Finals are here, but they aren’t like the years before. This year, classes were divided into separate quarters. This means students have four classes, rather than eight, in their first quarter and the next four in the second quarter. This contrasts with the previous years, as students usually would take all eight finals in one week.

Many students have a strong opinion on this change. Personally, I favor the change and think it helps me balance the finals much better. In previous years, I had eight finals in the span of one week to prepare for. Many students, as well as myself, found this sometimes overwhelming, especially if students are in more difficult classes. Trying to balance all of the information from a full semester for all of these classes was challenging, especially doing all of these tests in a span of three days.

This year for finals, students have two days to do four tests. This gives students the opportunity to more precisely focus on each of these classes’ information. Additionally, the content of an entire semester for just one class can sometimes be difficult to be familiar with, given the first chapters were introduced several months before the given final. This helps students as the content of the finals didn’t start until just a couple of months ago.

I personally find this helpful because I still remember actually learning almost all of the content of my classes throughout the quarter.

Quarter system finals can be difficult though. Some students have their classes split up evenly, but some, like myself, have their more difficult classes all in one quarter. This can be difficult to retain all of the information in as many months as we have. Usually, AP classes don’t move this fast, so students may have a tough time balancing these more challenging courses.

I do find the pros to outweigh the cons of the quarter systems finals. This is because students will find most of the same challenges they already found in a normal finals week. Most of these challenges involved being overwhelmed. But the positives of being able to focus on certain classes more, I find to be extremely helpful.

These finals aren’t like those of other years; students have to be able to adjust to the shifting academic schedule. I find the change to be overall helpful, even though there are clear difficulties present. Finals, or the thought of finals, may always bring overwhelming feelings to students, but I think this year the information is easier to handle and remember.