After three years of virtual learning, students have finally returned back to school and finals are just around the corner.

Due to COVID-19, students have not taken true finals in over two and a half years. The only grades that have taken a genuine final are the senior and junior classes. Pre-Covid, finals were held in person rather than online, and consisted of a cumulative or unit test, usually on paper, with no notes or the option of using a notecard.

Emily Zagaros, a senior at BSM, expressed that she isn’t nervous about finals and knows what to expect since she has taken finals pre-covid. “Personally, I’m fine with them. Since there are a lot of unit tests or projects or no finals, especially as a senior,” Zagaros said.

Emily, being a senior, has made her think about how finals will affect her in the future and how finals will affect future seniors. “But I do think that they should go back to [cumulative finals] at some point because finals in college are gonna be cumulative, so they need to learn at some point,” Zagaros said.

Junior Sierre Lumpkin has taken finals once before Covid. Sierre doesn’t feel like she is fully prepared for finals. “My teachers try to prepare me for finals but I don’t feel prepared enough,” Lumpkin said.

Lumpkin expresses that she is nervous about finals because it has a big impact and can move students’ grades up or down.“There is a better alternative for finals because if you do bad on it, it will bring your whole final grade down versus some people who do good which helps their grade,” Lumpkin said.

Dylan Parker is a sophomore this year, meaning that it is his first time taking finals. Parker agrees with Lumpkin about teachers helping prepare students for finals. “They gave me more of a packet and expect me to just remember all the stuff,” Parker said.

Parker believes that Covid will affect his performance in the finals. “A lot of stuff I learned last year helped me with this year, but it was harder to learn this year than past years,” Parker said.

Although it is Parker’s first final, he doesn’t feel stressed about taking finals. “I’m pretty relaxed because I studied a lot,” Parker said.

Freshman Benjamin Wolfson didn’t express any stress about taking his first finals as a high schooler although he thinks there is a better alternative. “I would prefer projects,” Wolfson said.

All of these students express similarities and differences about taking finals next week with the majority seeming confident about a positive outcome.