College is hard for everyone, yet for some reason, being busy becomes a competition among friends, and it seems as though whoever complains the most about their schoolwork, tends to win the argument. This is especially true during Finals Week, when students are assigned various exam dates and times. Below is the official ranking of exam time slots, ranging from best to worst, in accordance with the seven layers of Hell.
Layer One: Wednesday @ 12:30 p.m.
I do not want to know the questionable things you have had to do in order to get the golden slot of exam times, just know that I am jealous. Having an exam on a Wednesday, gives enough time for students to study for any other exams they may have earlier in the week, in addition to this one. The timing is also great, because having an exam in the middle of the day allows students to sleep in, and wake up early enough to review before the exam, if they wish to do so. Do not stress about this time slot, because odds are, you are never going to be this lucky again.
Layer Two: Tuesday @ 3:30 p.m.
The only thing that's somewhat bad about the timing of this exam, is that students may be required to adjust their bodies to taking an exam mid-afternoon, when everyday prior to the final they would be taking a nap. The exam will go by slowly, but the faster you take the exam, the quicker you can go back to sleep.
Layer Three: Thursday @ 9:30 a.m.
Okay, some may say that they don't like this time slot because they have to wake up “early", but the people that complain about this final are like the people who complain about not getting the exact car they wanted for their Sweet Sixteen. Just be thankful that you are not in your school's ROTC program, and pipe down.
Layer Four: An exam right before your plane leaves town
I never pack up my belongings until I am completely done with exams, but I have had a few out-of-state friends who have been unfortunate enough to take an exam and have to speed to the airport immediately afterwards. The problem with this exam, is that you can never truly focus on studying because you are preoccupied with wondering if you remembered to pack your iPhone 5 charger, instead of taking the exam.
Layer Five: Having an exam at 8:30 p.m., then another the next morning at 7:30 a.m.
This actually happened to me last semester, and the thing that's hard about taking these exams, is the lack of time in between each one. What will ultimately happen, is you will have to choose one exam to study for over another, because you will be too tired after the night exam to study for the morning exam. I don't wish this torture on even my worst enemy.
Layer Six: Monday @ 7:30 a.m.
Real talk: no one is prepared for the first exam of Finals Week, because many have not accepted the fact it is Finals Week until Monday morning. If you have this cruel and unusual punishment of an early morning exam, and you manage to not sleep through your alarms, you will still be exhausted when you take the exam. At least you'll get it over with, and be one step closer to summer.
And finally, the worst exam time slot is...
Layer Seven: Friday @ 5:30 p.m.
There is nothing, let me repeat, nothing, worse than this exam time. Sure, it doesn't sound that bad, but this is the illusion of the exam time. The final is so far away, that you can push off studying until later, right? Wrong.
You will be forced to help your friends move out of their apartments, because you apparently have time to kill, but when they leave, all you can think about as you try to study is that you are going to have no one to hangout with this summer once you return to your hometown. Some may consider the Friday exam to be additional time, to study material you may not know, but come on, if you don't know it by Finals Week, you won't learn it during Finals Week. An even worse scenario is that you know all the material backwards and forwards, but because you have reviewed it so many times, you find yourself bored during the exam, which then causes you to not pay close attention to details, and you mess up, as a result. By the time your last final roles around, you will be so burnt out from the past semester, that your brain will be fried. Then, tears will slowly trickle down your face, and you will resist the urge to sob in the middle of the testing center.
No matter what your last final exam time may be, you will walk out of your last final both glad it is over, and sad that the semester went by as quickly as it did. You then realize that you would do anything to go back to syllabus week.
This is the hell of Finals Week, and I will pray for you.
