Five tricks university students use to pass exams

Of cause at one point everyone would like to join a good campus given the freedom it comes along with such as class attendance being optional, no continuous syllabus (so cramming is not an issue) and no caning but comically enough this freedom comes with consequences.At the end of the semester, you will have to sit for an examination.

 Given that no student would like to graduate with just a ‘pass’ they will do anything possible to pass the exam.

Here are the five things that students will do to acquire those good grades.

Writing ‘Mwakenya’

Believe me, this is not a new vocabulary to any student who is on campus, no! Even the ‘bright ones’.

Can you imagine the whole semester you’ve been partying, attending ‘bash’, road trips, spending time with your girlfriend/boyfriend etc, then you see a text sent by your class representative in the class WhatsApp group “Our examinations will begin next week.”

Seriously, do you expect students with such a short notice to start reading? The only option would be to call those “students wamekaliwa chapati” for notes so that they photocopy and write ‘mwakenya’ for the whole units while the others struggle to read.

Where they hide and how they are able to remove it in the presence of maximum invigilation, I really don’t know. What an easy way of preparation!

Seat booking

“There is this student in our class who always looks serious and so focused. I’m going to book her/him a seat beside me so that he/she can assist me with my exams.” These are the kind of discussions you are likely to hear during exam period but seriously, the person doesn’t even know you better (juu pia class you rarely attended), worse is that you hardly talked during normal class days.

They would rather waste time shouting to their classmates “wewe, wee! Hio kiti is booked, please look somewhere else to sit,” We say “Degree ni Harambee!”

Early bird

Yeah, as it goes, the early bird catches the worm, I think it also applies to the campus students during an examination period. Apart from arriving at the exam venue earlier to book a seat for that ‘focused guy’ they always have a plan B for sometimes plan A fails and so if they get that strategic position around the wall the better.

 Get me clear, they don’t position themselves near the wall to dodge the cold but they come here earlier than the rest of the students so that they can inscribe some note on the class wall.

They even get wild and rowdy when the exam coordinators decide to change the exam venue or re-arrange their seating arrangements.

Overnight reading

When I mentioned freedom, I remember saying that what makes campus more fun is that the syllabus is not continuous compared to high school and primary schools. Work has been simplified for those students who don’t like revise for their exams they can spend the whole night to read, cram and seat for the exam the next day.

You will know all this by the activeness of the class WhatsApp group for there will be no non academic chats and if you dare to start one, my friend “utabaki ukijiongelesha.” Students make sure they have done everything possible to pass that exam even if it takes the whole night to read for the exam.

Quiet and calm

“Nikiongea sana nitasahu what I read, so just let me be and let’s talk after the paper.” I think if you are a campus student you must be used to this responses by now. Surprisingly the most talkative and those who looked like ‘don’t cares’ are the ones who are full of such responses but come on, who said talking makes you forget things, is there a scientific fact? “Kama haujui haujui” stop blaming your brain for such petty subjects (why don’t you forget to describe that concert, that boy/girl that you met in the club, that expensive drink or that series you watched two weeks ago!).

You will think “wamemwagiwa maji baridi” on how they will be serious for that one and a half week period of examination. My friend, it’s never that too serious!