The beginning of March always seems to be midterm season, whether it is in DC or in India. For all you skeptics out there as to whether or not I actually do any studying abroad, let me assure you – I do. This week has been as stressful as any other midterm week, perhaps even more, due to the added element of new testing styles, the fact that midterms count for almost half of our semester grades, and realizing we have absolutely no idea what professors expect from us despite having asked them numerous times. But one thing is certain; memorization of hundreds of PowerPoint slides is expected. I’ve spent countless hours typing up notes and reading them over and over again in my head, hoping all of it would stick. But with only one exam and a short paper left to go until I am done, I am feeling pretty confident (minus two questions on my surveillance test), that this week has been a success. I guess we’ll just have to wait until the marks come back. In the meantime, we will be rewarded for our studies (and reminded how quickly our time here is going), with our epic mid-semester travel week. Beginning on Friday, we will be traversing all of South India from Manipal, at the coast of the Arabian Sea, to Pondicherry, at the Bay of Bengal, and everywhere between.
**Update: Today was my midterm exam for my class in maternal and child health. The test ended up being incredibly easy and after finishing, the professor announced we would be grading our own tests. We looked around at each other and smiled. Essentially, you got full marks for the question if you had everything he wanted, 4/5 if you had most of it, 3 if you had about half, and the lowest option was around 2 marks per question, even if you totally missed the mark. Out of 50 total marks, the final grading scale ended up being: >21 = B, 21-30 = A, 31-40 = A+, and 41-50 = A++. All of us could barely keep it together as he wrote the scale on the board. I can easily say that up until now, I have never received an A++ on anything, nor did I even know that was an actual measure. I never ceased to be entirely confused the the academic system here, but in this case, I absolutely no complains! Here's to hoping the grading is that easy on all the midterms!
**Update: Today was my midterm exam for my class in maternal and child health. The test ended up being incredibly easy and after finishing, the professor announced we would be grading our own tests. We looked around at each other and smiled. Essentially, you got full marks for the question if you had everything he wanted, 4/5 if you had most of it, 3 if you had about half, and the lowest option was around 2 marks per question, even if you totally missed the mark. Out of 50 total marks, the final grading scale ended up being: >21 = B, 21-30 = A, 31-40 = A+, and 41-50 = A++. All of us could barely keep it together as he wrote the scale on the board. I can easily say that up until now, I have never received an A++ on anything, nor did I even know that was an actual measure. I never ceased to be entirely confused the the academic system here, but in this case, I absolutely no complains! Here's to hoping the grading is that easy on all the midterms!