The College of Staten Island campus is bustling with students going to and from classes, as fall continues to set in. Many students have fallen into their fall semester routines, learning where their classes are, finding the best study spots, and leaning into their courses.

However, with this progression comes something many here on campus are beginning to prepare for, and some are dreading, midterm exams and papers. I spoke to some students to ask how their semesters are going, any concerns that they have, and the goals they are hoping to achieve.

The first student I spoke to was Gianna, a History major. The first thing she mentioned was midterms and how they’re starting to take a toll on her. She’s currently a senior so she’s close to graduating and she talked about her goal of completing this semester with the best grades possible. She ended our conversation by saying that she will continue to do her best with her studies and is hoping that her midterms will bring the results that she’s hoping for.

I was also able to talk with Jacob, who is a part-time student, and has been taking around one class per semester to not incur any debt while getting his degree. He discussed how the class he was taking was going well for him due to the lack of other classes as he works a full-time job. He also expressed his goal of finally getting her bachelor’s degree and that he is 15 credits away from doing so. With his schedule clearing up, he hopes that he will graduate this upcoming spring semester.

Amanda, a junior in Computer Science, spoke excitedly about how her semester is going. She told me how often in the beginning of each semester, she quickly does as much work for each of her classes as possible. That way, she won’t be stressed when midterms and finals come around. She shared that this semester has been going great for her between doing well in her classes and working at her part-time job. She’s feeling energized and is starting to prepare for her final exams.

However, sometimes when you take required classes, there are certain subjects that you just can’t seem to get no matter how hard you study. I spoke to Kathleen, a sophomore, and that class for her is math.

She told me of her struggles in her math class, with homework that consists of more than 100 questions and tests that seem impossible to master. Luckily, she’s using resources that CSI has for students like free tutoring in the Library, but she’s still worried if she’ll be able to pass. She told me that her one goal is to finally pass math and to leave it in the past as she continues in her college career.

Those are some students who spoke to me candidly about their fall semester so far and based on their responses, it’s clear that we’ll all have to prepare to do our best with midterms!

By Rachel Rodrigues