What was the worst thing that happened to you during finals week?
1. Dallin Swiss, Sandy, Mechanical engineering, Senior
“So the final exam is a take-home final exam, and as I’m taking it I can’t figure out one of the problems. I’m going to put the test in the drop off, and the guy I’m chatting with is also in the class. And I’m thinking out loud about the problem, we are in the class together and he mentions something that gives me an idea, it gives me a clue but then I think, ‘Wait a second, that’s cheating’. So I ended up leaving my professor several voice mails saying, ‘Don’t give me any credit for the first problem, I don’t feel like I can take credit for it because I don’t know if that’s just me or the guy’s hints.’ I’ve never heard back from the professor, I figured if it was a big deal he would have followed up on it. I ended up getting A in the class. But it was stressful because it was a moral dilemma.”
2. McKenzie Airclough, Lake Charles, La., English teaching major, Senior
“It was a couple of years ago, and I was dating this guy really seriously; we were planning on him coming home with me. I thought I was going to go with him and that we will get married and stuff, but he broke up with me right before finals. That was a really bad week.”
3. Hannah Matheson, Salt Lake City, Geography, Junior
“My freshman year I lived in the dorms, and I think I went for three days without really sleeping. It wasn’t really because of finals but because I still thought, ‘I can have the same social life during finals.’ That was the worst thing because I didn’t get any sleep and I didn’t do very well on my tests because of that.”
4. Nick Boyer, Seattle, International relations, Junior
“I forgot about a final until the last day, and I only got it halfway done. I was doing my other classes, and I forgot about it because it was a do-at-home final.”
5. Tabitha Kirk, San Francisco, Calif., Genetics, Sophomore
“My freshman year I slept in and missed a part of the final. I was studying a lot the night before.”
6. Elaine Peterson, Portland, Ore., Sociology, Junior
“One time I put an all-nighter for a final that was at 7 a.m. so I didn’t get any sleep. It didn’t go very well. It was my first semester here; it was awful.”
7. James Price, High Point, Calif., Biology, Freshman
“My parents and I got disowned during finals week, so that was fun. I was going to go home, and I had to find a friend to live with. Isn’t it lovely?”
8. James Gibson, Morristown, N.J., Animation, Senior
“One time I went on a bus because I had to take a bus to school. And it was finals, so I thought, ‘I need to eat healthy, I need to take fish oil pills, I need to take my vitamins.’ One day I forgot to eat, and I just ate the pills (and) the vitamins. I figured, ‘I don’t need to eat with the pills.’ So I’m on the bus, and all of a sudden I have the biggest urge to throw up. As I get off the bus, I ran to the garbage can and throw up in a garbage can.”
9. Tanner Coleman, Houston, Neuroscience, Senior
“Missing my test by an hour. I showed up and the line was too long at the Testing Center, so I ended up missing the opening by about an hour.”
10. Glen Griffin, Mission Viejo, Calif., Public health, Junior
“I got really sick. I swear, I think it was a swine flu. I had a Chemistry 105 final, and it was just miserable. That, to date, is my worst chemistry grade.”
11. Jacob Bagley, Draper, Neuroscience, Sophomore
“The worst thing about finals week during my freshman year is that I was going to U of U.”
12. Talmage Heines, Sandy, Pre-business, Freshman
“My first semester I had to take all my finals a week early. Lots of pressure because two days later I went into the MTC.”
13. Kristen Hamblin, Orem, Nursing, Junior
“It was an in-class final, and I was wearing big sweats because that’s what you wear during finals, and after I was done, I stood up on the bottom of my sweats and they just slid off me. I was standing there with my behind for the world to see. So I just quickly backed down, pulled up my pants and went out — my way to finish my final.”
14. Jared Holey, Salt Lake City, Physiology and developmental biology, Junior
“The worst thing that happened to me during finals week is sitting in JSB for my exam. There is no space to take a test. There are several hundred of people to take a test. I got to take my exam on the floor. It took me four hours, and the whole time I was on the floor. I did fine on the test, but I would have probably done better if it wasn’t on the floor.”
15. Courtney Porter, Pleasant Grove, Animation, Freshman
“The worst thing is going into the actual Testing Center and realizing there are no seats in that room, so you go to a different room and there are no seats in that one too and realizing your time limit is only so long, either before your next class or another test.”
16. Erica Parsons, San Antonio, Mechanical engineer, Freshman
“The worst is having a 7 a.m. scheduled final.”
17. Ben Heymond, Corvallis, Ore., Political science, Senior
“I have a thumb drive, and a lot of times if I saved it in a wrong format, when I put it into another computer it doesn’t open up and then it doesn’t open up on the original computer either.”
18. Kelsey Smith, Springfield, Va., English, Graduate student
“The worst thing that happened to me during finals week is when it snowed all during April finals, which made it even worse.”
19. Angelica Pesqueira, Orem, Human development, Senior
“This guy that I liked a whole lot got a girlfriend. I thought that things were going well, but apparently he didn’t, and he got a girlfriend finals week and I had no idea. I was totally oblivious. So I was super distracted during that week, I couldn’t do anything.”
20. Marcel, Sandy, Neuroscience, Junior
“Last year I worked at the U, and I drove all the way to the U, and I did have to work that day so I missed a whole day of finals. I had to take three tests in one day the next day.”
21. Shannon Oh, Salt Lake City, Civil engineering, Sophomore
“Right before finals week, fortunately after I had finished my paper, I accidentally poured a cup of noodles over my keyboard of my laptop and it just died. I’ve never gotten it fixed.”
