Ok so here’s the deal. It’s May 16th and I just took my first final exam. Um yeah that’s correct, a Saturday! I took a final at 3:30 pm on a Saturday!!! This place is INSANE!!!
The final was excruciating!!! First let back up a few weeks. I got a package in the mail from the examination office with a list of rules and regulations for the final and a form that I have to present at every exam. There were many rules and regulations. Among them were assigned seating, you may not leave within the first hour of the exam or the last 20 min, if you need to use the restroom you must raise your hand and be escorted out of the room by one of the moderators etc. etc. These finals are all essay format and you must use a pen not a pencil. Oh and you have to arrive 15 minutes early cause once the clock hits time you aren’t getting in.
So…… after stressing out and reading every textbook I could get my hands on it is time! I arrive 15 min early with my pens, admittance slip, and student id so that I may see my assign seat number. They let everyone in and repeatedly tell us no talking even though no one was talking, I was afraid to breathe little lone talk. Anyway they tell us to begin. You may now touch your booklet so I take a glance and panic struck. All around me people were busy writing. I was blank! OMG I thought what do I do??? I took a deep breath and then everything started to focus thank heavens.
So I am writing vigorously, I don’t know why because they gave us three hours but I needed to get it all out before I drew a blank again. So I am regurgitating everything I know about Roger’s theory of Personality when I get sidetracked the moderators, there were like 10 of them, were walking up and down the isles. Up and down up and down!!!! This for some reason bothered me, it made me anxious which incidentally according to Rogers anxiety stems from the incongruence or gap between your real self and your ideal self. Don’t ask there are so many theories to personality. Anyway at this point I am coming into tune with the fact that this is really really starting to irritate me, looking around no one else seems to be phased by this but really why would they be this is their norm. I don’t believe I have ever had a professor Hover over the class like that but then again we have much smaller class sizes. One point to Western
Ok to continue, periodically I would have to stop writing because my hand was starting to cramp; I will have to give Western another point for their multiple choice tests and scantron sheets Well I guess that’s sort of two more point! Anyway one hour and 45 min later I have answered three questions and filled 10 pages front and back. It’s only 5:15 what do I do? I feebelishly raise my hand to attract the attention of the moderators, she looks at me like I am crazy so I ask her if I need to give this to her. She looks at me like I’m an idiot and says well yes then she escorts me out of the room. I’m telling you they are very paranoid about academic honesty here.
Honestly it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be but it was still pretty intense! I never understood why some people got anxiety over test taking. Now I know!!! I vow here and now to never again complain about a test at home. I welcome all tests completely. This has definitely been an experience. The bad part is that I won’t know what grade I receive until the end of August
Oh so I should show you the grading scale. You are going to be amazed at this………
First Class Honours 70-100%
Second Class Honours Grade I 60-69%
Second Class Honours Grade II 50-59%
Third Class Honours 45-49%
Pass 40-44%
This is one area that I am seriously liking! If we adopted this grading scale I would have a 4.0 and I wouldn’t have stressed so much about Chemistry!!! On the other hand though I am glad that our scale is different because when you earn an A you literally earn it! I am a little anxious to see how our grades here will convert at home. All in all this educational experience, however unconventional, has been just that an experience! It has definitely made me appreciate Western and my wonderful professors who don’t just tell you to read a million different textbooks they teach you! As Dr Wann would tell you, he is going to give you a concrete example and he does! I have also learned to appreciate homework and the fact that going into a final you know where you stand in a class and your entire grade is not dependant on one single test. Well I only have one final over and three more to go so I better end this and get back to work!
Hi there. I'm glad you've enjoyed your time in Ireland, but as an Irish student who's studied in the US as well, I need to explain to you something about the Irish grading system. I know you think that 70% is a really low starting mark for First Class Honours, but it's not, because it's really really hard to get 70% in the Irish system. In a class of say, 100 students, I doubt that more than 5 would get over 70%. Most people get between 55% and 65%. Anything over 65% and you're doing really well, anything over 70% and you should go out and celebrate: first class honours are a major achievement over here! But either way, your college will have some formula for converting them: so you'll get marks that look low to you, but your university back home will raise them.
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