Exams are a part of students’ lives. They can send a chill down the spine for some but for others, it is a cakewalk. Exams can be just a requirement or something that fetches a degree for students. While there are people who take exams seriously, there are others who take it in a lighter sense as well. Metrolife asked students how they value their marks and how serious they are about exams.

Adithya R Shastry, an MBA student says, “I do take exams seriously because it determines my scores and also decides where I will be heading to in the future. But I think it’s the recruiters who take exams and marks more seriously than the students,” he adds humourously.

Vikram A Shah, a second year B Com student says, “As a student, I really don’t bother about marks, they are not everything, and we need to learn from whatever we study and apply it in our daily life. I have never thought of scoring high marks but I try to attend all classes and learn how theoretical applications can be put to practical use in my daily life.”

Maneesha M Sharma, a final year B A student, has a different view. She talks about the essential components that goes in the process of learning. “I always feel it is important to learn the essential things which adds to the credibility of your knowledge from what we learn in class. Marks are just a pre-requisite for getting a degree. There’s more to learn from other arenas which give us immense knowledge and satisfaction than just from the exams that we write.”

Pavithra Gopal, another MBA student, feels that marks actually count a lot and adds to the most challenging  part of a student’s life. “I basically like challenges and I think exams and marks are an opportunity for me to test myself as to how well I have understood the subjects. At the end of the day, good marks give me an edge over the other,” she says.

But on the other hand, there are students who try to balance the act. Says Ashish N Koushik, a third year engineering student, “I think it has to be a balanced affair, marks in internals and externals are equally important but not to an extent where one has to strain and study. It has to be enjoyed in the right sense, mixed with fun, else it can be a disastrous for students. Learning basics and getting the fundamentals right is what matters the most,” he adds.

Exams may be a serious affair for many, but there are also students who, while giving importance for exams, try to learn things beyond the walls of classroom.