Studying for exams is probably the biggest waste of time for me right now. I have a project I want to start working on, I have about 10 grand I need to save by January (not gonna happen) and there is plenty of TV I need to catch up on.
Why then, over the past few days have I been cramming like crazy for exams? Because I need to pass them to get my degree.
BUT in the long run what will this cramming do? absolutely nothing. Everything 'important' in the subject has already stuck from tutorials and lectures, and all the little things that I need to cram in my brain will be forgotten about 2 hours after I walk out of that exam, talk to everyone about how stupid the questions were, and start cramming for my exam on Friday.
My parents are always telling me (well mostly my Mum because she seems to care about my uni grades) that back when she was in Uni she was studying for exams like a month in advance learning everything. Today cramming is a skill, and going back to my tests in year 7, the night before was always spent thinking about how screwed I am for the test, and then always pulling through with pretty decent scores.
Anywho I should probably get back to cramming for this Sports Marketing exam tomorrow morning. Wish me luck.
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3 comments:
Hi Simon, it’s your “university nemesis” here …
It is not always about passing the exam. Sure it serves a purpose by testing your knowledge but take a second to look past purely how you find this inconvenient and think about what you could learn from the situation.
It is as much about passing the exam as it is about you learning to plan your time, prioritise etc. This is what work is all about. Imagine if I told my boss that I would write the 4 proposals due all next week just before they are due? He’d say get your shit in a pile because all those things you think are important are not important at all” e.g. you watching t.v.! Record it for after exams or download it later.
You need a plan for if things go wrong. What happens if family emergencies occur or you are sick? Sure the uni would hold your hand on this occasion but when you are a big boy and have a full-time job that just won’t cut-it. Sure people step in and help but if you had a proposal brief on your desk for 6 weeks and hadn’t done any work on it, then fell sick, but told your co-workers “oh well, I was just gonna do it at the last minute but you can fit it in can’t you?” well … ummm … I am pretty sure they would injure you
Regards
PS – listen to your mother
I can relate- It is even worse when you are not sure you are studying the right degree!
Yeah, exams are a bore. The system is seriously flawed at the undergrad level because it's set up for turnover rather than quality and for teaching skills that were okay for the old economy, but not up to the mark for the new.
What is great to see however is how you have not let this get in the way of your learning - you have actually taken control through questioning and taking initiative in becoming involved in more hand-on learning activities. That makes you a top student in my book, regardless of what 'grade' the system eventually gives you!
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