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Fear of Finals

There may be no more dreaded word for a college student to hear than "finals."

At the end of every semester, students are tested. Not just any test - the final test.

It is almost a ritual, brought back from time forgot - a time is set, usually after the sky has turned black and the moon has begun to rise, and a place is reserved, usually in a cramped, claustrophobic area with only the eerie glow of fluorescent lighting for comfort.

There are also consequences for not doing well on the final, or worst of all, not showing up - one's whole grade can be dropped to nothingness, thereby lowering the grade point average to below scholarship levels, creating a subculture of the damned.

The finals create sleepless nights for many, turning students into shambling un-dead with the wailing mantra of "must study" emanating from their weakened throats.

Then again, perhaps finals are the most sane and friendly way to determine the knowledge acquired by a student during the semester.

Wildlife decided to pose a question on those who must face the finals - the students. The question was "Do you think too much emphasis is placed on finals?"

"Oh yeah, I definitely think that way too much emphasis is placed on finals because based on one test, you could just have a bad day or be really stressed out at that time. Then, because of the finals, your whole class grade plummets if you do bad on the final. So I think what you do during the semester should be weighed more heavily." Jennifer Medina Ecology/Evolutionary Biology Sophomore

"Yeah, I think so. I think that the course is so much longer that there should be more emphasis throughout the course, and then just on finals. Like, most of my finals are worth 40 to 50 percent of my grade, and I think that's ridiculous." Cathie Williamson Chemistry Junior

"I think that throughout the semester, you're learning everything and you have tests every three to four weeks and those don't count as much as something at the end when they both should show equally how much that you've learned. I've seen classes where there's only a mid-term and a final. I think that doesn't accurately display how much you've learned throughout the course, because it's hard to cram for everything at the end." Sweta Batni Molecular and Cellular Biology/Psychology Junior

"I guess if it's a comprehensive final, no, because you should know the scope of the course at the end of the semester. But, if it's a final that's based on the last third of the class, then it shouldn't be a final, it should just be considered a test." Edward Shoeler Geosciences Freshman

"No, I guess if you've learned what you should've learned over the semester, they shouldn't be so bad, right? I think it depends on the teacher. If they ask you just the basics of what you should know, that they're not so bad, but some of these teachers go digging and it's ridiculous. It's the end of the semester, you shouldn't be expected to remember every detail." Teri Marscovetra Physics/Astronomy Senior