After spending the last few weeks learning an abundance of information in class (or rather trying to understand what exactly my professors were talking about), and foregoing nights out in order to study at the library, it is officially that time of year…prelim season! The next few weeks will have Cornell students frantically running around campus, downing pots of coffee and fighting each other for the best seats in the library in order to survive the stress of prelims. That said, there are also a lot of things that make prelims worth the week long struggles students go through. Take a look below to see what makes students have a love-hate relationship with prelims!
Love: Generally speaking, most prelim exams will happen before add/drop period. Receiving grades back for a prelim, before add/drop period ends is the best thing about this time of year. We all get stuck in a class that we don’t exactly love taking, but need to pass in order to graduate (ie. any science class ever). Fortunately, if you don’t exactly do well on an exam (…or pass for that matter) then you will still have the option to drop the class or switch to pass/fail.
Hate: Trying to explain the meaning of the word ‘prelim’. As Cornell students, we have all experienced that annoying conversation where you are trying to tell someone about the A+ you got on your sociology prelim, only to be interrupted by that person with an interrogation of what a ‘prelim’ is and why Cornell cannot give ‘midterms’ like other colleges. For the record, a prelim is similar to a midterm, but instead of taking an exam halfway through the semester, students generally take two prelims, one a third of the way through the semester, and a second one two-thirds of the way through the semester (with a final exam at the end).
Love: Taking prelims a third and two-thirds of the way though the semester help you stay organized for the final exam. When you take big tests at staggered points throughout the semester, it is a lot easier to remember everything you have learned. You can review information in smaller increments, as opposed to trying to understand an entire semester’s content in the week before final exams.
Hate: Trying to find a place to study is like The Hunger Games – may the odds of finding a place to sit be ever in your favor. When prelim season begins, you are forced to acknowledge that unless you want to be one of those Cornell students who lines up outside the library bright and early before it opens just to secure a coveted study spot, you will most likely be left sitting on the ground.
Love: At the end of the day, you realize that you’re not in it alone when taking exams – rather, you can share your love-hate relationship for prelims with other Cornell students. Prelim exams are something that all Cornell students have in common. So when you find yourself in the library at 2AM, finishing your fourth cup of coffee and wishing you had started studying weeks prior – you know that all your friends are right there with you!
