Most juniors are settled into their dorms, classes and routines after the conclusion of the first quarter but many may still feel a little lost in the storm of MSMS. We, The Vision’s editorial board, are here to offer helpful tips in the hopes of providing assistance to all juniors. Even for juniors who feel like they’ve established themselves, we hope these pieces of advice will serve you well in the future.
1. When it comes to drama, don’t burn bridges.
We attend a relatively small school — enrollment is almost 250 students — so causing drama could lead to a year of misery. Small disagreements can turn into larger-than-life conflicts, but in reality, these issues rarely actually matter. If you have disagreements with your roommate or suitemates, take the time to have a respectful conversation addressing the issue. If you have disagreements with your friends, do the same thing and talk about why the issue truly affects you. It may be inevitable to burn some bridges after a long time interacting with others, but these critical conversations will help you avoid the drama and find your people sooner rather than later.
2. Try your best not to skip meals.
If you’re a student who regularly ate all three meals of the day before coming to MSMS, junior year is not the time to start skipping meals. It’s imperative you nurture your body with the nutrients it can get from Hogarth Dining Hall or your dorm room, or else you’ll barely survive the average class day. Even if you don’t feel like making the trek to the dining hall, you’ll find the extra food boost goes a long way.
3. Prepare mentally for exam week.
Exam Week is a unique experience for many juniors, especially if they have never had to take exams at their old schools. One of our best tips is to not overstudy for your exams. It’s not worth it to stay up late to review your entire course’s content; sleeping and resting well is more important.
Not only does Exam Week pose challenges to your studying, it may also change your diet. By the time Exam Week rolls around, students at the Mississippi University for Women will have left for winter break, which means Hogarth Dining Hall cuts back on the amount and diversity of food for MSMS students. Consider packing your dorm with nourishing snacks to power through your studying sessions.
4. Don’t procrastinate on papers — especially research papers.
Though they are the best and brightest in Mississippi, MSMS students rarely write successful papers in just one night. Since so many of our classes have academic paper assignments, it’s imperative you spread out the times you’re working on the paper throughout the week. Don’t wait until the last night. Especially if you have a research paper due in your class, it’s imperative you allot enough time in your schedule to conduct the research required for your paper or project, compile your research together and organize it into a coherent and effective academic piece. We suggest using a calendar to ensure you’re on top of things. If all comes to the worst, grind out the entirety of your paper on the last weekend before your paper is due and set aside time afterward to recuperate.
5. Don’t develop a caffeine dependency.
Though drinking caffeinated beverages may seem like an effective solution, that strategy to stay afloat is only temporary. You especially don’t want to drink the Starbucks Triple Shots from the vending machines at 11 p.m. If you are already a frequent coffee drinker, you still do not want to depend on coffee to power you through the day. Your body will develop too high of a caffeine tolerance as junior year goes on, and this will affect your health far beyond MSMS.
6. Go to tutorials and office hours.
This is one of the best ways to connect to teachers at MSMS, who are the best resource at the school. Teachers are amazing and can really change your experience here, and visiting them during office hours or tutorials either to receive help from them or just talk with them to learn more about their lives will help you grow. Take advantage of this time you can spend with your teachers.
7. Complete the math practice problems, regardless of which math class you’re taking.
All of your math classes will be more rigorous than those at your home school, whether you’re taking Algebra II or AP Calculus BC or anything in between. You might feel confident starting out, but it is never a bad idea to use all resources provided by your teachers. One of those resources are the practice problems in the back of your textbooks. They are relatively easy to find since the page and problem numbers are on each unit schedule provided by your math teacher. You might feel like this is too much work or unnecessary stress, but they are absolutely worth your time.
8. Finally, take risks.
Junior year is a time where you find your place in the school. Take risks, try things out and find out who you are at MSMS. Sign up for as many clubs as you’re interested in and then narrow down your list to the ones you’re most passionate about. Explore everything, ask questions and don’t be afraid to change how you think about yourself. Senior year is when you are cemented in your place at MSMS, so spend your junior year figuring out who you want to be next year.
The Vision Editorial Board consists of Co-Editors-in-Chief Iris Xue and Sebastian Harvey, Co-Managing Editor and News Editor Maryann Dang, Co-Managing Editor and Sports Editor Mariane Powell, Student Life Editor Stella Savell, Co-Entertainment Editor and Photo Editor Noah Lee, Co-Entertainment Editor Helena Munoz, Opinion Editor and Graphics Editor Levi Stevens and Podcast Editor Ray Taylor.
