The True Meaning of Finals

As I study for finals one last time, I’ve taken a study break to think about what it is that I’m really here doing. I know that achieving an MBA is the ultimate goal, but I am still seeking out the deeper purpose for this “final exam cram” rigmarole that I routinely find myself in.

At face value, studying for finals is nothing more than the sprint that happens at the end of the marathon. It is not the work that is done at the end of the semester which makes the biggest percentage of a GPA, but the learning that is done over the course of the 15 weeks that lead up to the final. This is a likely reason why “cramming” is harder as my GPA matters less and less. I’ve been forced to get a better understanding for why I’m doing what I’m doing in order for studying to once again be effective.

In thinking back on past semesters, I can’t remember any facts or equations that I forced into my mind on the day before each of my finals. In fact, a transcript is often necessary to remember exactly what class was taken when.

It strikes me, however, when I look at my old textbooks, that I’ve rarely bothered to utilize a textbook that doesn’t relate to a semester exam. Plenty of useful information sits in books that are simply being unutilized on my bookshelves.

I’m not going to be effectively study again if I do so with the same mentality that I had as an undergraduate, or even as a first semester grad student. It is much more motivating, however, to view this exercise as a means of maximizing the information in this set of textbook materials that will either end up on my shelves or on eBay. Instead of finding one more fact that happens to be on the exam, I instead want to take with me one more life lesson from these materials that I’ll use in some capacity later on in life.