As the libraries fill up, final exams loom, and uncertainty hangs heavy in the air around grading and graduation, this April exam season is bringing back bad memories for some Journal staff.
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In second year, I was taking a history exam for a class that I took with my class crush. Before the exam, we met up and he asked for half my bagel while we were studying. I said yes, but he didn’t know that the bagel was my dinner.
Later on, during the exam, I ended up running out of the gym to throw up and out because I hadn’t eaten all day. I did very poorly on the test. That boy is now my boyfriend.
—Sarah Eklove, Opinions Editor
My first university exam was for SOCY 122. I never studied much in high school, but I worked pretty hard for this exam, and I felt confident I’d do well.
After the exam I sent a Snapchat to someone saying, “first uni exam ever. predicting a 90 i’m LIKE that.” Upon receiving my grade, I was not satisfied with my B-. I still did alright in the class though.
—Jonathan Reilly, Assistant News Editor
Like many first-year arts students, I took ENGL 100. The full-year course started in person before being moved online in the Winter semester. Our Fall exam was scheduled in-person initially, but that December, the University announced they were shifting all in-person exams to an “alternative delivery format” due to concerns of rising COVID-19 cases. The exam was moved online, and I wrote it from the comfort of my family home.
January rolled around, and my classmates started getting their grades back. I waited. And waited. Two weeks ed, and still, nothing. I finally collected the courage to e-mail my professor, convinced I had somehow messed up, even though I couldn’t pinpoint how. His reply was quick and cryptic: he wanted to meet. He listed his availability, and I, riddled with anxiety, picked the earliest option—8 a.m. the next morning. I barely slept that night.
When we met, he got straight to the point. In my exam, we were allowed to cite course content, but for one sentence, I had forgotten to include a citation. A minor slip, but technically plagiarism. He assured me he knew it was likely an accident, and I jumped to confirm it was. Why didn’t he me you ask? He wanted me to feel that gnawing uncertainty, the stress of not knowing, and the fear of having done something wrong, because if I ever plagiarized for real, the stakes would be much higher.
At the time, I thought making me reach out to learn that lesson was a bit spineless. But needless to say, I’ve been hyper-aware of citations ever since, whether my exams are online or in person.
—Skylar Soroka, Editor in Chief
The PSYC 100 online exam wasn’t so much a nightmare, but an uncomfortable bad dream of an exam—one I’m sure many of us had back in first year. I’ll never forget the mental image of a gloomy winter morning: my roommate and I, hunched over at our desks on opposite sides of the dorm.
With separate white noise audios blasting in our ears, we charged through the never-ending multiple-choice questions as three hours speedily ticked by. It was an unconventional exam experience, but one that has definitely stuck with me.
—Katharine Sung, Editorials Editor
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