With midterms out of the way, students at ULM look more relaxed and relieved. After these exams, students’ knowledge about the grades become clearer, and many start taking serious steps to finish the semester successfully.

Sha’Net McCarter, a sophomore pre-radiation tech major, said before midterms she did not care about her grades as much as having fun.

“It’s time to focus on school now, and try to upgrade my grades,” Mc- Carter said.

Some student have bigger problems than fun standing in their way. Michael Stevenson, a freshman in construction management from Gilbert, Ariz., said water ski practices and competitions take away study time. “I’m sure that I would have done better in school if I had that time for studying instead of practicing. Still, my grades are not that bad, and I am sure I will upgrade them by the end of the semester,” Stevenson said.

Huan-Tsai Fan, an English major from Taiwan, said she has a big problem with the language. “Sometimes, I read a 30 page paper three times, and I still cannot understand the meaning,” Fan said. However, Fan has confidence that his English skills are growing, and his grades will improve by semester’s end.

English professor James Pettit said that the midterm report is like a snapshot of their progression.

“It is like a picture of where they are at that particular moment,” Pettit said. “Most of the students really do try to work harder and improve their grades once when they see a low grade at their midterm report.”