Volume 11, No. 2
AIRWAVES
PILOTS Meritorious
Performance Award
Nominees
Erik Ahlen
Mabel Borjas
Mark DeDonder
Amy Donnelly
Brittany Eck
Kirsti Gomez
Ashley Head
Mallory Knudson
Brett Liechty
John Martens
Rachel Minardi
Kelsey Porter
Tanya Sherman
And the Winners Are…
Whitney Fox
Whitney exemplifies the root of
the word “student,” which is
“eagerness” or “zeal.” She has
one of the best work ethics we
have ever seen in a PILOTS
student. Because she clearly
values her education, she takes
full responsibility for her own
success and does not make
excuses. Whitney also serves as
a role model by exhibiting a
continually positive attitude.
Amy Trieu-Vo
Everyone who has survived to
the end of their first semester at
K-State should be very proud.
One of the ingredients of being a
successful college student is
simply not quitting. Due to her
quiet perseverance and diligent
school work, Amy Trieu-Vo is
not just one of those students
who has made it, but who has
also done very well. She exhibits
a successful combination of
hard work, talent, intellect, and
fervor for learning.
www.ksu.edu/pilots
Nov/Dec 2008
Final Exam Schedule – PILOTS courses
Public Speaking – Monday, Dec. 15 @ 7:30am
Location: to be announced – may not be in regular classroom!
comprehensive final (covers entire semester)
Sociology – Monday, Dec. 15 @ 9:40am
location: regular classroom
comprehensive final (covers entire semester)
Intermediate Algebra – Monday, Dec. 15 @ 11:50am
location: regular classroom
makeup test option (not comprehensive)
Math Review –
(10:30 section) - Monday, Dec. 15 @ 11:50am
(12:30 section) - Thursday, Dec. 18 @ 4:10pm
location: regular classroom
final test (not comprehensive)
History – Monday, Dec. 15 @ 2pm
location: regular classroom
final test (not comprehensive)
Psychology – Friday, Dec. 19 @ 4:10pm
location: regular classroom
final test (not comprehensive)
Important Dates
Finals Week: Dec. 12 –Dec. 19
Residence Halls Close: Saturday, Dec. 20
Grades Posted on iSIS: Dec. 24
Residence Halls Re-Open: Tuesday, Jan. 13
Spring Term Begins: Thursday, January 15th
Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Week: Jan. 19-23
PILOTS Talent Show: middle of spring semester
(Dust off your dancin’ shoes and tune your guitars!)
Next semester, look for applications for PILOTS scholarships!
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Tips for Surviving Finals Week
Preparing for and Taking Exams
Work with PAs in the
PILOTS study lab...
Review ALL notes thoroughly. Pay
special attention to concepts that the
instructor emphasizes.
more than once before the test!
Find out (ahead of time!) what type of exam
your instructor will give: multiple choice,
essay, problem solving, or a combination
of the above. Ask your instructor what
material will be covered and the time limit
of the exam. Keep in mind that some final
exams are comprehensive – the cover
material for the entire semester.
Prepare summary sheets to study from
in order to eliminate re-reading the entire
textbook.
Review for objective tests (like multiple
choice) by concentrating on detail and
memorizing facts such as names, dates,
formulas and definitions. Know a little bit
about A LOT!
Marginalia:
Quotes on Inspiration
"Genius is one percent inspiration
and ninety-nine percent
perspiration." Thomas Edison
“You don't need fancy highbrow
traditions or money to really learn.
You just need people with the desire
to better themselves.”
Cooper and Collage
Be sure you read all the material to be
covered and have all lecture notes ready to
review. Use old exams to review, and
schedule study time.
Review for essay tests by concentrating
on concepts, principles, theories and
relationships. Know A LOT about a
little.
“Always bear in mind that your own
resolution to succeed is more
important than any one thing.”
Abraham Lincoln
As you read and learn information, recite
what you learn. Put ideas in your own
words to help you understand concepts.
Think about what you are learning and
explain the concepts to other people.
Try to predict questions and practice
answering them. For essay questions,
write the answers down.
“Chance favors only the prepared
mind.” Louis Pasteur
For problem solving tests, work
examples of each type of problem.
Work them from memory until you get
stuck. Then, study your example
problems and begin working them again
from memory from the beginning. Do this
until you are able to work the entire
problem without referring to your notes.
“If at first you don't succeed, find
out if the loser gets anything.”
Bill Lyon
Chunk or group several items together in
short-term memory and rehearse them
together as one chunk (e.g.: the seven
colors of the rainbow: ROYGBIV).
Use associations. Connect what you
want to remember with something you
already know. Use mnemonics to help you
remember new ideas. Form mental images
of items that you are trying to remember.
Study in groups, but only if everyone
has read the material. You won't gain as
much if your peers are not prepared.
During The Multiple Choice Exam
1. More often than not, the correct answer is B or C. This isn’t always
true, of course, but when writing exams instructors are likely to select
one of these answers.
2. If there is an “all of the above” option, chances are high that is the
answer. If you know that more than one answer is correct, there is a
very good chance the correct final answer is “all of the above.”
3. “None of the above” is usually wrong. Sometimes, instructors run
out of ideas for wrong answers.
4. You can often rule out answers that contain generalization terms, like
“always” or “never.” Answers that contain words like “usually” or
“mostly” are more likely to be correct.
5. Don’t worry about patterns. If you answer B to four questions in a
row, you might be right.
6. If you have to guess, rule out obviously wrong answers and don’t
be afraid to ask the instructor for clarification.
Calculate your GPA
The 4.0 Scale
Let's say that you took 12 hours, and
received one A, two B's and a C. Your
GPA will be calculated as follows:
Points: A=4 B=3 C=2 D=1 F=0
Class 1
Class 2
Class 3
Class 4
2 credit hrs x 4 (A) = 8 pts
3 credit hrs x 3 (B) = 9 pts
4 credit hrs x 3 (B) = 12 pts
3 credit hrs x 2 (C) = 6 pts
Total credit hours = 12
Total points = 35
Total points (35) divided by
total credit hours (12) =
semester GPA (2.92).
Your grade point average is harder to
improve if it becomes low, so keep
building and maintaining good grades!
.