AUBG Students on State Exams

As the fall semester is ending, many seniors are almost certain about their decisions regarding taking the state exams. But how much do they actually know? Most major departments have options: a project, an exam, or perhaps a thesis, but the choice is not easy to make, and can sometimes be unclear. 

Tsvetelina Vakashinska, a senior from Bulgaria, majoring in Journalism and Mass Communication (JMC) and Psychology, decided to take a state exam in JMC because she did not have a particular idea of what she would be passionate about working on by the time the capstone pitching deadline came. When asked what she knew about state exams, she said that most of the information she knows is from the students that have taken it before rather than from the university.

Tsvetelina said, “I think that they should very clearly tell us that we have a choice because I think a lot of people don’t even know.” She added that some people do not know that they need to pitch a capstone idea the semester before they do it, and while there is a JMC department on Canvas with information, many people don’t open it until the very end. 

Mariam Gugushvili, a senior from Georgia, is graduating this Fall semester, and she does not feel like the information is provided efficiently. She believes there should be information sessions held at least 2-3 weeks before the semester ends because there are students graduating during both semesters. 

Mariam said, “I think AUBG actually has resources and information, but it’s not correctly communicated to the students because students don’t know where you access it unless they ask.” Mariam also made an interesting point: students should be told which classes are useful for state exams because they will take better notes. “If you know that it’s useful in the future, of course, you will do more work for that class,” she added. 

Alex Iliev, a senior from Bulgaria who recently decided to take a state exam in JMC, refers to his information sources as a combination of both faculty and students. When asked what he expects on the state exam, he was hesitant about the content because this decision was still new, but he commented on where the information could be found. 

Alex said, “There is a JMC Canvas group where there is everything you need to know about whether you decide on a capstone or state exam or whatever. And you can go through there, which I still haven’t done, which maybe I should do so.”

On the other hand, Nino Kutubidze, from the class of 2022, believes that she was well-informed about the state exams. “On the university website, we could find the exams and the guidebooks, guidelines for all state exams for all majors, so it was very helpful. I knew what I could expect and how to approach the question that was given enough to develop the essay kind of writing,” she said.

Nino did not approach any professors about her state exam because examinations were mentioned frequently in class, but she contacted students to understand their firsthand experience, which was helpful. “I feel like the examples that were given by the university, by staff, were pretty much very close to what I personally got on my state exam,” she added.