Midterms

I’m a biology major.  I’ll be the first to tell you that I adore my major (well, most of the time, that is).  I’ll also be the first to tell you that many of our classes have tests every couple of weeks because, realistically, how else are we supposed to show that we’ve learned about and understood topics such as dorsalization, cortical rotation, somatic cell nuclear transfer, and solution preparation calculations?  (Okay, I know there are ways, but even I – as test anxious as I am – agree that tests are the simplest way to show our professors our mastery of these and other topics.)

However, I can now say that I’m taking my first midterm exam.  Yes, you heard that correctly – I’m a junior, and I’m just now taking a midterm.  Usually in my biology and chemistry courses, we have “test 3″ while everyone else is crazily cramming for an exam covering eight weeks’ worth of material.  And yes, the information that we learn definitely builds; take organic chemistry for a perfect example.  But for me, whenever I’m studying for a test, I don’t feel like I’m trying to remember x-amount of weeks’ worth of information; I’m only really trying to remember what I’ve learned since the last test.  And usually, our tests are so frequent that there isn’t an ungodly amount of information left to learn.  (Realize that I’m talking about the amount of information, not the complexity of the information here.) 

But anyways, like I said, I’ll be taking my first “real” midterm.  It is in Plant Biology, and it will be next Friday.  My friend and fellow blogger, Carly, and I already have a study schedule figured out.  But I’m still nervous.  I’ve been asked to recall a whole semester’s worth of work at the end of the semester, but I’ve never been asked to recall eight weeks’ worth. 

So wish me luck on my midterm, and I’ll do the same for you.  I know I’ll be studying like crazy for plant – that is, after I take my developmental bio test on Tuesday and my bio seminar quiz on Wednesday.

Tagged as: Biology, Midterms, plant biology

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