It’s the stressful mix of anticipation for winter break and dread over a week of hour-long tests that gives finals its bad reputation.

Every student copes with the responsibility differently, and some people have more at stake than others.

Junior history major Mike Kwain has two history finals to prepare for. That’s not many relative to most undergraduate students.

“I am not exactly nervous about them,” he said. “I am confident that I know the materials for the exams, but I do realize if I do not do well on them that they will affect my grades.”

Kwain said he’ll probably spend about four hours studying for the two exams.

David Healy, a senior history major, thinks his German final will require a lot of study time.

“[I] should probably study a good 10 to 20 hours for this test,” he said. “But, since I have several other papers to write as other finals, I will probably end up studying about three.”

Josh Bowers, a mathematical sciences graduate student, has tutored students who are nervous about finals.

“A lot of people are very concerned about what their grades are,” he said.

Bowers said that each student and each class requires a different level of preparation to be successful on the final.

“It depends on the teacher and how they set up the class to begin with,” he said. “Particularly in math, they are designed to test the knowledge that you’ve gained over the whole semester.”

Comprehensive tests, like those given in the math department, should have a large effect on a student’s grade, Bowers said.

“It should be more heavily weighted just because it’s a bigger test of a lot of your stored knowledge,” he said.

Math department tests often are Scantron style, with multiple choice or true and false questions. That type of testing doesn’t appeal to everyone, though.

“I prefer essays,” Kwain said. “You can be more creative with your answers and I believe it is more fair for the student. The teacher will understand if you know the topic better than if it is a multiple choice or Scantron exam.”