Why am I expected to have mastered half of the course content by the midpoint of the course? If I bake a cake, do I expect half of it to be done by the end of the first half of baking time? Every year of uni I've fucked up one midterm just because it's the busiest time of the year, yet when I go on to actually master the materiel by December, I'm already destined for a B of A-. Why do profs insist on making an exam worth nearly as much as the final yet written during the busiest time of the year?

t. 4th yr engfag barely missing a 4.0