Monday, March 17, 2014

Exam Week - A New Experience

It's exam week here in Jönköping and I have been spending plenty of time studying already. The pressure is on considering 100% of my grade in my Mathematical Statistics course is based off of this one exam. This type of pressure is very different for me, considering that we do not have this style in the USA. Usually by finals time I have a majority of my grade determined from other exams and assignments so the final is just a way to "separate the men from the boys" grade wise.

The University system in Sweden has taken a little getting used to. I can definitely tell I'm not in Platteville anymore. No more 30 person math courses, nope here there are 120 students in my class. The professor doesn't know me by name and I'm not so sure about his office hours. Also, the semester (termin in Swedish, semester in Swedish means Holiday. Confusing right?) is broken up into two halves. For these first few months I have had two courses; Mathematical Statistics and Swedish Language, Culture, and Society I. After my math exam on Friday and my Swedish exam on Monday, I will begin a new set of courses for the second half. Those courses will be Swedish II and Applied Finite Element Analysis. This split system may be beneficial since you can really focus on a subject and not have so many other things on your brain.

Anyways, I feel that I have more pressure on my upcoming exams that most other exchange students since my grades transfer back. I am trying to keep my GPA as high as possible so A's and B's are my target. Most exchange students have a "pass-fail" system where as long as they pass, they get the credit and the grades do not show up on their transcripts. I do not mind having my grades transfer back because it enforces that I am still responsible for my studies and this isn't a semester to slack off. I have been keeping up to date on everything so now I just need to refine my statistics and Swedish skills and I will be all good.

So wish me luck on my exams! I'll be rewarding myself for completing my exams by traveling to Rome from March 27-31. Can't wait for my next adventure!

No comments:

Post a Comment