Hello everyone!
It’s finally here—the last week of classes. This semester felt endless at times, and yet I still feel like I arrived on campus a few days ago. But it’s a fact that classes are almost over, and that the final exams are here.
A good luck drawing I saw in the Science Center
Before exams start though, we have a few days of reading period. It’s a total of 4 days, including the weekend, between the LDOC (a very popular acronym for ‘last day of classes’) and the first day of finals. Campus feels a bit surreal during this time because everyone is studying, it’s almost impossible to find a spot in the library, and everything feels very quiet. You can almost taste the concentration and the hard work in the air around you.
Studying in the Science Center
I have four final exams this semester. Three of them are in-person and self-scheduled, and one of them is a fixed, online one. In Wellesley, exams can be in-person or online and fixed or self-scheduled. This allows for greater flexibility, and it’s possible because of our Honor Code that binds us to honesty and integrity.
I think that the difference between in-person and online exams is easy to understand—some exams you take while being physically present in an exam room, while the online exams you can take from wherever you are. The idea of fixed and self-scheduled exams is a bit trickier. Having a fixed exam means that you can only take it in a specific time slot. Basically, during exam periods, Wellesley has three exam sessions per day during every day of the final exams period—one in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one at night. For a fixed exam, your professor has decided that everyone in the class has to take the exam on a specific day during a specific exam session. For me, my Spanish exam is fixed and online, meaning that I have to take it on Monday, during the night session, from a place of my choice (that place will probably be my room).
Self-scheduled exams are a bit different. The majority of exams are self-scheduled, so that people have the freedom to decide their schedule and make travel plans as early as possible. With those exams, you can show up to take your exams during any session and day. For example, I am planning on taking my math exam on Monday during the morning session. I will show up to the Science Center at 8 am, walk up to the people handing out the exams, tell them my name and which exam I want to take, and then walk into one of the many rooms designated for exam taking. When I am done with the exam or when my time is up, I will bring the exam back to the same people and leave. I will do the same for my two other exams in the next couple of days.
I honestly love this system of administering exams because it gives you a lot of freedom, and it removes a part of the stress. Again, this system is only possible because of the Honor Code and the fact that we follow it and hold each other accountable.
Pretty view from the campus
That’s it from me for this week and the semester. I will be going back home to Bulgaria in two weeks, which I am really excited about. Stay safe, and I hope you have a happy and restful holiday season!