Category: 2023-2024

Hello everyone, it is Jack and I am back to tell you about the midterm experience at UC Irvine! While this post may not include descriptions of events that some may find fun, it will still provide some useful information surrounding the academic life at the university. Without further introduction, I would like to welcome everyone to the midterm or should I say quarterm experience at UC Irvine!

The first question some may have is, “what is a quarterm.” Well it is a name I have given to midterms at UC Irvine, because in my experience there are three to four of them in certain classes. The disclaimer I will give here is that this is just something I have found in my experience at the university as most of my friends and I are taking science classes where I have found that those classes have multiple midterms compared to classes in other disciplines, which seem to only have one. These quarterms are something that a student must be prepared for as they happen suddenly and at a fast pace. Having only ten weeks per class and then having four midterms, results in an average of a midterm every two-and-a-half weeks. Then having the fact that some classes only meet twice a week and one of those classes is taking the midterm, students may only have four class periods of actual instruction before a midterm exam takes place.

However, there are many resources for these classes which students can use to prepare for exams and although there is not a lot of in-class instruction time, these classes with multiple midterms tend to use in-class time for a review of content, rather than an introduction of content which takes place as homework.

But there are still classes which have the traditional single midterm and final and this midterm can take place in a variety of forms. For example one of my classes has a single midterm and students had the option to take the midterm in-person or to take it online. Usually the option of taking exams online comes with a fee which students must pay, but the in-person option is one that I have seen professors and other instructors prefer the most.

Being in my first year, I am in many classes with other first-year students and something that I see other students realize is the idea that the rules for exams and the content that they are required to know is concrete. I have been in a midterm where tens, if not over a hundred students have been thrown out for not following a professors instructions, students assuming that they could take an exam at home, even when an exam seating chart has been created and other students who assume that certain exams (not midterms) are optional. This is not something against students, it is just an observation that I made at how sudden some students have to follow new rules that they are not accustomed to. Also at times, there are some instructors that could make their policies more understood or less challenging to follow.

I have completed two midterms up until this point, but I have two more this week. The general content of midterms is not the most entertaining so, I decided to share some advice in this post. I hope everyone does well on their midterms and exams at UC Irvine and elsewhere!

Hello everyone, Jack here again to share some of my experience at UC Irvine! Since my last post I have finally been able to move in on campus and begin to enjoy life on campus. I have started all of my fall courses and similar to some other students have begun to have my first midterms this week. While I only have midterms for two classes, I am in full school-mode in all of my classes. As the school year is in full swing, there are a lot of events around campus. While I have attended many athletic events and I intend to attend more and share my experience, I would like to share my experience with an ASUCI event, which I recently attended.

On October 17th, an event was hosted at the garden in Arroyo Vista, where students were able to take a tour around the garden, participate in activities related to the garden and learn about sustainability organizations on campus. I attended the event because I wanted to learn more about the student-run garden on campus. The event was engaging as there were many activities to participate in such as planting a plant in the garden, painting a pot and then planting a winter plant in it and creating a bath salt using herbs from the garden.

This event was fun as I was able to explore the garden, get a plant for my room (I did not have any before) and learn how to create a bath salt. I did not only learn technical skills, but I also learned about the three sisters gardening technique used by Native Americans during a scavenger hunt around the garden. There were also some cool offerings from some groups around campus, who gave out stickers and reusable straws. I was even able to test my knowledge of vegetables which are green at the event.

As the quarter continues and more students get busier and busier, I hope that everyone does well with their courses. I know that a lot of people are studying and I see that firsthand as in my hall people stay up late at night to write on whiteboards all of the key concepts which are necessary to know for their courses.

As I begin to sign off until next time, I want to wish all students good luck with all of their exams, the fall student athletes, good luck with the end of their seasons and members of organizations a good rest of October.

That is it for me for now and I will be back in around two weeks writing about the midterm experience at UC Irvine!