Fallout

The controversy over the finance midterm hit the fan today. The basic story is that a group of enterprising students managed to get a copy of last year's midterm and answers, which they then proceeded to use as a study guide. This year, the midterm was almost exactly the same as the previous year's, which as you might guess, gave some people a rather unfair advantage. They basically had the answers even before they walked into the room. I wasn't even aware of the existence of this exam until about 45 minutes before the test started and another female classmate says that she finds it significant that none of the females in the class received a copy of this exam. Anyway, the professor found out - it was obvious, he said, that some people had an unfair advantage over others. He even went as far as to say that he could tell which students had had a copy of the exam versus those who hadn't. As a result, the curve was completely shattered and those who got As by having the midterm from last year basically screwed the rest of us - thanks, guys.

So what does the professor do? He gave us all 100s on the exam. Every single one of us gets 100 regardless of how we actually did. Now this might sound wonderful to y'all, but it really sucks as a solution - it means that everything is riding on the final; the grades are relative. The top twenty percent get As, everyone else gets Bs and Cs. So even if he gave the entire class 50s, it makes no difference - we're at the same point we were before the midterm.

Anyway, this leads into my epiphany. I was planning on a May 2003 graduation, but I'm starting to think that I lack staying power. I've done really well so far in the midterms (the bogus grade in finance notwithstanding), but I'm not enjoying myself anymore. The team problems, the petty politics, the competitive nature - not for me. So I'm thinking about a December graduation now. I'm already getting 6 credits by going to France and I'll be back well before the second summer session begins - I can pick up another 6 then and finish off in December by taking 12 credits that semester (which is nothing compared to the 16 I have now). Which means I can get back to my fulltime job in six months rather than in one year. Opportunity costs, you see - I have to think of what I'm losing every month I stay here, which is basically 50 percent of my income, not to mention my sanity (though my brother already thinks I'm nuts). The sooner I get back to RL, the better.