Frustration

On a university campus, it's not uncommon to hear phrases like "I have more time now that midterms are over" or "How were midterms?  Are you glad they're over?".  Frankly, I don't understand.  Most of these comments come from adults who have long since graduated from college, but some come from students.  Let me tell you why I'm puzzled:


During the first 3 weeks of school this semester, I did not have any exams scheduled.  (This makes sense - I have to gain knowledge before it can be tested.)  Exams started the 4th week.


Not counting the first 3 weeks, there are only 2 other weeks during the semester that I don't have exams (one of them is the week of Thanksgiving break).  That's 5 total out of 15 weeks in the semester - I HAVE EXAMS ON TWO THIRDS OF THE WEEKS IN THE SEMESTER!  How can "midterms" ever be over until the class ends?


There are 6 weeks in the semester when I only have 1 exam to take.
There are 2 weeks when I have 2 exams to take.
There is 1 week when I have 3 exams to take.
There is 1 week when I have 4 exams to take.  (This is the week after Thanksgiving break.)


My guess is that an average student has 4-6 classes with real exams (I'm not counting classes like sports or performing groups).  These classes probably have different numbers of exams (probably between 2-5) spaced evenly throughout the semester.  It's not like they're all going to magically coincide on 2 or 3 weeks during the semester!


So, advice:  Please don't talk about when "midterms" are.  Midterms are all semester long.