Exam time thread

Raging_Ninja

forfcksake wrote: »

The way exams are set out are a joke, 5 exams one day after the other is ridiculous! why can't they put a bit of effort in especially for final years! Then having to travel out to Salthill for exams is a joke, does any other college have to do this? NUIG is ****e!

If you don't like it, get your class to complain to the course coordinator and ask him to get the exams rescheduled. My class did it this year.

At the end of the day there are dozens if not hundreds of exams being held in the space of two weeks, its quite a headache to coordinate the whole thing.

Add to the fact that NUIG makes up about 20% of the population of Galway, and you can see where this is going.

Besides, NUIG is hardly the only university where exams are held off-campus.

Nailz

First couple of exams tomorrow, really nervous about them, which is odd considering I didn't make much of a hassle about the Leaving Cert at all. I worked really hard this semester too, I don't understand why I'm so nervous. But both of them are in the Kingfisher, so that's not too bad...

bildo

Best trick I know for the days coming up to exams is to focus your time on what you already know and avoid cramming new information at the last minute.
If you are going to cram, at least cram stuff that you already understood at some point and not a load of confusing new information.

Also pay attention to the sorts of questions you get from which lecturers if you are going to have those lecturers again in later years. You get to learn their style. That really helps.

Good luck Got experimental planning and design on wednesday. Should be a lark.

X Will

Nailz

Thanks a million man! Ah no I'm not going to cram, I'm actually off to bed now, hopefully to get a decent sleep, I'm sure I know all I need to know, but I'm nervous just for some strange reason. Hope all goes well for you and your exam Wednesday, it sounds like the type of subject I do, does it have anything to with IS or IT within businesses?

workingstudent

Raging_Ninja wrote: »

Besides, NUIG is hardly the only university where exams are held off-campus.

my sister is in ucd and has had to travel to the rds or out to blackrock for her exams so we aren't the only ones..

bildo

Nailz wrote: »

Thanks a million man! Ah no I'm not going to cram, I'm actually off to bed now, hopefully to get a decent sleep, I'm sure I know all I need to know, but I'm nervous just for some strange reason. Hope all goes well for you and your exam Wednesday, it sounds like the type of subject I do, does it have anything to with IS or IT within businesses?

Na, I'm final year biotech, it's all hardcore science stuff for me. Had advanced biochem a few days ago, that was delightful. Also writing thesis as well as doing labwork at the same time. Chorebags.

Ruire

Last one tomorrow morning - social thought with grades offered of up to 85. Oh lord, I know this stuff, but 85 would be really nice...

paperpackages

Sorry this is gonna be a naive question but I want to clarify... do we leave school bags outside the exam hall or can we bring them in?

Raging_Ninja

paperpackages wrote: »

Sorry this is gonna be a naive question but I want to clarify... do we leave school bags outside the exam hall or can we bring them in?

Outside the exam hall.

BhoscaCapall

Raging_Ninja wrote: »

Outside the exam hall.

Meant to raise this point actually.

Not to spread paranoia or anything, but this relies entirely on the honesty of students, doesn't it? There is literally nothing stopping someone who finishes an exam early from helping themselves to a bag, many of which have laptops in. I suppose you take that risk when you leave your bag there, but many students are studying before/after their exam and as such can't help but have laptops etc on their possession.

Suppose you could always put your stuff in a locker. Hey maybe that's why our exams are in places like Leisureland, great idea! lol jk, absolutely ridiculous idea.

TheCosmicFrog

RolandIRL wrote: »

methods paper was nice enough (hear that, Frog?) :P fumbled one question, started an extra one but got caught out on time. think i got enough down to get a decent mark though

Good to hear you did well in your Rocket Science III exam!

musical.x wrote: »

wtf is up with people having to sit on the stage? delighted i wasnt one of them. the lights up there are blinding.

It was really annoying. Freezing cold temperature coupled with blindingly bright lights.

meeka wrote: »

didn't the SU say at the end of last year that exams would be anonymously marked this year, and that you wouldn't have to write your name on the paper?

I thought the same thing. Funny...

Something I've been thinking about since I was in First-Year: isn't the whole thing of putting your bag in the racketball court in the Kingfisher a little dangerous? During the post-exam rush it can get pretty claustrophobic in there. I can't imagine what would happen in the event of a fire...

Skopzz

NUIG has a stupid exam policy of allocating desk numbers for each candidate. This creates long queues on the hallway, increases stress, and delays the exam when people need to locate their desk number on a very complex poster.

I have previously studied at another Institution and no desk numbers were allocated per candidate, just a stall number per exam.

Also, NUIG allows the supervizors to use an intercom in the middle of an exam - this hinders candidates adversely.

meeka

Skopzz wrote: »

Also, NUIG allows the supervizors to use an intercom in the middle of an exam - this hinders candidates adversely.

Haha, yeah I remember an exam in first year, my class was in with a bunch of med students out at the racecourse - the medicine lecturer was given a mic about 20 minutes in and went through the whole paper, explaining definitions of words; presumably for those students whose first language wasn't English. Very kind of him, except for the fact that it was distracting as hell for everyone else, and not at all relevent to my own exam (physics). I just stopped working for 10 minutes until he shut up. I don't think I'd have so much patience now, in a final year exam...

Anyway, speaking of exams, I had Quantum Mechanics today. It was actually lovely, hurray! Just one more to go.

Nailz

Knocked down two exams today, unbelievable how well they went, hopefully the same groove goes for my other exams. Also, many thanks bildo for the rather calming advice, never took an exam so seriously. Good to get the first day past me, it's always a great help.

Ah well... 2 down, 4 to go. Next up; Business Systems Analysis and Information Systems Technology in Kingfisher on Wednesday.

Nailz

Knocked down two exams today, unbelievable how well they went, hopefully the same groove goes for my other exams. Also, many thanks bildo for the rather calming advice, never took an exam so seriously. Good to get the first day past me, it's always a great help.

Ah well... 2 down, 4 to go. Next up; Business Systems Analysis and Information Systems Technology in Kingfisher on Wednesday.

Shlippery

Woo. Business Systems Analysis. I'm gonna go for the night before approach for the next 3 exams..the hard work starts tomorrow

bildo

Nailz wrote: »

Knocked down two exams today, unbelievable how well they went, hopefully the same groove goes for my other exams. Also, many thanks bildo for the rather calming advice, never took an exam so seriously. Good to get the first day past me, it's always a great help.

Good lad, remember that, it's good and simple advice that really helped me prepare for exams in my 5 years as an undergrad.
Best of luck in the rest of em.

Marto10

The Red Leper wrote: »

Woo. Business Systems Analysis. I'm gonna go for the night before approach for the next 3 exams..the hard work starts tomorrow

Wait till ye get to final year of BIS guys, exams are a lot harder as expected, finished tomorrow at 12 and then on the beer, 50mcq and 50 mark question for business intelligence..should be fun!

Nailz

Marto10 wrote: »

Wait till ye get to final year of BIS guys, exams are a lot harder as expected, finished tomorrow at 12 and then on the beer, 50mcq and 50 mark question for business intelligence..should be fun!

I'm curious... Was Microeconomics shit hard under Turley back then as well? I have a great understanding of Economics myself, and I studied well for it as I did for everything else, but I had it today and the magnitude of the tests are fecking rediculous for a first year economics class - 10 badly worded MCQ's, 5 "short" questions and 3 long questions in a 2 hour exam was beyond a joke. I am happy with it myself, but everyone I talked to afterwards today looked like they had seen a ghost, even lads who put in a similar effort to myself...

But, as tomorrow is my last exam [Introduction to Financial Accounting at 2:30], I think it's fair for me to reflect on my first 3 months now;

• Lots of assignments, practically non-stop coursework
• Some really cool subjects, especially Business Application Development - I can't wait to do more of that
• As it is only in its second year of total semesterisation, I believe BIS does have a few things to improve on, especially the total lack of social life that is involved. I'm not a fan of the 'college-for-craic' mentality, in fact I hate it, but by just completing the continuous assessment alone you're not going to find much time to do much else.
• Many great possibilities can come from a degree in this I've noticed, the first thing Tom Acton done was when we came in to programming was showing us what we put ourselves up for, which is very encouraging, not that it isn't an interesting enough course alone. Tom is a great lecturer, by the way, the way he teaches is a step above anyone I've seen, it takes almost everything to a child-like level of understanding, he teaches stuff that is completely new to most people in a way that everybody can pick up by just listening and paying attention.
• Six exams in one week for Semester 1 is mental, the fatigue that came over me yesterday was ridiculous, I haven't been as tired in a long time, but that's what semesterisation does for you...

Gadhafi

good post mate, I think thats sums it up well tbf

worried about accounting today though

Nailz

Gadhafi wrote: »

good post mate, I think thats sums it up well tbf

worried about accounting today though

Cheers dude! Great to be out of that repetitive routine for a good 3 weeks now. How did you get on in Accounting after all??

Shlippery

Marto10 wrote: »

Wait till ye get to final year of BIS guys, exams are a lot harder as expected, finished tomorrow at 12 and then on the beer, 50mcq and 50 mark question for business intelligence..should be fun!

Ah I'm final commerce, did the MIS stream though , so lobbed in with BIS first years for Business Systems Analysis..really regret not picking BIS first time round though..subjects are much more suited to me than the torture I had to go through til now! Either way..all done and dusted..for now. Time to chill

Absolute torture having to leave bailey allen at 4, right beside the bar on Thursday when everyone else had finished..and havin to back to the library as everyone seemed to be goin the opposite direction

BhoscaCapall

BIS is a much, much better course than Commerce. I think people are just a bit put off because it's not as popular 'and like all the ladddz are totally doing Commerce like'.


Anyway, glad to have them exams finished. Does anyone else find that the last 1/2 exams are always the hardest because you just can't be f***ing bothered with them by that stage?

Ficheall

BhoscaCapall wrote: »

BIS is a much, much better course than Commerce.

Really?

Nailz

Ficheall wrote: »

Really?

As a BIS student, all I can say is that the prospects for BIS students is greater than it is for Commerce according to the course coordinators, better funded too. And when I was researching the courses I liked the look of BIS better, but that's just me personally, the inclusion of IS modules makes it. Although, talking to a few friends of mine who do Commerce it does have it's perks, the time table it shorter a couple of hours in comparison and it's a good bit less work than BIS, meaning that they have a social life outside of the course. Still, I'm happy in BIS; great class sizes, cools modules, cool lecturers and highly accredited.

Raging_Ninja

from what i've been told, commerce is a more business-oriented version of arts. take from that what you may, i was an arts and (way back when) a science student before reaching my current dizzying height of an IT postgrad.

Ficheall

Nailz wrote: »

the prospects for BIS students is greater than it is for Commerce according to the course coordinators

What did you expect them to say?

Fwiw, I'd agree with you that BIS is better than Commerce, but that's not saying much. I'd say the computery stuff done in BIS will stand them in good stead, but the entire mathematics content of the BIS degree is done in the first semester of Commerce. I know neither lead to vocations that are that heavy on the mathematics, but I'm just saying...

BhoscaCapall

Ficheall wrote: »

What did you expect them to say?

Fwiw, I'd agree with you that BIS is better than Commerce, but that's not saying much. I'd say the computery stuff done in BIS will stand them in good stead, but the entire mathematics content of the BIS degree is done in the first semester of Commerce. I know neither lead to vocations that are that heavy on the mathematics, but I'm just saying...

And some of the final year Commerce modules are tackled in first year BIS.

The only real edge I can see BComm having over BIS is in management. And of the hundred+ of BComm students and graduates I know, I don't think many of them would tell you they were able to manage a team of people.

MissMoppet

I was in the sick bay for the exams.. Was really annoyed because they didn't let me know till the DAY of the exams where it was..

I was stressing so much I had to get Brian the welfare officer in the SU to call the office. Frickin annoyed me to no end.. :mad:

Must say the ones in the sick bay were great as usual.. Although it was a bigger room and group this year..

cgpg5

BhoscaCapall wrote: »

And some of the final year Commerce modules are tackled in first year BIS.

The only real edge I can see BComm having over BIS is in management. And of the hundred+ of BComm students and graduates I know, I don't think many of them would tell you they were able to manage a team of people.

That may have something to do with the fact that they don't all choose to specialise in management maybe..? Also you know over 100 people who study and graduated from commerce?