Winter break comes early for some
Student after student will pile into the library this week, each one loaded with books and studying materials. The thought of final exams is daunting for most, but some students are managing to complete the semester without them.
Freshman Emily Warren, majoring in FCHD, is one of these students.
“I’m used to having finals, but it’s weird not having to study or be stressed about anything,” Warren said. “I can just go with the flow, which is pretty nice, and I can go home whenever I want. It probably won’t ever happen again.”
Warren said the one final she must complete is a project due during no test week for her 2-D design class.
“In my planet Earth class, we actually do have a final, but we have four tests throughout the semester, and our teacher drops the lowest score,” Warren said. “Since I did well on the first three, she just told me to not even bother with showing up for the final.”
Warren said knowing one of her test scores would be dropped motivated her to do well on the first three tests. However, Warren said she would rather have a final test than a final project, because “projects are more stressful.”
Warren’s planet Earth class is not the only course at USU with an optional final.
Noelle Johansen is a teaching assistant for a media smarts class.
“The final is optional — as in students are not required to take it,” Johansen said about the class. “They can choose to take it if they think it will help their grade.”
She said the majority of students opt out of the final because it’s difficult.
“In this class the majority of your grade is a combination of project (grades) and quizzes,” Johansen said.
Though Johansen is planning to take final exams this semester, she said last year she didn’t have any during finals week.
“I just had a story due Monday night, and I didn’t have any finals for the rest of the week,” Johansen said. “I wasted a whole lot of time until Friday when I started packing. I just sat there while my cute roommates studied their behinds off.”
Lara Hunsaker, a senior majoring in math education, said she won’t have to take final exams at the end of this semester, either, but she has projects and presentations during no test week as well as a final assignment due by the end of finals week.
“When you have final tests, I feel like there’s a lot more studying (to do) but you can study all the way up to (the exam),” Hunsaker said.
On the other hand, she said, final projects require more time beforehand and cause stress for students before the semester is over. No test week is when she gets most stressed, she added, because that’s when most of her presentations are due.
Hunsaker said different testing methods are appropriate for different classes.
“If it’s a knowledge-based class, I think it should be a simple question and answer,” Hunsaker said.
Hunsaker said she’s been in classes in which she felt like the professor didn’t prepare students for the final, because even though students were taught factual information, they weren’t taught how to apply it.
In the past when Hunsaker has finished finals early, she said she would “take off as soon as (she) could” for home, but this year she’s sticking around.
“For the last couple of years I’ve tutored, and (my pupils) usually had final tests, so I help them get ready for those,” Hunsaker said. “Other than that, I’m just kind of winding down. I usually get sick at the end of the semester because there’s so much stress, and then when it stops, my body kind of breaks down.”
– m.noble@aggiemail.usu.edu