Midterms and Finals at OHS

Midterms and finals each happen twice a year at OHS: There are fall and spring midterms and finals both semesters. We hope that this guide can serve to outline how to navigate and prepare. If you have additional questions, reach out to us here! The below article is updated with the corresponding dates for the 2025-2026 school year.

Basic Information & Resources

This Gateway page contains a good overview of exams. Info about proctoring can be found here.

You can find which courses that you’re taking have midterm and final exams here. For any courses not listed here, check your course Canvas pages or ask your instructor to see if you have any midterm or final exams, projects, essays, etc.

Learn about exam rescheduling here. 

Family Handbook info about exams and penalties for late exams can be found here.

Timeline

One month out: Studying, exam reschedules, proctoring

Studying: Even if it’s a month out from your exam, start thinking about studying for it. You’ll retain information better if you aren’t cramming at the last moment. Additionally, think about what things you’ll have due at the same time. If you’re going to have, for example, a project due around the same time, you might be able to get ahead on both studying for the exam and on your work for the project. If needed, you may be able to request extensions.

Planning ahead is key! Take a look at your midterms and finals schedule at least a month before so you can start planning. To do so, check out the Assessment Calendar, which includes all pen-and-paper exams along with some online ones. Also check your course Canvas pages for projects, papers, or exams not listed on the Assessment Calendar.

Exam reschedules: If you have two exams scheduled for the same day, you can ask to reschedule one of them. For a midterm, you can do that with your teacher. For finals, see this Gateway page for instructions and submit the form linked on that page.

Proctoring: For exams marked on the Assessment Calendar as “pen-and-paper,” you must schedule time with one of your registered proctors. Try to get your proctoring schedule at least a month in advance; lack of proctor availability is usually not a reason that an exam reschedule will be accepted. So, if your proctor isn’t available, you need time to find, register, and get approval for a proctor.

Two weeks out: Exam reschedule hard deadline, confirm exam materials

Exam rescheduling: You must submit an exam reschedule two weeks before the first day of exam week. The hard deadline for exam reschedule requests for the fall of 2025 is December 1. Submitting before this, however, is highly encouraged so you have ample time to plan and adjust.

Confirm exam materials: Will you be allowed a calculator? Scrap paper? Colored pencils? If you need more sheets to write on, will you be allowed to attach extra blank pages? If the exam is online, will it be taken via Proctorio or is it unproctored? What’s the time limit?

Ask your teacher all those kinds of questions a week or two out! 

One week out (roughly): Study days [finals only]

A week out from finals, there will be three study days. You can find their dates here (for the fall of 2025, it’s December 10-12). During this time, you don’t have classes, and teachers may or may not hold office hours (find out in advance on an instructor-by-instructor basis if they will).

Peer tutors will also not be available during this time, and TAs will typically not be either. If you have questions, you can typically attend office hours with your teacher or send them an email.

The day before: Sleep

Really, this is the most important thing. Your brain will work better if you sleep! Once it’s the day before, you’ve done what you can do. Now the trick is getting yourself ready to think creatively and apply the material that you’ve been studying.

Day of: Exam time

Arrive a few minutes early, especially if you haven’t worked with this particular proctor or visited a certain proctoring location before. (It might take 10 minutes just to figure out parking for the first time, as an example…) Don’t forget any exam materials you need, as well as water and possibly a snack.

You’ve got this! 

FAQs

How do accommodations work with midterm and final exams?

If you are a student with accommodations at OHS, you may have accommodations for Midterm and Final Exams. These accommodations are student-specific, but could include things like extended time, breaks, etc. How accommodations work with Midterm and Final Exams will depend on the structure of the exam. 

If your exam is being administered by a proctor, you and your family need to ensure that your proctor is aware of your approved accommodations. In addition, we believe it’s beneficial to have either you or your parents send your instructor an email reminding them of your accommodations for exams, and that you have let your proctor know. When you send this email to your instructor, CC your Counselor so they can stay in the loop, and aid you in this process. If you ever find yourself stressed about reaching out to your instructors about accommodations, please reach out to your Counselor. 

If you are taking a course that involves a timed online exam, or an exam with a different type of format, implementing accommodations can sometimes be different than if your exam was being administered by a proctor. Perhaps your exam needs to be in a different format than your peers, so that you can use your approved accommodations. In this case, we suggest the following:

• Reach out to your instructor about 3 to 4 weeks before the exam via email, remind them of your approved exam-accommodations (even though they have already received your accommodation letter, you likely need to tell them again). The earlier you let them know the better, so they have more time to help you. CC your Counselor on this email, so that they are aware of the situation and can aid you if needed.

• If your instructor is not sure how to implement your accommodations, or is giving you trouble about them, have your parents reach out to the OHS Accommodations & Accessibility Office (find contact info at the bottom of this page). You have approved accommodations for a reason, and every instructor at OHS is expected to respect that—you have done your part by letting them know early, communicating with your Counselor, and working with the Accommodations and Accessibility Office. 

We understand Midterm and Final season can sometimes be extra stressful for students with accommodations. If you ever find yourself needing support, academically or emotionally, we recommend setting up a meeting with your Counselor (it can be you and your family, or just you) and let them know what’s going on. There are many people at OHS ready and willing to help you. In addition, we recommend checking out this Accommodations Information and FAQ Resource if you find yourself with additional questions about navigating this process. 

I’m confused about the proctoring process. Can you explain it?

Sure! A great place to start is with the information on Gateway. In summary, you must register at least two proctors registered at all times, regardless of whether the courses you are taking actually have pen-and-paper proctored exams. (Check to see whether your midterms and finals require proctoring here. Note that you only need to schedule time with a proctor if you have a course that says it is “pen-and-paper,” but you always must register two proctors.)

How do you find a proctor? There are a variety of approaches. Local libraries are a great place to start. You may also be able to find other individuals or organizations in your area that offer proctoring services. Sometimes, a school or extracurricular organization may offer proctoring. If you’re struggling to find a proctor, send a message to Academic Bulletins or regular Bulletin in Pronto, or have you or your parents connect with other OHSers in your region to ask who they use for proctoring. 

You are encouraged to register more than two proctors, to maximize proctor availability. Keep in mind that final exams can be taken only on one day (without an exam reschedule), and that midterm exams usually have four-day windows from Friday to Monday (though not always).

How do I know when my midterms and finals are?

All pen-and-paper (i.e., in-person with proctor) exams, along with some online exams (taken via Proctorio or in an unproctored format) are listed on the Assessment Calendar. This calendar also includes the date or window of dates in which the exam must be taken.

Also check out your course Canvas pages (many courses have a “Course Schedule” page which has this sort of info, or it may be under “Modules” or somewhere in the syllabus). Some courses have exams, projects, or papers not listed on the assessment calendar.

If you’re still unsure, speak to your teacher during class or office hours, or via email.

How can I best study for midterms or finals?

There are lots of strategies for studying for midterms and finals. You can form study groups with peers, visit peer tutors at the Writing and Tutoring Center,, attend office hours with a teacher or peer tutor or teacher's assistant, or study independently. Some students find tools like Quizlet helpful. 

There is no one-size-fits-all with study strategies. Try some things out and see what works for you! In addition, we suggest connecting with peers, peer tutors, and TAs via Academic Bulletins and class chats.

We also recommend checking out the Board of SASS Flawless Finals series (which applies to both midterms and finals studying). General advice can be found here, along with STEM-specific study advice and humanities-specific study advice.

Finally, we hope you’ll join us on February 27th at 9:30am-10:30am PT for Midterms & Mayhem! This event will consist of review sessions for numerous final exams, and writing help from Writing and Tutoring Center writing instructors. Bring a friend and a warm drink, and let’s get through midterms together!

Do I have other assignments due during midterms?

Sadly yes. Unlike for finals, there is no “midterms week”; instead, midterms are spread out throughout October and November. You will likely have assignments due for all your classes even as you tackle midterms exams, projects, or papers. Midterms are a tough time with lots of workload for many students.

The best thing you can do is to plan ahead, take some time off from extracurricular activities when you need it, and seek support from Counseling if you need it. We also recommend checking out our Productivity & Time Management Advice.

What if I have two final exams due on the same day, or a conflict with a midterm or final exam window/date?

If you’re going to have two exams on the same day, or if you have an unavoidable conflict with an exam date/window, you can seek to reschedule an exam. Keep in mind that you need to plan ahead to do this, and you won’t be allowed to reschedule if you only realize a few days before. For finals in the fall of 2025, the exam reschedule deadline is December 1.

For midterm exams, you should email your instructor to request an exam reschedule, clearly laying out the reasons for your request. There is no precise deadline for reaching out, but you should make the request as far in advance as possible, and at least several weeks before the exam window opens.

For final exams, you should submit an exam reschedule request form. Again, for fall of 2025, the deadline to submit this form is December 1. 

You can learn more about rescheduling midterms and finals here.