During this time of year, students are rushing to increase and maintain their grades and study for the last tests of their first semester classes. As finals approach, students begin to prepare for them and most of them are not excited about it. A lot of the time, students feel stressed, overwhelmed, and reluctant to take them. To many, this feels like a time where they can either make or break their first semester grades permanently.  

“I think finals are so stressful,” junior Yamato Caldwell said. “It just feels like my letter grade that I have kept the entire semester could change based off of just one test. On the other hand, I do like that they give me an opportunity to get any grades up before the semester ends,” he said, showing that there can be a good side to taking finals.  

Others have a more pessimistic view of finals. For most students, there is more of an emphasis on getting a good grade as opposed to actually learning the material given to them. For senior Justin Parry, he believes that finals should not be what seems like the main factor in student’s final grades. “I hate them. I only have like two finals, but I don’t like the two-hour classes that comes with them. I’m confident I’ll do well on both of the finals I have, but I don’t think any student, or anyone, actually wants to take finals,” Parry said. “I just don’t think we should do them. People worry more about their grades on a final rather than remembering the information that’s on the final in the long run.”  

Students that do not want to take finals are not alone, but “it is important to set aside time to study so you can really understand the material on the test and do well,” senior Jana Willems said when describing how to prepare for finals, a sentiment that all students can use for this year’s first semester finals, and many more to come in the future. Good luck to all our students next week taking their finals, and study hard!