The time many students wait for is here– it’s the end of the first semester. But don’t celebrate yet. We all know by now what is to happen. That’s right, the winter finals are rearing their heads again, and with that comes stress and tons of time spent on studying. Some students are feeling the traditional pressure, like sophomore Chloe Henderson, who answered a poll question with just “STRESSED.” Senior Bernna Kilpatrick expressed her joy about the winter finals, if not just because her reasoning of “Hallelujah the semester is almost over.”

Surprisingly however, some aren’t feeling the same pressure as others. Take junior Cassie Volkin for instance, who said she was feeling alright about it. Senior Amanda Melton was in the middle, saying she was worried but “I’ll be okay.”

But what about those students who get to exempt from finals because they got high ACT scores? Is it really fair? Freshman Lily Hughes thought it was unfair, citing the ACT as being “for scholarships, not grades.” Senior Benjamin Meyer said he thought it was fair, but added that “the system is flawed in the fact that it only works based on improvement, not on high scores.” Even so, a majority seemed to find students with high ACT scores getting exemptions fair.

Study guides are another major part of winter, and in general all, finals. But there are some classes that don’t give out study guides. Freshman Sara Beth Besherse shared that most of her classes don’t give out study guides, and she felt they should to help get an idea of what will be on the final. Junior Tiffany Wu answered no as well, and she went right to the point with her response, saying, “They should or else I don’t really know what I should study.” 

Everyone seems to be looking forward to winter break after all is said and done.