Uni and high school have a lot of differences, but one thing is the same: exams exist!

With that said, uni exams and high school exams are not the same. After surveying a range of current university students, here’s what we found about university exams.

 

Are university exams online?

We had a range of responses to this question, but most students had experienced at least some online exams. Some of these online exams were conducted remotely (so you could theoretically complete them from home), whilst others required you to be on campus, even though the exams were digital.

"... most students had experienced at least some online exams."

A consistent theme was that, for online exams, your progress was ‘proctored’. That is, somebody was watching you complete the exam to ensure that everything was above board. This might involve downloading software before the day. Here are some responses from our tutors:

For online exams, a Canvas page for the subject's exam was made with joining instructions posted before the exam period began. The exam was proctored using ProctorU, and internet searches are restricted.

My main online exam was proctored, which meant before the exam started I had to download and set up some software on my laptop, and test that it was working. Doing this well before your exam is so important to reduce stress on the day, and make sure you're able to focus on the exam, not be distracted and stressed by technical difficulties.

Nowadays exams are online but at the university- so bringing a laptop and charger is important. You are assigned a room, and check in at one of the university check in points to get a bracelet. And there are like helpers that float between the rooms. You are recorded during the duration of your exam

In-person exams still exist, of course, and are the go-to in some cases.

 

How are university exams different?

Responses suggested that there were both some similarities and differences between high school exams and university exams.

 

Similarities:

  • Both theory and application of that theory get tested.

  • Exams are subject-specific and based on the material learnt in classes.

 

Differences:

  • There are more ‘open-book’ exams.

  • Study tends to be more self-directed.

  • Some exams can be at home, and there are more online.

  • There is less of a competitive edge within the cohort.

  • There is more emphasis on understanding rather than knowing content.

 

How early should you prepare for university exams?

Responses indicated a general distinction between light revision/study, and dedicated exam preparation. For light revision (in our experience, this might be things like taking notes for each week, organising those notes thematically, completing assignments, doing revision quizzes etc.), study was typically ongoing from Week 1. For more dedicated exam revision, responses ranged from a few weeks out to a week before.

"Responses indicated a general distinction between light revision/study, and dedicated exam preparation."

Here’s one of our favourite responses to this question:

Keeping on top of lecture content and readings throughout the semester is definitely one of the biggest parts of being prepared for exams, so when it comes time to study you're only revising content, not trying to learn everything for the first time without the support of a teacher. So really, studying starts as soon as you start learning content, and it's helpful to revise it throughout the semester. When it comes to revising the content for the exam, it's important not to leave it to the last minute, which takes the stress out of studying, and gives you plenty of time to revise everything a bit at a time.

 

How should you study for university exams?

We also asked our tutors for their top tips on exam preparation, particularly for students about to sit their first university exams. Some assorted tips included the following:

  • Start preparation early.

  • Don’t just passive re-watch lectures, as there are more targeted ways to revise for exams.

  • Ensure you’ve covered everything from your assessable lectures/workshops before sitting your exam.

  • For online exams, there may be some processes to get used to (such as downloaded software etc.). Getting this sorted early can help to avoid stress on the day.

 

Remember that these responses were based on a small pool of our tutors’ experiences, so experiences will vary. Best of luck for your university exams!