achieving this, but of course there are interesting alternatives. I hear wonderful things about chocolate covered coffee beans.
•  Stick to your vegetables. Chocolate is a no-go. Do you want to fit into your ugly Christmas sweater? YES. OF COURSE YOU DO!  It’s the only true way to make grandmothers happy.
• Stay hydrated. Remember all that caffeine you consumed? It dehydrated you. And with all that liquid consumption, you’re bound for washroom breaks every 15 minutes. In fact, you should be due for one right now.

Best of luck with your exams, and give us feedback on how you survive the holidays!