Yet another finals week has come and gone and regardless of the results, there is always something to take away from this exhausting week. For some reason, students have found that winter quarter seems to be the time to buckle down. It’s because the excitement of fall quarter has finally started to fade and our fall quarter grades could definitely need a face-lift after a quarter filled of good weather and great times. The truth is the gloomy weather of winter quarter makes for a good excuse to stay inside and crack open the books. However, when finals week finally does creep up, no matter the quarter, get ready for the week from hell.

Students are in many different situations going into a finals week; whether they need to pull a high score in order to pass or a high score to maintain an already satisfying grade the stakes are high. There is a truth in the saying you get as much as you put in but sometimes it doesn't feel like that. You can study until the cows come home, but still do poorly on a final and the same is true as if you hardly study and perform exceptionally.

My thoughts are that, no matter the score on the paper or in the class, you truly do get what you put in. If you study all night for a class and still do poorly, but you were able to take something away from the material you were learning, then in my eyes you have won and who cares about the grade on the paper. When you enter the work field, it’s not about the scores you received in college, but rather your skill and application of them that are most important.

Despite the truth behind that statement it will always be in your best interest to sufficiently study before finals. The correlation between the amount of hours you study and the scores you receive will not necessarily add up this is because it is much more important to study smart. Studying smart means knowing your strengths and weaknesses and acknowledging them. Then, if your finals go awry, you know you did your best and that’s all that should matter.

So I promised to tell you what to take away from finals and so far, all I’ve done is tell you how to prepare, but what happens if all the preparing in the world still results in failure. Then this is where you pick yourself back up and give yourself a pat on the back because you made it, you made it through another finals week and you made it through another quarter at Cal Poly. You attend one of the most prestigious CSU’s in the state; you have made it, so give yourself some credit.

Don’t you remember the days when grades meant everything? When everyone used to say that your junior year of high school will define your future? That if you don’t receive superior scores on your SAT and exemplary grades you will never go to college? Well, I am here to tell you that you made it. College is supposed to be a time to learn and get the most bang for your buck so you can go on and be prepared for a world that no longer gives you grades, but instead decides your pay. You have made it through yet another finals week, but more importantly you have made it to Cal Poly and that’s what truly matters.