Last semester coming to an end

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Finals season is upon us…and so is my last semester of my undergrad career. I cannot express how happy I am to finally be finishing up my Bachelor’s Degree. If I am being honest, I am so tired of studying all the time and taking finals. It feels so good to almost be done with school forever. Finals at Bocconi University are so different than what I am used to.

First, since I had no homework, projects, or midterms for any of my classes, the final is worth 100% of my grade. It seems stressful, but since all my classes transfer over as pass or fail, I am not too worried about it. Also, Bocconi is unique with the fact that they let you choose when you want to take your finals. There are three different sessions to take your finals for each class. You can choose to take them late December, early January, or late January.

Additionally, if you take a final in December and you fail, you can retake it in January. This is completely different than my home university because I have never heard of being able to retake a final. I like this idea though because it gives me a second chance to improve my score. I took all my classes in Italian, but my director back home told me I could take the final exams in English if my professors gave me the option.

So far, I can take three of my exams in English and I am waiting to hear back from one. I would like to take them in Italian to challenge myself, but this is my last semester needed to graduate so I can’t afford to fail any classes. Other than that, I am still proud of myself for going to classes where I was one of the few non-Italians- it was kind of intimidating, but I survived.

I’ve been reflecting on my studies here and I can’t help but smile at my experience abroad. I learned a lot with all the classes I took and also how different my school is structured. Time to get back to studying and finish this semester off strong!

Monica Curiel

<i>Hello in your host country language</i>: Ciao <i> University</i>: San Diego State University <i>Expected graduation year</i>: 2018 <i>Destination</i>: Milan, Italy <i>Program Provider</i>: SOSU Exchange <i>Major / Minor</i>: International Business <i>Language of Study</i>: Italian <i>Demographic background</i>: First-generation, Hispanic-American <i>Future career aspirations</i>: Liaison Officer or Protocol Officer <i>Top 3 goals for study abroad</i>: To learn Italian; To network with locals; To become more open-minded.