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OK college students/grads, did you have final exams in your classes?

Home ▸ Archive ▸ Serious Business ▸ OK college students/grads, did you have final exams in your classes?
M

Manhattan Buckeye

Senior Member

7,566 posts
Oct 4, 2010 7:09 PM
http://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2010/10/only-23-of-.html

Apparently at Harvard they are going the way of the dodo.

100% of my classes in college had a final exam (I was aware of some courses that just required a final paper). Some were in-class with extended hours, some were take-home, one was take-home with extended hours, but still limited.

Is this normal these days?
Oct 4, 2010 7:09pm
like_that's avatar

like_that

1st Team All-PWN

26,625 posts
Oct 4, 2010 7:17 PM
I would say about 90% of my classes had final exams. The other 10% were papers.

Good for Harvard. I always thought final exams should be optional imo. It just doesn't make sense to me that one test can bring my grade down after working the whole semester to earn a good grade. Not to mention you have to worry about all your other finals. Final exams just teach you how to cram in my opinion. I had one professor allow students to opt out from taking the final if they had an A or B. If I was a professor I would probably do the same.
Oct 4, 2010 7:17pm
gorocks99's avatar

gorocks99

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10,760 posts
Oct 4, 2010 7:18 PM
Probably 60% of my classes did not have final exams; it was almost all projects/papers.
Oct 4, 2010 7:18pm
namod65's avatar

namod65

Senior Member

508 posts
Oct 4, 2010 7:37 PM
I'm in the engineering program so I've always had a final exam except for GEC's like english or something. I also hate how the final is weighted sometimes. In math and physics classes you have so much homework and labs that you spend all your time on and they're worth nothing compared to the final exam.
Oct 4, 2010 7:37pm
UA5straightin2008's avatar

UA5straightin2008

WOMP WOMP WOMP

3,246 posts
Oct 4, 2010 8:01 PM
all of my classes have had finals except my black studies class (final project), my two english classes (final papers), and an art class (final project)
Oct 4, 2010 8:01pm
iclfan2's avatar

iclfan2

Reppin' the 330/216/843

6,360 posts
Oct 4, 2010 8:08 PM
In undergrad I would say 75% had final exams, but in grad school I'd say only 10% had final tests. Most of them were year end projects.
Oct 4, 2010 8:08pm
Fly4Fun's avatar

Fly4Fun

Senior Member

7,730 posts
Oct 4, 2010 8:31 PM
I'm not surprised by this. I was about 50/50 when it came to final exams. For the classes that didn't there were more papers throughout the term and student presentations of topics.
Oct 4, 2010 8:31pm
I

I Wear Pants

Senior Member

16,223 posts
Oct 4, 2010 9:09 PM
I had two classes last semester without a traditional final. One we had a presentation as the last thing we did in class and the other the final was optional depending on whether you needed/wanted it (I already had an A so I did not take it).
Oct 4, 2010 9:09pm
Glory Days's avatar

Glory Days

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7,809 posts
Oct 4, 2010 9:15 PM
if one test can bring your grade up, its only fair that it can bring your grade down since the point is to test your knowledge of the whole subject, just not bits and pieces like the other tests. if the final exam is optional, students should have the option of picking one test not to take during the rest of the semester. and it only teaches you how to cram(which is dumb anyway) because thats how people treat it. that isnt the test's fault, its the mentality of the student.
Oct 4, 2010 9:15pm
I

I Wear Pants

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16,223 posts
Oct 4, 2010 9:23 PM
Finals can be dumb but are not necessarily. I had a >150 question final for a Business Law class that served its purpose quite well. Most of my classes have been pretty reasonable. If there is a lot of homework or quizzes/other assignments then the tests won't be large enough to tank your grade if you do sub par on only one of them. However I've had classes where there are no assignments other than 4-6 tests and those obviously can dramatically effect your grade. But if there is no homework and such and you don't prepare for the tests it's your fault anyway.
Oct 4, 2010 9:23pm
Laley23's avatar

Laley23

GOAT

29,506 posts
Oct 4, 2010 9:53 PM
At Indiana, probably 75%. A lot were simply the last exam and not a "final". A few projects and a few papers. Every class had something, but quite a few were just a test on the most recent stuff.

Quite honestly, the biggest tests at Indiana for most majors were the mid-terms. Not sure why, but that seemed to be the case.
Oct 4, 2010 9:53pm
darbypitcher22's avatar

darbypitcher22

Senior Member

8,000 posts
Oct 4, 2010 10:04 PM
probably 80% of my classes have had some sort of final. A few of them were optional, and I've never taken an optional final. The rest were either papers to be turned in or projects to finish out the semester
Oct 4, 2010 10:04pm
S

slingshot4ever

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4,085 posts
Oct 4, 2010 10:47 PM
Too long ago, I can't remember.
Oct 4, 2010 10:47pm
Cat Food Flambe''s avatar

Cat Food Flambe'

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1,230 posts
Oct 4, 2010 11:32 PM
Actuary degree in the late nineties @ tOSU - about a third of the courses had finals, the rest usually had a project involving analysis of a database. I will take the finals over the projects any day.
Oct 4, 2010 11:32pm
ts1227's avatar

ts1227

Senior Member

12,319 posts
Oct 4, 2010 11:34 PM
Most of my classes were math, physics, and geography... all had final exams.

Not all of the arbitrary liberal arts classes did. My Freshman and Junior Composition classes were ovbiously papers.
Oct 4, 2010 11:34pm
lhslep134's avatar

lhslep134

why so serious?

9,774 posts
Oct 4, 2010 11:58 PM
Honestly, in the business school, the majority of my "finals" are just third exams that could possibly be weighted more, but if so, not by much.


I think I've only taken 1 or 2 cumulative finals in my 3+ years here.
Oct 4, 2010 11:58pm
ZWICK 4 PREZ's avatar

ZWICK 4 PREZ

Senior Member

7,733 posts
Oct 5, 2010 7:47 AM
Most of my classes had finals but they were like 90% material we covered at the end of the semester and 10% comprehensive.
Oct 5, 2010 7:47am
T

Tiernan

Senior Member

13,021 posts
Oct 5, 2010 7:56 AM
Another fine example of the "dumbing down" of America. Back in the day...Finals were a fact of life. You fretted for weeks over the looming Hell that was yet to come. It made you tougher. Kids today are cream puffs.
Oct 5, 2010 7:56am
ZWICK 4 PREZ's avatar

ZWICK 4 PREZ

Senior Member

7,733 posts
Oct 5, 2010 8:01 AM
Tiernan;507749 wrote:Another fine example of the "dumbing down" of America. Back in the day...Finals were a fact of life. You fretted for weeks over the looming Hell that was yet to come. It made you tougher. Kids today are cream puffs.

You don't remember anything from your college finals anyway so what's the difference. 99% of your day to day work is learned on the job, not in college.
Oct 5, 2010 8:01am
Glory Days's avatar

Glory Days

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7,809 posts
Oct 5, 2010 8:14 AM
ZWICK 4 PREZ;507751 wrote:You don't remember anything from your college finals anyway so what's the difference. 99% of your day to day work is learned on the job, not in college.

maybe not in your job, but the things i learn day to day at my job come from the concepts and principles or whatever you want to call it, i learned from my major. it definitely helps understand the bigger picture and why things are that way. and you can definitely see the difference with that from the people who went to college and those who didnt.
Oct 5, 2010 8:14am
lhslep134's avatar

lhslep134

why so serious?

9,774 posts
Oct 5, 2010 8:34 AM
Glory Days;507755 wrote:maybe not in your job, but the things i learn day to day at my job come from the concepts and principles or whatever you want to call it, i learned from my major. it definitely helps understand the bigger picture and why things are that way. and you can definitely see the difference with that from the people who went to college and those who didnt.

True, but you also don't need to get an A in a class to have learned everything you need to from it.
Oct 5, 2010 8:34am
mucalum49's avatar

mucalum49

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1,639 posts
Oct 5, 2010 8:38 AM
iclfan2;507348 wrote:In undergrad I would say 75% had final exams, but in grad school I'd say only 10% had final tests. Most of them were year end projects.

I would say this is accurate for me as well.
Oct 5, 2010 8:38am
ZWICK 4 PREZ's avatar

ZWICK 4 PREZ

Senior Member

7,733 posts
Oct 5, 2010 8:48 AM
Glory Days;507755 wrote:maybe not in your job, but the things i learn day to day at my job come from the concepts and principles or whatever you want to call it, i learned from my major. .

What was your major and what is your job?
Oct 5, 2010 8:48am
J

jmog

Senior Member

6,567 posts
Oct 5, 2010 11:27 AM
When I was in college...

Science/Engineering/Math courses-100% final exams, some take home, some during finals week, some during last week of classes, but always had final exams.
GECs-Maybe 60-70% had final exams, rest were papers/projects.
Oct 5, 2010 11:27am
J

jmog

Senior Member

6,567 posts
Oct 5, 2010 11:32 AM
I don't know Z4P, while I have definitely learned more while on the job than I did in college, there are plenty of things I've done on the job and learned on the job that I would not have had the tools/knowledge to understand if not for the stuff I learned in college.

Coming as an engineer...
Oct 5, 2010 11:32am