Basics of Finals

Hey,

It’s that time of the year again…finals. Finals is obviously not the greatest time of the year, but it has its perks too. Essentially, there are four finals that will be taken over the course of two weeks. Before the two weeks, there is a week off to study and potentially have some revision lectures. After the two weeks, there is a week off called Reading Week where there are no classes and is basically another break. You are supposed to do some preliminary reading before the next semester starts, but after three weeks of studying for finals and taking finals who is really going to do that? 😉

We are currently in the first week where everyone’s’ life is consumed by studying. Learning 12 weeks of content for four classes in a week can be a bit of a handful. However, the smart people start studying over Christmas break. It can be annoying to spend a break studying, but when these three weeks come around you are thankful that you did. I used the same technique last year and it reduced my stress immensely. I know people who didn’t start studying for a class until a day or two before the test and ended up pulling all-nighters. Lack of sleep, regardless of if you have studied, will not help you during the test.

The test schedule is released before Christmas break so you have time to plan and strategize how to best manage your study time. The school tries to space out the tests as best as possible. Ideally there are two classes a week and with a day or two in between each test. I have been lucky so far to have such a schedule every time.

Teachers are required to release past exam papers for students to familiarize themselves with the structure and content that may be on the upcoming test. These are super helpful and guide my studying. Teachers are not, however, required to release the solutions for the past papers. I have known some of my teachers to give in and release the solutions if collectively the class asks for the solution. The teachers don’t want to give out solutions because they may use questions from past years again or at least similar ones, so year after year they don’t run out of unique questions to ask.

I mentioned a positive way of looking at finals and this is it: You have no set schedule to wake up or go into school for three weeks (besides going in for the actual test). I will only have one class, a revision lecture, for three weeks. The rest of the time I can spend in bed, in my pyjamas focused on my own work I set for myself.

But the best part of finals is when they are over! Rubix will have a great party and everyone will be hyped up after the stress is over. There is a week off to enjoy university life and be with friends. I plan on going on a road trip to Wales and hangout in the mountains for a couple days. Check out some places below! This is a real break as there are no classes, no coursework, no tests, and nothing you should be doing but can’t be bothered. It is great.