Final exam week

We are having our final exams this week before starting our internship. Having studied in three different countries for degree and master program, I have to say that the way the final exams are carried are very different and it has largely influenced the I prepare for the exam.

In Malaysia (bachelor program):
Every paper had one final exam. It was very painful as all of the exams were open questions and you have to memorize the whole book to be able to score well. Of course I didn't do well as I didn't like this exam method. To add the pain the courses were taught in Malays and all text books were in English.

In USA (master program):
The exam system suited me well, as grades were distributed out to projects and final exams did not weight as much to the total grade. The most exciting part was that most of the time it was open book system, you can refer to whatever reference you want during the exams. Sometimes I was allowed to bring in a piece of "cheat sheet", where you put all the relevant formulas or definition in an A4 size paper and bring with you during the exam. Scored very well in this system.

In France (master program):
This course has very big influence from USA system since we are having partnership with Georgia State University. Most of the class don't have final exams. We are evaluated through our presentation, group projects and case study analysis. I will have 2 exams coming. I have to say that the exam questions from first semester were a lot tougher than those I had in USA. I couldn't tell how well I score as we haven't gotten the grades from the first semester! The professor is too busy he still hasn't come out with his grade thus delaying all other grades.

Conclusion: Personally I think the US and French system are a lot better than those in Malaysia, but the fact that I'm having master courses rather than degree might raise the differences. Since it is my second master program I do not have much motivation, as long as I can pass it will be ok. :-) Don't really care for my CGPA, plus the French have 20 point system so nobody will understand what it means anyway. Nobody has every gotten 20/20 so why bother?