Exams

The joy of exams. As advertised, exams at Darden are 5-hours long, open notes. That should be a piece of cake right? In theory yes, but consider some other facts: all exams are graded on a curve, this is typically the only graded material for a course, most exams take about an hour to read. Does it feel less fun yet?

On the upside, most students (myself included) take exams in the comfort of our own home. The conveniences of this make a big difference. No coughing or gasping of fellow students. No 10-minute walks to the nearest bathroom. What really takes it's toll is when you've studies all weekend (including Friday), nights in between exams, and then take 25 hours worth of exams. The glazed look on people's faces by Friday is crazy.

Pressures are different and a lot of them are self imposed but sometimes not. There are restrictions on grades and it is possible to fail out of b-school despite rumors to the contrary. Further, there are a fair number of people on scholarship with requirements about academic performance. Ahhh pressure.

Exams for semester one finished yesterday. Downtown Charlottesville emptied of undergraduates earlier this week leaving the rest of us to make up the difference last night. It was nice going out last night and feeling like I knew 75% of the city. Of course, that's because anyone who was left in town last night was out celebrating. Finishing one of the notoriously most challenging semesters is a big accomplishment. As I turned in my last exam yesterday I certainly had a sense of pride. I gave several high-fives to classmates yesterday and I think we're all proud. It's now time to take a month to relax and recharge.