Midterms have hit campus hard -- and they've hit freshmen even harder.
As the fourth week of classes approaches, the College's newest additions find themselves caught in the melee that upperclassmen know all too well. To some, it seems like Orientation just ended, and already they're pulling all-nighters and guzzling Red Bull.
Introductory math and science classes, including Biology 2, Math 8 and 9 and Chemistry 5, have many freshman worried.
Nithya Sharma '08 said on Monday that she hasn't slept for days, partly because of her Math 9 midterm. On a nervousness scale of one to 10, she would place off the charts, she said.
"I definitely woke up this morning thinking the midterm was today," said Sharma, who was wearing pyjama pants and sporting a messy ponytail as she rushed through Hinman residence hall. "I don't even know how to study for it -- it's just so overwhelming."
Sharma, just one of many anxious freshmen, repeated several times that she was going to fail, even though she has attended TA sessions religiously.
Chinese 1 students said their professor announced their midterm just a week before its scheduled date.
"I just don't enjoy the fact that I only have a week to study for something I just learned," said William Martin '08. "The professor is great, but it just seems unreasonable."
One freshman was so hysterical over her Chemistry 5 exam that she said that she only had time to be interviewed while taking a shower. She said that since her high school didn't offer any Advanced Placement classes, she was unprepared for college exams.
"I'm petrified, and so is the entire class," she said. "You know, it's infamous for making pre-meds no longer pre-meds."
But some freshmen are handling exams calmly. Xiao Ding '08, who has two midterms coming up, said he isn't nervous but that finally having to study hard has proven a rude awakening for him and many of his peers.
"It brings into focus that we're not just here for fun," Ding said.
Academic Skills Center Director warned students not to spend all their time studying, but, rather, exercise and take breaks to burn off stress.
