My exams are coming up! - part 1

My college, G. Pulla Reddy College of Pharmacy, is affiliated with the Osmania University (OU), Hyderabad. The OU syllabus, for pharmacy colleges at any rate, is one among the most organised and clearly structured syllabi in the country. Of course, that does not indirectly imply that correction is any more lenient than in any part of the country.
Let me give you an overview of the exam. system/pattern. Internal exams are conducted by the college for 30 marks (theory) and 25 marks (practical) for 1 and 3 hours respectively. These marks are added to the external marks – 70 marks (theory) and 50 marks (practical) for 3 and 4 hours respectively. There are a total of 5 units per subject so 14 marks are allotted for each unit. Internal choice is allowed for each unit between two 14 mark questions from the same unit. To a student like me, that is equivalent to no choice! This might seem like a very boring topic to my readers(I assure you I think the same)but you see, I’ve got my semester finals from next Thursday(till the end of the month!) and this has been the only thought on my mind for the past few weeks.
Pharmacy is interesting but that does not invariably mean that it is easy. On the contrary, a poorly organized student, although he/she is brilliant, may lose out on all his/her marks simply because he/she cannot plan very well. I have found that more often than not, organization and time management go hand in hand. I think the best way to illustrate my point is by talking about the mistakes I committed.
APHE (Anatomy, Physiology and Health Education) and Microbiology are the main theoretical subjects; they are the ones that require maximum time, concentration and more importantly, memory power. I found APHE very lengthy in my first year only because I did not classify or group the topics according to their degree of difficulty and read the topics according to my mood. No notes, no important points, nothing. I did not even practice the diagrams as a result of which I lost 10 marks in my exams.
Microbiology, as I have already mentioned, has been my favourite subject until now. I knew all my weak points exactly and worked on those the hardest. Immunology is excellent but difficult- but no longer so when you have as co-operative a teacher as I did. So that’s another point learned – your teachers are your best guides, stick onto them like a leech and they’ll end up force-feeding you sugar. He showed me how to draw diagrams for the most abstract of topics and where to get the best material from. Check out the best part: when he once caught me talking in class, instead of punishing me he asked me to present a seminar! I don’t remember the last time a punishment made me work so hard or enjoy myself so much!