Final Destination

It's almost the end of the semester. Hard to believe so much time has passed, isn't it? I know that to me it doesn't seem like I've been writing this blog very long. Well, no matter what I think, the semester is still almost over. Just a couple more weeks until finals.

Finals. Just the thought of the word leaves a bad taste in my mouth. A lot of people start to stress out about their finals right around now, studying like crazy because they have to relearn everything from the start of the semester. I try not to include myself in that group, preferring the 'relaxed' method of study. I.E., I sit here on the couch until an hour before the final, then I cram like crazy. I know most of you probably prefer that method too. The thing to keep in mind is that while most finals are cumulative, they do not have much more time allotted to them than to a normal test. This means that true, everything is covered, but most of it is barely touched on in the test. There is no need to raise your blood pressure studying when having a cursory knowledge of the information is enough to do well on the final.

Another thing about finals is that the schedule for that week sucks. I don't know about the rest of you, but my finals are just broken up enough that week that I can't go home until they are all over. I have finals on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday (for those of you who don't know, final exam times are listed on SSINFO). It is a 5 hour trip back home for me, so If I went home after my Wednesday final, I wouldn't arrive until late that night, and I'd have to leave on Friday to make it back in time for my Saturday final. If only I didn't have that damn Biology final on Saturday, I could go home three days earlier.

The good thing about finals coming up is that classes tend to become more review-oriented, meaning it is a lot less detrimental for you to miss them. If you can remember most of what you learned over the semester, going to class becomes a lot more pointless around now. For those of you (like me) who like to skip class, this is a good thing. Just remember not to completely ignore your finals. Looking over the things you have learned over the class, even if just for a half hour or so, can make a large difference in your exam score.