Finished my first final
One down, one to go. I think it went fairly well, but I definitely did not have enough time to give a proper treatment to all of the topics. I tried to write short, concise paragraphs about the issues I spotted rather than dumping everything I could think of onto the paper. Several people finished 10 minutes early, which shocked me. Honestly, I just don’t know how I did. I’m usually someone who finishes early but I needed every second on this exam. One guy mentioned an issue after it was over and was going on and on and I started to worry because I hadn’t seen that issue. Then two other people were luck, “Huh? We didn’t see that issue.” So either he was wrong or he’s the smartest guy in the class and will get all the points. I just don’t know.
Can’t rest now, though. One more to go next week. I did take a little time off this afternoon to take Pumpkinhead swimming because I promised him I would. Now I need to put the peddle back to the metal, put page numbers on my outline this time (!!) and get ready for the next round. Thanks to everyone who commented with supportful notes. 
August 11th, 2007 at 10:15 pm
Congrats on your first final! I was never able to tell how I did on a final after I finished it either.
August 12th, 2007 at 12:24 am
As soon as I finished finals, I’d take off. Talking to people about them afterwards always made me feel insecure, even (in retrospect) on the finals I’d aced.
My big post-final ritual was going and recycling my outline. It felt SOOO good!
August 12th, 2007 at 10:55 am
I hate talking about the exams afterwards, because then you just worry about it and it keeps you from focusing on the next exam.
I made the mistake of sitting next to Mr. Number 4 in our class during our Property final. There was a horrific multiple choice section that I was pretty sure kicked my butt. While we’re waiting to turn in our exams, I looked over at #4’s scantron sheet and noticed his little bubble pattern looked nothing like my little bubble pattern. My heart just sank. At least I didn’t spend the next few weeks harboring false hopes that I’d gotten the A in Property, but I did spend those weeks very worried I’d gotten the C minus!
Don’t let it drive you crazy! You’re finished and that’s all that matters!!
August 12th, 2007 at 8:25 pm
Congrats on getting the first final out of the way. It definitely gets easier once they’ve broken you in the first year.
Oh, and don’t worry about the length of your outlines. I never saw the point of super long outlines. Mine averaged 10-15 pages on a closed book exam (longer on an open book exam whenI got to bring in the outline).
August 13th, 2007 at 3:17 pm
Congrats! The first one is the hardest, IMHO. I have a policy to never discuss the final immediately after for exactly the situation you describe. This drives my girlfriend nuts (also in my section) who feels compelled to rehash for some reason, but I’ve not found I gain anything from post-final discussion. What’s done is done.
However, It can be very helpful to go back and see your exam afterwards, depending on the prof. I don’t do this nearly as much as I should, but it can really help to see it after some time has passed and you can recognize whether or not your exam writing style is effective. It can make a big difference.