Hey everyone,
Maadhav here, currently sitting in the library surrounded by approximately 47 pages of notes and questioning every life choice that led me to this moment.
So we’ve reached it. The final stage. Everything else is done, projects submitted, reports handed in, and assignments completed. There’s nothing left between me and freedom except three exams and my rapidly deteriorating mental state.
Welcome to exam season. Population: stressed engineering students and way too much coffee.
The Countdown Begins
Let me set the scene for you:
- November 4th: Dynamics exam (handwritten revision sheet allowed, currently at 0% completion)
- November 10th: Thermofluids exam (currently at maybe 30% prepared)
- November 13th: Design and Manufacture exam (my brain already forgot what we learned)
Three exams. Ten days. One increasingly panicked mechanical engineering student.
The math isn’t mathing in terms of preparation time versus content to cover.
The Handwritten Revision Sheet Dilemma
Can we talk about the dynamics exam for a second? They’re letting us bring ONE handwritten revision sheet. Sounds generous, right?
WRONG.
This has somehow created MORE stress because now I need to decide what’s important enough to go on this magical piece of paper. It’s like trying to compress an entire semester of content into one A4 sheet and hoping you pick the right stuff.
Current internal debate:
- Do I write formulas? (Obviously yes, but WHICH formulas?)
- Do I include worked examples? (Space is limited)
- How small can I write before it becomes illegible under exam pressure?
- Should I do it in pen or pencil? (This has consumed more mental energy than it should)
I’ve restarted this sheet three times already. Each time I think “okay THIS is the optimal layout” and then realize I forgot something crucial and have to start over.
My handwriting is getting progressively smaller as I try to fit everything. By the time I’m done, I’ll need a magnifying glass to read it. But future-exam-me will thank current-me for this. Probably. Hopefully.
The Problem (AKA My Current Nightmare)
Here’s the thing about dynamics that nobody warned me about: the course is split between different lecturers, and Lihua’s section was RIGHT AT THE START of the semester.
You know what I remember from the start of the semester? Absolutely nothing. My brain decided that information was temporary and deleted it to make room for more recent content.
Now I’m trying to relearn material from Week 2 while simultaneously reviewing everything else, and let me tell you, it’s like reading my own notes in a foreign language. Did I write this? Apparently yes. Do I understand it now? Absolutely not.
The problem with having a long semester is that the early content feels like it happened in a different lifetime. February-me understood kinematics of particles. October-me is looking at these equations like they’re ancient hieroglyphics.
So that’s fun. Super fun. Not stressful at all.
The Thermofluids Mountain
Thermofluids exam is on November 10th, which SOUNDS far away but is actually only six days after the dynamics exam, which means I can’t just focus purely on dynamics and worry about thermofluids later.
The content for this course is… extensive. We’re talking:
- Heat transfer (conduction, convection, radiation – all three, because one wasn’t enough)
- Fluid mechanics (Bernoulli, continuity, all the equations that look similar but aren’t)
- Thermodynamics (first law, second law, cycles, efficiency)
- Plus whatever else my brain has blocked out as a self-defense mechanism
No notes allowed for this one, which means everything needs to be IN MY HEAD. All the equations. All the concepts. All the problem-solving approaches.
I made flashcards. I have practice problems. I have a study schedule that looks great on paper and terrible in reality.
The plan is to focus hard on dynamics first since that’s the immediate threat, then pivot completely to thermofluids after. Whether this plan survives contact with reality remains to be seen.
Design and Manufacture: The Wildcard
November 13th feels simultaneously far away and way too soon. This is our MECHENG 236 exam, and honestly, I’m not even fully sure what to expect.
The course was so project-focused that exams feel… weird? Like, we spent all semester designing gear reducers and learning manufacturing processes through practical application. Now we have to prove we know this stuff through written examination.
I need to remember:
- Material properties and selection criteria
- Manufacturing processes (machining, casting, forming, joining)
- Design principles and considerations
- How gears actually work (the theory, not just the CAD)
- Tolerances, fits, and all that detailed stuff I definitely should have been paying more attention to
The good news is this exam is last, so I have the most time to prepare. The bad news is that by November 13th, my brain will have already been through two exams and will be running on fumes and spite.
The Study Routine (Or Lack Thereof)
I’d love to tell you I have this perfectly optimized study schedule where I tackle different topics at peak mental performance times. I’d love to tell you I’m calmly working through practice problems with complete understanding.
Instead, here’s my actual routine:
Morning: Wake up later than planned. Panic. Coffee. Stare at notes.
Afternoon: Library. Find a spot. Open textbook. Immediately get distracted by wondering how many other people are also struggling. More coffee. Actually do some problems.
Evening: Realize I’ve spent 40 minutes on one problem. Question whether I understand anything. Take a break that lasts too long. Return to study feeling guilty.
Night: The productive hours finally arrive. Suddenly everything makes more sense at 10 PM than it did at 2 PM. Work through problems. Feel capable.
Late night: Keep going because momentum. Realize it’s 1 AM. Questionable decisions are made about sleep versus one more practice problem.
Repeat.
It’s not optimal. It’s barely functional. But it’s what’s happening.
The Practice Problem Grind
Engineering exams aren’t like other exams where you can get away with memorizing content. You have to DO problems. Lots of problems. Over and over until your hand cramps and you start dreaming in free body diagrams.
My desk is covered in worked solutions. Some correct. Some… less correct. Some that started correct and then I made a sign error and everything went wrong.
The frustrating part about exam prep is that sometimes you’ll solve a problem perfectly, and then the next problem that looks almost identical completely stumps you. Engineering is humbling like that.
But there’s also something satisfying about working through a complex problem and getting the right answer. That little dopamine hit of “I actually understand this” keeps me going.
The Content That Haunts Me
Dynamics: Relative motion problems. I know I need to understand these. They will definitely be on the exam. Do I understand them? Ask me after I’ve done 50 more practice problems.
Thermofluids: Boundary layers. Reynolds numbers. When to use which equation. The fact that air and water behave differently and I need to remember which properties apply to which fluid.
Design and Manufacture: All the manufacturing process details. How do I remember the difference between all the types of casting? Or machining operations? There are so many variations and they all sound similar.
These are the topics that wake me up at 3 AM in a cold sweat. Well, that and the general existential dread of exams.
What’s Actually Helping
Practice Exams Are Gold
Past papers are literally the most valuable resource right now. They show you what types of questions actually get asked, how problems are structured, and where the difficulty level sits.
I’m working through them timed to simulate exam conditions, which is stressful but necessary. Better to discover you’re slow at solving problems now than during the actual exam.
The Revision Sheet Process
Even though my dynamics cheat sheet is causing me stress, the process of making it is actually helping me learn. Deciding what’s important enough to include forces you to identify key concepts. Writing it out by hand helps it stick in your brain.
It’s just… time-consuming. And my hand hurts. But it’s working.
The Mental State Update
Real talk time: I’m stressed. Not “mild concern” stressed, but “lying awake at night listing all the content I don’t know” stressed.
Every time I look at the exam schedule, I feel a small spike of anxiety. Every time I struggle with a practice problem, I worry about whether I’ll be ready.
But here’s what I’m trying to remember: everyone else is feeling this too. The mechanical engineering group chat is full of people asking questions, sharing concerns, and collectively spiraling. We’re all in the same boat, and that boat is taking on water but we’re bailing together.
Also, I’ve made it through every exam period before this. I’ve stressed about exams before, studied hard, walked in feeling unprepared, and somehow made it through. This will be the same.
Probably.
Hopefully.
The Final Week Strategy
With one week until the first exam, here’s the plan:
For Dynamics (Nov 4th):
- Finish the revision sheet (this is priority number one)
- Work through more practice exams
- Focus extra time on Lihua’s content since that’s my weak point
- Review all problem-solving approaches one more time
- Try to sleep the night before (unlikely but aspirational)
For Thermofluids (Nov 10th):
- Start serious review immediately after dynamics exam
- Flashcards for all equations and when to use them
- Practice problems focusing on the stuff I found hardest
- Make sure I can explain concepts, not just calculate answers
- Do past exams under time pressure
For Design and Manufacture (Nov 13th):
- Light review during the first week
- Heavy review after thermofluids
- Go through all the project work and extract key learnings
- Memorize manufacturing processes and their characteristics
- Practice design justification questions
Is this plan ambitious? Yes. Will I follow it perfectly? Probably not. But having a plan feels better than chaos.
A Message to Future Me (And Anyone Else Reading This)
If you’re reading this as a future Part II student about to go through exam season, here’s what I want you to know:
It’s going to be stressful. Your brain will feel full. You’ll question whether you know enough (you probably know more than you think).
But you’ll get through it. One exam at a time. One question at a time. One equation at a time.
The projects being done is actually huge – no more divided attention, just pure exam focus. That’s a gift even though it doesn’t feel like one right now.
And on November 13th, when you walk out of that last exam, it’ll all be over. The semester will be done. You’ll have survived another round of engineering education.
That finish line is so close now. Time to dig deep and push through.
The Countdown Continues
So here I am. Notes everywhere. Coffee going cold. Handwritten revision sheet mocking me from across the table.
November 4th is coming whether I’m ready or not. Then November 10th. Then November 13th.
And then? Freedom. Summer. Sleep. Time to remember what hobbies are.
But first, I need to figure out how to make my handwriting smaller so I can fit more information on this sheet.
Wish me luck, friends. We’re entering the final battle. Stay focused, stay caffeinated, and remember: exams are temporary, but the knowledge you gained (and the trauma) is forever.
Your stressed-but-determined, revision-sheet-obsessed, counting-down-the-days engineer,
Maadhav
P.S. If you see me in the library over the next week looking like I’ve seen things, it’s because I have. Those things are thermofluids equations and they haunt me.