People who finish exams 1hr early Forum

[nickwar]

I finished a 3 hour exam in 45 minutes.

Also, I got an F on it. But A- in the class.

Hmm... your icon is iconic. I must create something that is worthy to bask in its epicness.

It's "borrowed" from fark.com -- best "news" site ever.

[goosey]

i finished my exam from yesterday an hour early...it had a word limit and most of the class finished 30 min to 1 hr early....we couldnt write anything else so just sat there going back and figuring out if everything we said deserved to have words allocated to it. the least stressful final ever, but terrified of my grade. i could get a A+ or a C. his rubric is basically just a list of x issues [not that many] and he allocates a certn amt of points to each. the word limit is pretty restrictive. so...you eitehr use your words to talk about exactly what he wants or you are screwed. you cant throw everythign at him...or even 75% of everything. i really felt like i was picking and choosing what to write about and what to leave out

[AreJay711]

I can see this happening if the prof made the exam too short or you are really fast at putting words on the page. I think good profs don't make exams so long that you can't finish -- since that only really helps people that type at 100 wpm and not the people that know the material or are good at legal thinking so much.

I know in me K exam, I spent a cumulative 45 min reading and outlining my answers so if you have the mental organization to skip that step there is the hour right there.

[DocHawkeye]

I finished each of my exams about a half hour early with the exception of contracts which had an absurd time limit (and hour and forty-five minutes for one long issue spotter and five short ones, really?). Torts had a 2500 word limit, crim was half multiple choice, property was all multiple choice (and, since property is 6 credits, was not technically a final), civ pro had an obscenely long time limit (3 1/2 hours for three questions and also not actually a final). I feel pretty good about most of the exams. That being said, I have no grades back so I have no clue how I did.

[jarofsoup]

For some exam takers(like me) I get into trouble when I take my time on questions and go by a more impulsive approach. Sometimes this results in me finishing early, but on essay exams usually not. Exam styles tell you very little about the exam taker.

[goodolgil]

Some exams are too easy, everyone finishes early, and the curve is a mess.

I will say, if you're the only one who finished early, you're probably missing something.

Eh, I always finish early and I've done well so far. Although I usually go back and check my work as many times as possible afterwards because I've missed something or changed something before. The only exam I ran anywhere close to up against the clock on was my worst exam.

Same. I either know it or I don't and sitting there pretending to work for another 30, 40, 45 minutes...is the most annoying thing ever. I don't outline before I start typing though, so I have a jump start on just about everyone on virtually every test. There are times I've left exams after about 5 edits per question and I have absolutely no idea what the hell everyone else is still doing, and I get pretty good grades back, so who knows.

I've always worked quickly on tests, though, and I'm a fast reader/typist. That helps a lot. Not being verbose helps too, especially on exams with word limits.

Same here. Start typing right away and usually finish significantly early, especially if I don't have to look things up. I think the key is not outlining. When you end up finishing every question 5-15 minutes before the suggested time limit that adds up to finishing the whole thing significantly early.

I also type fast and am relatively concise. Did very well 1L; we'll about 2L.

[shock259]

Someone walked out an hour into my 3 hour contract exam. I just laughed, because there was no way he did well.

[DocHawkeye]

Someone walked out an hour into my 3 hour contract exam. I just laughed, because there was no way he did well.

The question is if he bothered to submit an answer at all.

[alicrimson]

There is a guy who hand writes and finishes in about half the allotted time in my section. He really confuses me.

I never understand the hand writers. I would absolutely tank if I did that. Plus, the paper would be full of just nonsensical arrows and scratching things out while trying to slam stuff into the margins. Not pretty. There are some in my section who hand write despite being really fast typists who take notes on their laptops all semester long. This is mind boggling to me.


Also, as an aside, every time I see your Bill Clinton avatar I absolutely die. It is by far my favorite.

[goosey]

There is a guy who hand writes and finishes in about half the allotted time in my section. He really confuses me.

I never understand the hand writers. I would absolutely tank if I did that. Plus, the paper would be full of just nonsensical arrows and scratching things out while trying to slam stuff into the margins. Not pretty. There are some in my section who hand write despite being really fast typists who take notes on their laptops all semester long. This is mind boggling to me.


Also, as an aside, every time I see your Bill Clinton avatar I absolutely die. It is by far my favorite.

i dont understand handwriters either---why not just type it?! its so much easier to read...its faster that writing..it doesnt hurt your hand. I would probably get a C in every class if I tried to hand write my exam. I mean, aside from the fact that you cant possibly write as fast as you can type, if I were a prof I would be really irritated with handwritten exams. I dont think having an annoyed person grading your exam is the way to do it.

[Ludo!]

There was a person in my section who had computer problems before our Property final last year and had to hand write. Walked out after like an hour (in a traditional 3 hour issue spotter exam). Dropped out in the first few weeks of 2l.

[Naked Dude]

There is a guy who hand writes and finishes in about half the allotted time in my section. He really confuses me.

I never understand the hand writers. I would absolutely tank if I did that. Plus, the paper would be full of just nonsensical arrows and scratching things out while trying to slam stuff into the margins. Not pretty. There are some in my section who hand write despite being really fast typists who take notes on their laptops all semester long. This is mind boggling to me.


Also, as an aside, every time I see your Bill Clinton avatar I absolutely die. It is by far my favorite.

i dont understand handwriters either---why not just type it?! its so much easier to read...its faster that writing..it doesnt hurt your hand. I would probably get a C in every class if I tried to hand write my exam. I mean, aside from the fact that you cant possibly write as fast as you can type, if I were a prof I would be really irritated with handwritten exams. I dont think having an annoyed person grading your exam is the way to do it.

The other thing is, I can't imagine the psychological toll handwriting would have on me if my computer died. Can you imagine, furiously scribbling while listening to a few dozen people clack away on their keyboards? It would drive me crazy, knowing that I couldn't write as fast as I thought

[pasteurizedmilk]

It seems risky to not take all the time on issues spotters. Even if you get an A-, maybe you would have gotten an A if you'd spent another 1/2 hour at it.

Personally I have left early for only one exam, and it was multiple choice. on issue spottes I'm racking up points until the buzzer (with good results).

[Transferthrowaway]

Anecdotally, there is a transfer who still posts here occasionally that is finishing in the top-1% of his class at a T-14 and he routinely finishes exams with a healthy chunk of time left (or alternatively leaves to purchase fresh baked rolls for a mid-exam snack).

[jetergrl2ss]

The only exam I truly finished early on this semester was Civil Procedure. Word limits on all the short answers. Edited those suckers like 3 or 4 times and then just couldn't think of what else to add to a 100 word answer without going over the limit.

[NJcollegestudent]

I found that i almost took all the time allotted for the exam. There is no way you can finish an exam one hour early, unless you missed a significant issue.

[paulinaporizkova]

ALMOST all the time? i literally was forced to stop mid-sentence on all my exams

[unc0mm0n1]

I had a couple 8-hour takehome exams, some with very limited word limits (2000-4000 range) and straightforward issue-spotting. I spend the first 3-4 hours hammering out a rough draft that usually runs over limit, then spend the next 4-5 hours cutting, editing, and taking multiple breaks and eating lunch. Some people just turned the exams in early. Doubtful that it'll hurt them much, but I can't bear to turn it in more than 10 mins before it's due for law school exams (in undergrad I was often one of the first handful done, and usually got As, in comparison).

I'm the same way, had an eight hour takehome exam 2000 words total word limit, and it still took me 7hrs and 55mins to finish.

[D'Angelo]

two exams without word limits for me...was still writing all the way up until the end! so many words written!