Students Express Concerns About Final Exams
Semo Ongondo

With the fall semester coming to an end, students are starting preparations for the grueling week of finals. Since the last day of classes is just a little more than a week away students are looking at the final exam schedule and trying to figure out how to manage their time wisely. Final exams have always been known as one of the horrendous experiences that college students go through and most UMASS Lowell students seem to agree. Though the University has tried to lessen the stress by dubbing Wednesday, December 15, as "reading day," there is still a lot of pressure on students to succeed.

The last day of classes is Tuesday, December 14, and final exams start one day later on the 16th. Patricia Mackay, 19, has two finals on Thursday the 16th, and said she feels that, "they should at least give students the weekend to study, especially because all my finals are cumulative and that's like a whole semester of information. I think they should give you options for different days you can take the final not just one set day."

Another concern students are having is the fact that their final exams account for so much of their final grades. Jennifer Gabriel, A sophomore at UMASS Lowell, said, "It's not fair that finals count for so much, there is no way to remember everything and put it all down on paper." That seems to be a popular opinion among the student's here at UMASS. Mackay said, "In one of my classes the final counts for half of my grade. If I fail this then I fail the class, I think it's unfair." It does seem that some teachers on campus do understand the pressures of testing so some students are getting other assignments, such as papers or group projects to count as their final grade. David Yeomans, a current freshman, said "In three of my classes instead of finals we have to write a 5-7 page paper, I prefer this much more."

Most UMASS Lowell students aren't having scheduling conflicts with their finals but there is concern about the fact that finals are scheduled on Saturday, December 18. Gabriel said, "I think it's really unfair and unnecessary. We don't have classes on Saturdays why should we take finals?" Yeomans agreed saying, "I think they should only be scheduled only on weekdays. Saturday is not a day for testing in my eyes, also many students have jobs and the finals interfere with that."

To compensate for the stress students are feeling a lot of preparation is being done before taking exams. Looking over old tests and notes are popular ways to get ready for finals. Some professors are helping students prepare and lessening their stress level by using the last class as a review, but some professors aren't as aware for the need to review. Mackay said, "I'm stressed because I feel like none of my teachers have talked about the information on the finals and I don't know what to expect." For now UMASS students are learning to cope with the added stress of finals. Maybe at some point during their college careers the University will reevaluate some of its policies and lessen the stress on students.