College grading is ridiculous.

[david2357]

Many college classes (with the exception of literature ones because those require in class participation points and essays), many (as in all my classes) are run like this:

3 tests worth all of your grade,

This is ridiculous. You can be learning all the material , studying, etc. and then have something bad happen on one of the tests that does not have anything to do with lack of studying or lack of knowledge , such as a panic attack or simply running out of time (teachers cram questions on the test so they can test a large amount of material, but there is only so much time, and contrary to what many people believe, there is an actual difference in the rate that different people work that cannot be corrected with studying ). i have to write slow in order for it to be neat. and these unavoidable circumstances cause you to get like a 75 or something. Then it brings your grade down like 10 points and even if you get a 100 on the next test, it goes up only a few points.

Its ridiculous how some professors do things.

[TakeTheLeap]

It all depends on what classes you have (all of my classes were project heavy rather than test heavy, 2-5 major projects in the semester for EACH class, and most of them also had exams). Yes, there are those classes where you only have a midterm and final as your only two grades, and it's definitely stressful. But you can't expect your professors to make things easy for you. The expectations are far beyond the expectations in high school and it may take a little bit to get used to, but you have to force yourself to get used to it if you want to do well.
If you need a time extension, let your professor (or Academic Services) know. Try using your computer on written exams and ask your professor if he/she will accept it electronically. If not, then tough luck, kid. I promise you, college DOES get easier, but you have to work hard to get through.

[semiunbalanced]

My political science class is the same way. I've never been so stressed in all my life. haha

[OMFG!You'reActuallySmart!]

Most of my current courses have 2-3 term tests, at least 1 long research paper and exam. One of them has 7 labs and another has weekly quizzes before each lecture to test whether we understood the assigned readings, as well as a research paper and a 1-2 hour long presentation.

It sucks when the course grading is based on only a few tests because if you cock one of the tests up, it's very hard to improve your mark. Usually I don't prefer those courses, although it depends on the professor. My second-year cell biology course had 3 tests, labs and an exam. The tests were ridiculously long and the exam had around 230-250 multiple-choice questions, so if you couldn't figure out the answer in a few seconds, you had to skip it. The tests only had around 120-140 questions, so not as long but still brutal as hell.

I can sympathize with having to write slower. My writing is usually pretty messy and I've damaged my writing wrist so many times to the point where I have to wear a metal-plated brace, otherwise it hurts like hell and I lose strength so my writing becomes illegible. The brace helps but even for a long test, eventually the wrist starts giving out, usually toward the end only.

Eventually you become used to such high demands but that doesn't mean it isn't fun studying for such a huge test.

Try to get past tests if you can from a student club in that particular field. At my university, many but not all courses have this, where students who finished the course drop off their tests for money or in exchange for a free test for a different course.

[Pelios]

I understand where you are coming from, some classes I have are like that and in the test you only get max 4 questions so if you get one wrong you already have 75%. =/
I don’t really have any advice just study hard.

[Sincerely Yours ♥]

I agree. Some classes are ridiculous. I like classes where there are homework assignments & multiple tests to even things out. I hate classes that have less than four tests & no homework & expect you to still pass the class with an A.

[Revolution]

Yep. It sucks. That's life I guess. My politics class is kind of like this. Just have to put all your effort for that one test.

[Childish Giggle]

3? We have one for each test in school. And my life pretty much depends on ONE single exam after school. Just ONE. It'll decide my college and the future, if I decide to take that stream.

[The Morrigan]

Honestly, just deal with it. Work out effective techniques in order to finish on time, practise writing quickly and neater from now until the test so you can write faster in the actual tests. Complaining about it isn't going to change anything.

I had to do 2 exams each year for my 3 subjects at A Level. One of them was a 2 hour exam in which we had to write 4 essays so half an hour an essay basically. I just kept writing essays based on practise questions for the whole year so it prepared me for it.

[PutYourHeartsUp]

Some professors are like that, yes. Which is why I personally use ratemyprofessor as well as speak to people I know that have taken the course to avoid class setups I dislike.

Some classes are hard, that's never gonna change.