It’s the Most Miserable Time of the Year

The fall semester is already coming to an end as college students wrap up the last week of classes. November is a busy month for many, as students rush to beat the last 11:59 pm deadlines of the year.

Taylor Thompson, a senior political science major from New Jersey, shared this week has been filled with a lot of stress and screen time with her laptop. 

“It’s very difficult to find a happy medium between studying for every single test and giving myself a break so that I’m not completely burnt out. Teachers should help their students as much as they can to be prepared for the final exams they give them and at this point, I don’t believe that they do.” 

The first two weeks of December are all about finals and an additional stressor on top of projects and papers to submit. Professors at Howard have to submit grades for all December graduates by Friday, December 2nd, and then finalize all other grades by next week. Senior biology major Tasnim Belel from New Jersey said that this week made everything feel rushed. 

“Giving finals right after Thanksgiving break doesn’t give us time to rest or enjoy time with our families so this week is truly the most stressful time because all of us are burnt from the entire semester and having to study for multiple exams at a time.” 

The same is true for other students in the Washington D.C. consortium. Kylie Foster, a senior attending George Washington University with a candidacy for a B.S. in Public Health with a triple minor in criminal justice, communications, and health equity, also expressed that her schedule has been packed with extensive work.

“This upcoming finals season will probably be the most stressful in comparison to previous finals seasons because all of my exams and presentations are within one day of each other. Typically, my final assessments stretch across a two-week period which gives me enough time to synthesize my notes and study. This is the first time I’ll have all of my assessments condensed in four days so I’m already feeling the pressure.” 

Foster also believes that seniors are being hit the hardest by the end-of-year pressure.

“I feel like this type of stress isn’t foreign to us seniors. Many of us, including myself, were just applying to graduate schools last week. The turnaround time between sending in applications on time to now studying for finals exams really is the major qualm of being a senior.”

On Howard’s campus, there were several events by the Undergraduate Student Assembly to help people destress between studying. A free soul cycle class was offered, as well as trap yoga and a late-night bite event on Thursday. 

As the last grades are submitted, it’s important that everyone makes time to reward themselves and applaud their hard work over the last five months. To all college students, remember your end goal.