Ending on a Good Note
I enjoy finals week. I’m not sure how many other students will agree with me on that one, but honestly I do. With the semester coming to a close, I can finally stop worrying about mid-semester projects and papers and focus on a much easier task: studying endlessly for a two-hour test. Maybe it has to do with the way engineering professors teach classes that makes the weekend before finals much less stressful. There were points in the semester where I would have a lab report to write, a lab class to make up, and circuit theory homework assignment to stress over all in one night. Then the next week, repeat. By the time I walked out of my last class on Friday, I felt relieved to just go back to my apartment and not think about any assignments due Monday. Clearly the busiest days were over, and compared to writing VHDL code to create a timer and loading it onto the FPGA chip, studying for a written exam sounded much, much better.
I think my method of studying is a little more entertaining, too. Through the semester if I had a test I would review the night before on my own and usually score a good grade. Nothing too elaborate or creative, just reviewing some old notes or writing out a study guide. Finals are a different story, though. Not only do they cover more material (a whole semester’s worth) but they are worth anywhere from 30-40 percent of your grade—a little daunting to think about, and I had no desire to retake circuit theory next year.
With a change of tests, then, comes a change in strategy. Mine is simple, too: find an empty class room, bring a group of guys who are studying for the same test, and get on it. The great thing about engineering classes is that they want you to work in groups for homework since teamwork is important in the engineering field. I would like to think, then, that I’m only furthering my pursuit of becoming a professional engineer by having these group studies, no matter how much fun I have along the way. For this semester, I met up with two friends at the engineering building and studied a solid five hours for one final. When it comes to studying, I normally have the attention span of 3-year-old, which shows just how effective groups are for me. It definitely has to be the hard desks and whiteboards that keep me focused. Surprising how much work can get done when you’re not in your warm apartment with unlimited access to cereal and animal crackers. The productivity of any study environment is directly proportional to the availability of (or lack there of) bite sized snacks. Common college knowledge.
I don’t know how good my final grades will be, but I definitely felt prepared for them. Studying doesn’t have to be boring if you don’t want to be. I never want it that way so I do what I can to avoid it. On Monday, I was studying with four other engineers for about eight hours, which sounds horrible, but with the right music (Doin it Wright by Daft Punk) and the right group of friends, you can relearn topics well and laugh about it along the way. Finals week is the best.
3 Comments
http://multigonka.com.ua/index.php?go_id=rubarts&r_id=10
http://www.muaythai.org.ua/index.php/novosti/611-itogi-finala-kubka-ukrainy-2019
http://sarb.in.ua/explore/russkij-stil/item/381-vospominaniya-o-proshedshih-sborah-v-deneshah.html