By Evelynn Schoenthal
The past year uprooted everyone’s lives and drastically changed ways of life due to COVID-19. From wearing masks wherever you go, to staying inside, to working and learning from home everyone has had to acclimate to an extent. However, the impact this pandemic has had on the class of 2024 specifically has been ignored. They graduated their senior year in never-before-seen conditions and entered their freshman year of college with little to no guidance on how to acclimate to collegiate level school work and virtual classes. I asked fellow members of GW’s class of 2024 how they dealt with their classes this year and how it might impact their future endeavors.
Due to the online environment, GW professors must conduct lectures and exams online. While many find online classes enjoyable many find online testing unfavorable due to replicating test anxiety within the comforts of one’s own home. At the beginning of this school year, many teachers used the Respondus Lockdown Browser to conduct tests. The application would record audio, video, and flag the recording if it noticed suspicious behavior. Emma Delattre, a freshman who is currently undecided, noted that she would get flagged during her statistics exams because she would be using her calculator which added extra anxiety during tests. Eventually, the professor announced he would ignore the flags on the audio, but what was the point of using Respondus then?
Over the course of the school year professors moved away from forcing students to have their cameras on for exams due to an invasion of privacy. Professors shifted to using Webex or Zoom to conduct exams all at the same time with the test on Blackboard to ensure some form of integrity while protecting students’ privacy. The format changed as well. According to Aza Evans-Townsend, a journalism major in the School of Media and Public Affairs, teachers moved to take home tests, projects, or essays. She enjoys this format more as well, feeling that it is more of an “accurate representation of [her] knowledge” as opposed to multiple choice or timed exams.
The change in format of exams as well as the ability to take it from the comfort of one’s own home caused studying techniques and sentiments to change from when they took finals in high school. Emma Stenzel, a student in the Elliot School of International Affairs, says that she is less focused on memorizing material and focuses on her understanding of it due to many finals being open-note now. Evans-Townsend finds she hardly studies at all because it “is harder to feel the pressure when it’s just like opening another tab.”
Although students were able to find effective ways to study for online finals by scheduling review Zoom sessions with peers, freshmen remain concerned about how the online environment has influenced their studying habits especially with an in-person return to campus in the fall. Many professors across disciplines changed their exam format causing freshmen to adapt to collegiate level expectations in a way that differs from classes before. The open note finals and lack of monitoring while taking exams raises anxiety for how finals will be conducted in-person. Delattre enjoys taking the exam in her own home instead of a packed lecture hall around others and Stenzel knows it will be difficult to adapt from open note exams to no note exams when we return to campus. Without enforcing consistent study habits many have lost that useful skill during their transition from high school to college.
Despite the stress and pressure freshmen feel about online finals, projects, and papers; freshmen have found many ways to destress. Delattre replied that “I have taken longer breaks in between my study sessions, go on walks with my friend, or I will cook something nice for myself” to rejuvenate herself during a long day stuck in front of the computer. Evans-Townsend partakes in the same strategy. She will go on walks to get fresh air and experience a new, diverse environment. One of the perks of being off campus is the ability to leave and participate in activities while maintaining more focus on earning a good grade in classes. Other ways freshmen found ways to destress during finals season includes watching Netflix shows, listening to music, and working out.
With the virtual semester coming to an end, freshmen at GW cling onto the hope of finally being on campus and attending in-person classes in the fall. A return to normalcy is exactly what freshmen, and other classes, need after this hectic year. Endless sacrifices and constant adaptations have taken a toll raising fear for how they will adapt yet again to in-person finals, but in the midst of it all freshmen found ways to connect virtually with peers and professors while performing acts of self-care. With finals season rapidly approaching, pay attention to your body, mind, and needs during this stressful time.
