The Grind
I have never seen a phenomenon that I recently entitled “the grind” so clearly represented as it has for me this semester. Alright, so “the grind” is the one-to-two weeks prior to spring break when Cornell students get slammed with prelims, papers, and especially in my case this semester – midterms. Oh, just so you’re up on the vernacular, a “prelim” is short for a preliminary examination, which is nothing more than a glorified exam. Prelims typically are given 2-3 times a semester and worth a significant portion of students’ grades in classes.
I took a prelim in my ethics class yesterday, and it wasn’t too bad at all. So that was good. The bad news is, next Wednesday I have a 6-8 page paper due in my ethics class and a midterm in my US Congress class (which is worth, I think close to half our grade.) It should be noted I just started doing the reading for US Congress last night. Thursday is even worse. In my Securities and Trading class I have an in class midterm during the day and in my Investments class I have a three hour midterm the same evening. Yep, those are my two hardest classes too. Oh, also, the Prof for Investments informed us that to ensure a good grade, students should expect to study 50 hours.
Luckily, I am off to Spring Break in Hilton Head, SC the day after the grind ends. But for now, I’m stuck in it…
My favorite place to study – the A.D. White Memorial Library