As college classes come to an end and high school classes continue, students are forced to make a decision. Do students prioritize their college finals to close out the year, or focus on their high school assignments so they don’t fall behind?
College classes are often regarded as being much more difficult than regular classes, so the finals and tests usually fall under the same category. During finals week, most students disregard their high school homework to study for college finals.
“For the most part, I would say that yes, definitely college… finals are significantly harder than high school classes,” junior Colin Walker says. “However, there are some exceptions in which the high school final is harder than the college final.”
As a college class, it is expected that the work would be more intense and mostly self-taught, as you are not required to show up to lectures. While the finals themselves can be difficult, that doesn’t mean the class as a whole is.
“I feel like they’re harder but… you have to do less work,” junior Dominik Bieber said. “Like I’m in [English] class and [for its] final, we have to do like 20 different assignments, but with all the college classes, you just have the final.”
Although most college courses are regarded as more difficult than high school classes, that doesn’t mean all are. Difficulty of the classes can depend on a few factors, such as the amount of credit it’s worth and whether it’s online or not.
“[This semester] I took sociological principles and psychopathology,” junior Isabelle Urbach said. “[Class] is easier for me because you can do it on your own time and it’s all online.”
As a result of differing opinions on the difficulty of classes, how students prioritize their college finals will also differ. While some easier classes won’t be prioritized, the more important classes will.
“I will definitely be prioritizing [college finals],” Bieber said. “Especially over my high school classes.”
One of the benefits of being dual-enrolled in Northwest College is that the school calendar is different from the high school calendar. Often starting earlier than high school, but also finishing before. While this can seem like a good thing, it also means that students will have a normal amount of high school homework while also having college finals.
“I think [lessening homework] would be a good idea for teachers to take into consideration to help students do the best they could on the finals,” Walker said. “I would highly appreciate it.”
While it can be helpful to have the college start before the high school, it can also create problems in the fall, as students may be on vacation outside the state or attending long sports practices. This leads to the question of whether or not it would be easier if the two school calendars were the same.
“I think they would be staggered,” Urbach said. “I think it’s a nice little reward… to get that two weeks…off to do whatever they need.”
Overall, the difficulty of the college final can vary based on the type of college class, whether it be online or in person, five credit or three credit, or entirely on the professor. Although some classes may be easier than others, that doesn’t mean students shouldn’t prepare for them.
“I will be prioritizing my college finals,” Walker said. “Because I believe they would count more towards me in the future.”
