This week at Wells was mid-term week. Well, this week and next week but all of mine were this week. In high school, we had mid-terms, but it was never anything like this. At Wells I stayed up past my usual bedtime (11 pm) and studied until past midnight most nights. I know that isn't that late but this was the first crazy experience with midterms I've had.
I'm a science major, but I am also planning to minor in international studies. I had midterms for both of these classes and they were like night and day. For my international studies class there was an essay, which actually killed me, and a super extensive test. For my anatomy class there was just a super simple test. Studying for both tests was also a really different experience. For the science class all the information was super straight forward and in the notes. For my humanities class I went to three TA hour sessions, studied at home by myself, and still didn't feel 100% confident on the day of the test.
After taking the tests, I do have several complaints, especially about the test for my international studies class. On the international study test there were ten (WOW) short answer questions and we were supposed to finish them all in an hour. I barely finished, but my other friend in the class got halfway through them. In hindsight, I should've done the test on my computer, but I thought I could hand write it all. I am lucky, though, because of Wells's honor code. The honor code allows students to take their tests practically anywhere and on their computers as long as they don't lie, cheat, steal, or conceal. It's super helpful for those who have test anxiety, so I'm a big fan of it. For the anatomy mid-term though, we weren't allowed to take the test wherever we wanted. This really sucked because my class of fifty people could barely fit in our largest lecture room. Even though the test was very easy to finish in the amount of time we had, I wish I would've been able to take it somewhere else other than the classroom.
Overall the tests both went well. I couldn't believe the difference in testing styles between a humanities class and a science class. One thing I've learned from this experience is I am definitely glad I'm a science major! But I am really glad that I had the different experience of the humanities class as well because it taught me how to study in a way that I am not accustomed to. I also discovered that I really need to catch up on my sleep!
