At this point in the semester, you might expect to see students fretting about finals and attempting to escape their exams, but on the day before Thanksgiving break, most Bucks students weren’t all that concerned.
“I have one final and I just got a study guide today, so I don’t have to worry about it,” said Kait Briggs, a business major. Briggs’ thought process seems common among students. “I’m not stressed at all. Once it gets close, I’ll go through notes,” said computer science major Alex Lorenz.
One reason behind this lack of stress is simple, many students don’t have finals to take. “I actually don’t have any,” said Justin Showers, neuroscience major.
Some students only have a few difficult exams. “I’m not so worried. Just the calculus final is going to be tough,” said Reeda Elmiami.
“It’s just the essays. Nothing else is really troubling right now,” said first-year student Daniel Orwat.
Other students have been stressed. “My social functions have been dying. You have to have good study habits,” said economics major Elana Auerbach.
“There’s been lots of crying,” said education major Sam Goldberg, “Dogs do help.”
But most students have pushed the finals to the back of their minds. “I’m sure I’ll feel stressed once I realize when finals are,” said Patrick Wilson, a biology major.
First year student Hamza Mqadmi said he still had a lot of time ahead of him to work. “He’s giving us a while,” he said, referring to his professor.
“I’m stressed about finals, but at the same time I am worried about other things. I’m just studying what I can,” said Lucas Disangro.
Students like Disangro have classes that have alternative assignments instead of an exam.
“In high school, every single class you’d have a final review packet. But in my acting class, you have to memorize a monologue,” Disangro continued, “You just have to interpret it in your own way.”
Despite the overall sense of nonchalance, many students have study tips they hope to use when the finals loom closer.
“I love lists!” said Goldberg. “Definitely lists, I make lists on an index card and stay at Bucks a while after class,” said psychology major Brianna Shaw.
Goldberg also noted the college library can be a useful tool for work-worried students. “It is kind of cool how even though the library is a place of chatting, we still do work.”
Mqadmi also had advice. “Check Canvas, do what teachers suggest, study specifically, and you’ll be fine.”
“It’s crunch time, final time. You have to get into the books, no playtime,” said Niki Brown, biology major. “I limit the things that I usually do. Sometimes, I won’t go to the gym. I keep a mental note that it is the last month of school. Less pleasure, more priority.”
But even a student as dedicated as Brown has sacred recreational activities. “I give up everything. Except for my Eagles games. Nothing’s touching my birds,” she said.