Final Exams 2012

[Hallavast]

It's getting close to the end of the fall semester, and final exams, projects and presentations abound!

Stop by and share your frustrations, fears, worries and rage!

Conversely, if you're one of those disgustingly efficient people who has NOT procrastinated until the last minute, stop by and rub the rest of our faces in your calm attitude of solace and relief.

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Personally, I've written, edited, reformatted and designed at least 50 ppt slides, charts, graphs and papers in the last 2 weeks. I haven't slept for more than 4 hours in the last 2 days, and I have two presentations due in 6 hours with a comprehensive final exam on business law tomorrow morning. I'm exhausted.

:smallsigh:

But the funny thing is: I can't sleep! :smallsmile:

Something tells me my presentation(s) this afternoon will be a bit more inane than I might have imagined. The thought makes me giggle uncontrollably.

So here I am!

[Castaras]

I don't have exams until January. So I'm not starting to revise for them until after Christmas finishes (which'll be new years day, most likely).

[noparlpf]

I'm one of those disgusting people who procrastinates, doesn't study enough, doesn't care all that much, and still usually passes. And I usually sleep eight or ten hours a night.

My final presentation in Spanish last year was pretty funny, though. I didn't really prepare, didn't bring up a note-card or paper to read from like everyone else did, and I totally winged it. And I actually fell asleep mid-sentence because I hadn't been able to fall asleep the previous night and hadn't gotten any sleep. I don't remember any of it, but I got at least a B on the presentation.

Right now all I really have to deal with is a US History paper to write. And that's a huge drag. But I'm moving tonight, so obviously I won't get much done today. That's due Tuesday evening. Then I have an Intro Neurobio final on Friday. Studying for that means re-reading my notes and the lecture slides once or twice. Maybe go through the practice exam if the profs upload one for the final like they have for the last two. Then P-Chem the following Tuesday, and studying for that will be some mix of going through previous exams (prof says the final will look a lot like problems on previous exams) and pretending like I know what I'm doing and I don't have to study. Mostly the latter as studying is a drag.

[Morbis Meh]

I shall rub it in because I finished my degree and no longer have exams at all, HUZZAH! Though I usually finished my presentations/papers ahead of time but left studying for last minute... so I am only slightly disgusting :smallbiggrin:

[CoffeeIncluded]

Uuugggghhh. Physiology and organic chemistry lab tomorrow, organic chemistry Monday, and evolutionary biology Tuesday. Even though I have kept mostly on top of my work, it's organic chemistry.

[ForzaFiori]

1 exam I'm not really worried about, and 4 ten page papers, due over the course of next week. got 2 down, 2 to go. Thankfully the two I've finished were the research papers, and the other two are actually a group of smaller essays that have to total ~10 pages, so they'll be fairly simple.

[noparlpf]

Uuugggghhh. Physiology and organic chemistry lab tomorrow, organic chemistry Monday, and evolutionary biology Tuesday. Even though I have kept mostly on top of my work, it's organic chemistry.

That sounds like an awesome semester though. I'm kinda jealous. I'm switching over to biochem or maybe even straight bio with just a minor in chem, depending on how things work out in the next two semesters, so I finally get to take more of those bio courses.

[Zaggab]

This semester's final exam will be weird. Apparently, it's going to be an oral exam, 2x45 minutes with 4 questions total, taken from everything we've read this semester. I'm used to 6-hour exams where you have to write until the paper's burning. Oh, and the questions we get will only cover 2 out of 4 areas we've studied this semester, so half of what I've learned won't even be examinated. If only I had some way of knowing which subjects I'm being tested on before the exam...

I have no idea if I'm supposed to be happy about it being less work, or fearful of failing because I get 1 question I was unprepared for. Oh, and which professors you have as examinators will be super important. Some professors would pass you even though you just confabulated everything, and there's at least 1 professor that would fail you for using the commonly used word for something, instead of the technical term.

[Deathkeeper]

I have three finals on Monday, and one a week from today.
Oh, and you know the game Battleship? I have to program a game to work just like it. Start and finish today. I hate Python.

[Don Julio Anejo]

Uuugggghhh. Physiology and organic chemistry lab tomorrow, organic chemistry Monday, and evolutionary biology Tuesday. Even though I have kept mostly on top of my work, it's organic chemistry.
Hey, O-Chem is awesome :smile: Our prof pretty much gave us a pathway for making meth. Our final exam also included devising an alternate pathway for making meth.. :amused:

As for exams... 2 tomorrow (hence I'm on this site), 1 more on Saturday and the last one on Sunday. Yep, about 40% of my entire semester's grade for all my classes depends on the next 3 days.

PS: noparlpf, biochem and bio with a minor in chem are nowhere near the same thing. Bio a lot of the time deals with macro (i.e. population management, ecosystems, etc), sometimes anatomy & physiology and has a little biochemistry, mostly the genomics/molecular biology part while skipping the lab work. Biochem is micro level stuff: individual molecules like sugars and amino acids, polymer chains like DNA or proteins (this is about 80% of your stuff) and cell mechanisms (i.e. transport). Both have about the same amount of chemistry (usually a year of organic + a year of inorganic + a few other classes like analytical chem and/or thermodynamics). A full minor in chem will mean at least an extra 3-8 chem classes and a lot more math.

[Mikhailangelo]

No exams, just dissertation dissertation and dissertation.

And I have to say, I am getting somewhat tired about reading about dead babies.

Which makes me wonder why I am applying to continue researching cases involving them...

[noparlpf]

Hey, O-Chem is awesome :smile: Our prof pretty much gave us a pathway for making meth. Our final exam also included devising an alternate pathway for making meth.. :amused:

Similarly, my Orgo prof explicitly told us which page of which older edition of a lab book had a procedure for synthesising I think PCP.
Unfortunately neither is useful because both are really nasty.


PS: noparlpf, biochem and bio with a minor in chem are nowhere near the same thing. Bio a lot of the time deals with macro (i.e. population management, ecosystems, etc), sometimes anatomy & physiology and has a little biochemistry, mostly the genomics/molecular biology part while skipping the lab work. Biochem is micro level stuff: individual molecules like sugars and amino acids, polymer chains like DNA or proteins (this is about 80% of your stuff) and cell mechanisms (i.e. transport). Both have about the same amount of chemistry (usually a year of organic + a year of inorganic + a few other classes like analytical chem and/or thermodynamics). A full minor in chem will mean at least an extra 3-8 chem classes and a lot more math.

Actually here the classes I'd have to take would overlap quite a bit. Which one I actually pick depends more on if I figure out what I'm doing with my life. And I don't mind math, I'm finishing P-Chem I this semester and taking Linear Algebra (I've been trying to take it since freshman year but it keeps being at the same time as other things) and P-Chem II next semester. Which probably means Inorganic and Biochem and whatever labs together next year. I'm pretty sure that after next semester I'll have finished the requirements for this school's Chem minor. The only reason I'm thinking of switching from the Chem major is that I want to take more Bio courses too. Both the macro and micro stuff.

[CoffeeIncluded]

Hey, O-Chem is awesome :smile: Our prof pretty much gave us a pathway for making meth. Our final exam also included devising an alternate pathway for making meth.. :amused:

As for exams... 2 tomorrow (hence I'm on this site), 1 more on Saturday and the last one on Sunday. Yep, about 40% of my entire semester's grade for all my classes depends on the next 3 days.

PS: noparlpf, biochem and bio with a minor in chem are nowhere near the same thing. Bio a lot of the time deals with macro (i.e. population management, ecosystems, etc), sometimes anatomy & physiology and has a little biochemistry, mostly the genomics/molecular biology part while skipping the lab work. Biochem is micro level stuff: individual molecules like sugars and amino acids, polymer chains like DNA or proteins (this is about 80% of your stuff) and cell mechanisms (i.e. transport). Both have about the same amount of chemistry (usually a year of organic + a year of inorganic + a few other classes like analytical chem and/or thermodynamics). A full minor in chem will mean at least an extra 3-8 chem classes and a lot more math.

Oh no, it's great. It's just stressful as hell. But I knew what I was getting into this semester. And next; sophomore year for prevets (It's like premed, but with an even greater twitchy-eyed obsession with your GPA since there's only 28 vet schools in the US!) is generally pretty stressful. And yeah, noparlpf, he's mostly right.

[noparlpf]

Oh no, it's great. It's just stressful as hell. But I knew what I was getting into this semester. And next; sophomore year for prevets (It's like premed, but with an even greater twitchy-eyed obsession with your GPA since there's only 28 vet schools in the US!) is generally pretty stressful. And yeah, noparlpf, he's mostly right.

Yeah, one of my friends is prevet.
See previous post. Don't know what I want to do with life yet, do know I want to study both the macro and micro aspects of Bio right now, therefore undecided major and studying some of both.

[Haruki-kun]

I am on of those disgustingly efficient people whose disgustingly efficient teachers had him meet milestones for his projects twice a week until the actual deadline, so no, I haven't procrastinated. :smalltongue:

[noparlpf]

Got back my third midterm for P-Chem for which I didn't study at all. Got an 87.5, and only eight students in the entire class got above an 80, with an average of 46 and a median of about 44.
Not quite a final but it's a good morale boost for the upcoming finals.

[Astral Avenger]

I have a Political science midterm/final for tuesday, only worth 20% of my final grade and I got 19/20 on the two previous midterms, so that should be a breeze.
Microecon has a 60 question multiple choice final in about a week and a half, also going to be very easy based on previous tests.
Calc 2 isn't even worth studying for, last test I got 87, with a class mean of 63 and standard deviation of 19.2, so I am procrastinating without fear

Life is easy when you only have 3 easy classes because of scheduling :smallbiggrin:

[Balain]

I have three exam, starting the 13th, and rushing to finish 4 assignments by Monday, while I'm sick. Ughhh.... I guess the good thing the course I have my lowest mark in is the last one to write so more time to study for it.

[Hallavast]

Update: 3/5 done! Phew. Turned in both presentations and got the A for Business Law.

I have a little time for a nice rest. Then back to the grind tomorrow. 1 more paper and 1 more exam.

Glad I'm not alone. <3

Good luck, everyone!

[pffh]

Last final, drug law and regulations (law text is the most boring text I've ever read), in 9 hours and 40 minutes (aka tomorrow morning) going to sleep now and then I'm free from finals season forever!

My next two terms, which are my last terms ever, won't have a final season instead they'll just teach one subject at a time, finish it, have the final exam and then start the next subject

[Gerkuman]

It's weird to think that I graduated from University only 1 and 1/2 years ago. In some ways it doesn't feel like long, but in other ways it feels like forever.

I'd like to wish everyone here facing exams and coursework all the best.

[SaintRidley]

Just have to finish a paper. Almost there.

[Astral Avenger]

3 hours until calc final, starting to study and get a little nervous... why past me, WHY?

[CoffeeIncluded]

Ahaha, my grades are starting to trickle in...I fell flat on my face on the final in animal physiology (blanked out on a whole section and only got around the mean), but my highest-score-in-the-class on the second exam salvaged my A. I wasn't expecting to get an A in organic chemistry lab; I was settling for a B-. :smalleek: My organic chemistry grade should be coming in today, and I won't be happy with anything less than an A. Preferably an A+.

[noparlpf]

Finished my US History in-class essay, finished my Intro Neurobio with a solid A, and I just have P-Chem left on Tuesday evening.

[Grytorm]

Saw this thread today. Took my finals a week or two or so. They didn't go amazingly well, (First year in college). Had no idea where the first one was. Arrived half an hour late crying and in a panic.

[Slipperychicken]

Two papers, three finals this week. Neither of them are really research papers, since I did all the research long ago.

I'm toggling back and forth between the papers, studying, chatting, reading news, and posting in the 3.5 and Roleplaying forums. So I'm not really procrastinating, but it sure looks like it.


Saw this thread today. Took my finals a week or two or so. They didn't go amazingly well, (First year in college). Had no idea where the first one was. Arrived half an hour late crying and in a panic.

In my personal experience, teachers give me a lot of slack if I show up late. Mainly because I never skip class and they regard me as a good student. My GPA tends to hover around 90, so maybe they're right about the "good student" bit.

[warty goblin]

Only had two finals and a presentation this semester. On the other hand I was sick as a dog for the last three weeks, which didn't help. Still, think I did OK, by which I mean somewhere north of the median. Nice thing about grad school, at this point in the educational process pretty much everybody who isn't good at what they do, and serious about doing has already been weeded out. Nobody gets 100% anymore, and coming under the median a lot of the time isn't even really that worrying.

Besides, the qualifying exams are where they'll get anybody really not up to it.

[WarKitty]

I have a pile of those things to grade. Waiting for the first "but I needed a B" or whatever to show up in my inbox.

[DraPrime]

I have defeated all of my exams. Today was my last one, Latin. I was lucky with that one. The professor told us right before we took it that it couldn't hurt our grade. In other words, the whole exam was extra credit. That will do me wonders.

[Forrestfire]

I had three final exams, one each in Calculus 2, Chemistry 101, and Economics.

The only one I was worried about was the Chemistry exam, but I crammed pretty hard (after light studying the weeks before) the day before each one.

I got a 93% on my Calc exam, some undetermined (but still good) grade on my Econ final, and a 68.3% on my Chem final :smalleek: the average was a 67 so I feel a bit better but still... I hated that class's tests.

Thankfully, the extra credit pileup over the semester bumped my final's percentage by 10 points, so it averaged my final grade to a B-.

I also pulled my first all-nighter the night before my Economics exam. My sleep schedule had kinda rolled over and there was no way I would not sleep through all my alarms, so I stayed up all night alternating studying, league of legends, and skateboarding in my dorm parking lot.

So glad my semester is over.

[warty goblin]

I have a pile of those things to grade. Waiting for the first "but I needed a B" or whatever to show up in my inbox.

Grading may have replaced pulling the membranes off the inside of pork ribs as my least favorite task in the known universe. At least with the ribs there's a sense of a job well done. All grading gives me is a deeper appreciation of the depths of human failure.

Particularly the failure that goes into the statement 'this means we are 95% confident 45 is between 41 and 49."

[TFT]

I screwed up this semester. Hard.

I didn't put any effort into studying, skipped out on more classes then I should have, and didn't really do much homework. And it came back. Hard. Night 2 of cramming followed by as much studying as possible the next 3 nights while I can is just starting(Including reading King Lear in it's entirety). Even if I somehow miraculously pass all of my classes, I realized how much I had been skirting by the last few semesters with less and less effort into classes. I really need to turn over a new leaf the next one.

Oh well, back to studying.

[WarKitty]

Grading may have replaced pulling the membranes off the inside of pork ribs as my least favorite task in the known universe. At least with the ribs there's a sense of a job well done. All grading gives me is a deeper appreciation of the depths of human failure.

Particularly the failure that goes into the statement 'this means we are 95% confident 45 is between 41 and 49."

Yeah. I've definitely seen a few fun ones. The evaluations can be even funnier - the number of students I get that seem irritated at being expected to display skills beyond regurgitation of random facts is depressing.

[warty goblin]

Yeah. I've definitely seen a few fun ones. The evaluations can be even funnier - the number of students I get that seem irritated at being expected to display skills beyond regurgitation of random facts is depressing.

Honestly I'd be happy if my stat students could progress to regurgitating facts correctly. Sometimes I think the real reason they make grad students grade etc is so that we develop an appropriate terror of statistics done by anybody without an Ph.D.

[ShadowFireLance]

Ah, I did'nt even have to do any, Rubbing that in faces...And Im still in School..:smallwink:

[CoffeeIncluded]

Heh. All but one of my grades came in. A+, A, A, A+. One of the A+'s is in organic chemistry. My GPA's above a 4.0. Anything other than an A+ in this last class will actually lower it. :smallamused: