By Emily Harris
Elm Staff Writer
Somehow it’s already December, and the semester is coming to an end. Instead of winding down however, it seems as if this is when the most important weeks for a college student are just getting started. That’s right, finals. For many students this now feels as familiar as tying their shoes, but for freshmen, it’s a little intimidating. Coming from high school into the college environment, who knows what will be different when exams come around? The stress is already settling in across campus, with the library filling up and endless angry Facebook statuses about the overload of papers and tests. This atmosphere is a lot more serious than the end of a semester in high school. What is it that makes finals so much more daunting in college?
Believe it or not, I never actually had to take finals in high school. My school basically decided that if you had good grades and showed up to class almost every day, finals and midterms weren’t a big deal. So now that I’m in college, and I actually have to remember stuff, I almost regret not having done this before. At least then I would know what to expect. Although I never actually went through the process of finals in high school, I’ll do my best to compare them to finals here at Washington College.
The difference between exams in high school and college doesn’t just come down to one thing. First of all, it isn’t exactly cheap to attend this school. If you fail a class, or a final exam, it’s not really a joke. It’s a waste of time and money that no one will be happy about. In high school, it might affect your chances of getting accepted to college, but it’s not the end of the world. Failure in college is obviously not the worst thing either, but the consequences can be more severe. Getting a job in general is hard enough, doing it with mediocre to poor credentials is basically useless. The reason we’re all here is to prepare for life after college, and while most people don’t take many exams once they leave, the things students are tested on are often applicable to their career later on in life.
Another difference between high school and college exams is the amount of in-class review offered by teachers. In college, I’ve found that professors would rather teach as much as possible than review an entire semester’s worth of information. In fact, many professors are giving tests right up until Monday of finals week. They expect students to review on their own and take responsibility for everything they’ve learned during the semester. High school was a little more relaxed in general, with teachers willing to help in class, hold outside review sessions, etc. College students are held to a higher standard as far as time management and self-guided review.
Essentially, college students are expected to put on their big kid pants and just get things done. Failing a college final would be a huge disappointment for anyone, especially if it jeopardized a student’s ability to graduate on time or transfer credits. At the same time, finals are a huge part of a final grade, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Students who’ve felt a little lazy all semester can raise their grade by studying hard and kicking butt on a final exam. Unlike high school, college is serious business, and students get serious about whether exams will make or break their grade. To anyone who plans on disappearing for the weekend with no contact to the outside world (curse you Facebook), best of luck in the brutal week to come. Let’s hope we all survive.