Midterms: Humanities Edition

It’s that time of the semester once again — scary, I know. As a senior, this is my last round of midterms (thank god so sad, cherishing every moment), and I often feel a little bit of FOMO around my STEM friends. Not because I want to be them — let’s not get carried away — but because my complaining just doesn’t hit the same. But fear not, I also have plenty to complain about. Here are some things I will regretfully never experience at Harvard.

Open-note midterms

Spending several hours crafting the ultimate cheat sheet, writing in the smallest font humanly possible, and strategizing which formulas make the cut? Honestly, that sounds kind of fun. My version of studying is frantically rereading all the dense readings I’ve either skimmed or simply ~ignored~, pretending I understand them, and hoping my essay somehow gives “engaging critically with the text.”

Midterms as in plural?

STEM students don’t just have a midterm; they have rounds of them. The first round is typically around the time the rest of us are also going through it. The second and, for some, third round (insane) follow. All I have to say is that if you have more than one, it is simply no longer a midterm. It is a series of unfortunate events. Meanwhile, I have one take-home essay due in two weeks, and I will be in the trenches about it until the very last second.

Midterm right before finals

I have heard this complaint countless times. Honestly, no rebuttal. I agree. Professors need to pick a struggle. At that point, just call it a final. It has never, and will never, be that deep.

Curves on midterms

The way some of you pray for the downfall of others is crazy. The worse everyone does, the better you do? Meanwhile, if my essay is bad, it just stays bad. There is no magical curve, no collective suffering bailout — just a sad little comment from my professor suggesting office hours.

Not having to write multiple papers

STEM students will complain about psets, labs, and exams, but what they don’t have is three 15-page papers due within a 48-hour window, all worth a vague but terrifying percentage of the final grade. I will be writing until 11:59 p.m. for the week to come, surviving on coffee and delusion.

Whether you only have take-home exams or are prepping to survive your numerous midterms, we’re all in this together. And, as much as we love to complain, we did, in fact, choose this life. No one forced us to declare our concentrations or take that notoriously brutal class “for fun.” Maybe next semester you’ll make better choices.