Marx

I've been busy getting all my final assignments done, of which I have 2 due today. Lately it has been extremely hard to motivate myself to do anything that relates to school. I think it is just the fact that I know that I am going to be leaving in the next few weeks (which is a pretty depressing thought) and I want to do all the things that I'm never going to be able to do again rather than schoolwork.

Finals here in Australia are just a bit different than from home. At home, you would have 3-4 exams throughout the semester and then a large final at the end of the semester which counts for about 20% of your grade. Here, you have almost no exams during the semester, and very few assignments which count for a surprisingly low percentage of your final marks. Then, at the end of the semester, you get hit with all your assignments at once, on top of the fact that you have to study for your exams which are worth 60-70% of your whole semester grade. I'm lucky to only have finals in 2 of my classes, but the other 2 have huge assignments due in the next few weeks.

Grading is a bit different as well. You get a "High Distinction" for anything over 80%, "Distinction" for 70-79%, then "Credit" (60-69%), then "Pass", and then "Fail". In American grading standards, anything over a Distinction is counted as an A. I figured that it would make my job much easier as a student, but it just means that they grade much harder here. A 65% in Australia is actually pretty respectable, where at home it is a failing mark.

I should probably stop procrastinating and do my assignments, I know.