You have probably heard about finals week in general – probably in the form of some horror story including sleep deprivation, gallons of coffee, and impossible exams. Well, I am here to tell you that while those stories may be true for some people, it is definitely not the norm. In my opinion finals week is, dare I say it, actually kind of…fun!
I know what you are thinking – “This girl is a crazy nerd…or just plain crazy” – hear me out though. During the semester you have to balance so many things at once, going to classes, doing readings, writing papers, any extracurricular activities, taking care of yourself, and taking exams. It can get overwhelming, especially if your midterms line up at the same time like most tend to. Finals week is nothing like this. You have three things to balance: studying, taking exams, and self-care. When the entire campus (and even much of the surrounding community) is focused in on this one thing, it is a lot easier to knock finals week out of the park than typical horror stories lead you to believe.
Some basics about finals week at Grove City College before we jump in: Regular semester classes always run through Wednesday, with night classes taking their final during their typical class times during that week (night classes only run on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings). Thursday is study day, meaning that there are no classes that day and that there are no final exams scheduled during that day. The first exam time is 7 p.m. on Thursday evening. Starting with Friday there are three final slots a day on Friday, Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday at 9 a.m., 2 p.m., and 7 p.m. Final times are assigned by the Registrar based on what time classes meet during the semester.
The Good
As I just said, you only have three things to balance during finals week, which is a lot different than your typical week in any given semester. Along with this, the entire campus and even a lot of the surrounding community is all in your corner.
The first day of our official finals week is “Study Day.” Study Day is the last Thursday of the semester, and no classes or exams run on this day until the first final exam time slot at 7 p.m. The entire campus community surrounds Grove City College students on this day with support – there are rooms open across campus for studying and several offices provide snacks and coffee free of charge throughout the day; several local churches open their doors to college students for a place to study and to relax, and some even provide a home cooked meal during this time. The library even brings in therapy dogs in the afternoon!
Our Student Government Association (SGA) sponsors a Moonlight Breakfast every semester which takes place at 9 p.m. – right after the first final exam slot. This is one of my favorite parts of finals week – there is almost an excited buzz in the dining hall as everyone comes together to share food and take a break from studying. This event brings the campus together and creates a sense of unity like nothing else.
For the rest of finals week you simply have to balance studying, taking exams, and packing to go home. There are no final exams scheduled on Sunday, so this is a great day to go to church, rest, relax, and spend time with friends before heading home.
The Bad
Finals week does not have its bad reputation for no reason, but it really is not as terrible as it sounds. A negative to finals week is that your finals schedule is pretty set in stone based on your class schedule – each class time is assigned a final exam time before the semester even starts. The only way to have an exam time changed is if you end up with three exams scheduled within a 24 hour period. This can cause frustrations for some people who want to leave campus earlier rather than later, but is not a huge problem if you look at your finals schedule when making travel plans.
At a certain point, generally later on in the week, you just want to take the exam and be done. Sometimes there is only so much studying you can do, and, unfortunately, even when you are done studying you may have to wait to take the exam. This can make for some times of boredom right before your exam. My suggestion to avoid this is to plan some study breaks throughout the week so that these pockets of time can be used as effective times to recharge, rather than an anxious waiting period right before your exam.
While the dining hall often starts finals week strong with nutritious meals and lots of comfort food, the end of the week can be a different story. As the campus empties out, so does the dining hall, and sometimes you need to get a bit creative with the different options to create a full meal – but it is possible.
The Ugly
Let’s face it, for most of the campus finals week is not a pretty time. Laundry gets put off and “stress mess” in dorm rooms is a real phenomenon. This is not true of everyone, though – sometimes cleaning and presenting yourself well is a huge stress relief. If you are a messy stress kind of person, though, it is okay, you are in good company.
As long as we are talking about appearances with “the ugly” I should mention that our campus is actually beautiful during both finals weeks of the year. In December it is decorated for Christmas and there is often snow on the ground that makes for a beautiful winter scene and in May the quad is bright with green grass and the trees are full of leaves. There is not a point in the year where the campus scenery would fit into the category of “ugly”.
Finals Week: Overall
So you will survive finals week, and you may even enjoy it. It really is all about attitude during finals – take care of yourself, focus on the good, work hard, and it will all be okay.
