As the end of the year rolls around, it’s easy to get hung up about final exams being the only thing standing between you and summer. Without a doubt, it can seem like that. All the talk of summer activities, the long-anticipated warmer breeze, and well… exam prep. It can be a stressful time ending off the year by recapping the entire semester into one, condensed 2-hour test can be a daunting thought. Although, it doesn’t have to be. With the right amount of confidence, walking into those final exams will feel like walking into any other class or lecture. Here’s how:
1.Don’t Worry About The Outcome
You know the saying “don’t let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game,” well it couldn’t be more true when it comes to exam stress. Often, students become stressed about their final grade, they completely blank out on tests. Even if they have studied enough and know the material, the fear of the possibility of failing or getting a bad mark can make a B go to a D+. To avoid this, go into the exam without fear. If you fail, think of it as “you’ll cross that bridge when you get to it.” This eliminates the element of surprise and automatically makes you accept the situation at hand, and focus. Besides, with this mindset, and proper studying, you’ll ace that test!
2. Focus On Your Health
The food you eat and the way you treat your body is directly correlated with how you feel. How you feel is directly correlated with how well you perform tasks. Makes sense right? This applied to when you’re studying, and when you’re walking into the exam room. Feeling stressed studying the week before? Take a walk outside or do some stretching. Feeling stressed waiting to write your exam? Stretching your arms up to full extension or going into a forward fold will help you think better, and therefore relieve stress. Since blood is rushing to your brain, it will also increase brain function, thus helping you remember and retain information. Diet plays just as an important role! While studying and on the day of exams, although it may be tempting to fuel up on feel-good sugary foods, instead give your body fuel to function. Whole foods without any additives are known to boost your cognitive ability, and also keep your stomach from rumbling from while writing the exam.
3. Come With the Right Supplies
Although this seems like an easy one, showing up to an exam without a pencil can add a lot of extra unnecessary stress directly before your exam. The night before, pack your bag with water, 3 pencils, an eraser, ruler, and your study notes. Being able to “get in the zone” before your exam means not having any other occupying thoughts, like “what happens if I can’t find a pencil to write the exam?”, or not remembering the acronym you studied to remember the main concepts. Lightly reviewing the key points of your notes right before your exams will help you go into the exam with ease, and also jog your memory to remember important concepts that might have been hard for you to do so in your studying.
4. Prepare Like a Pro
Preparing correctly for an exam does not exactly mean studying for hours on end. If you study smart, you won’t have to spend long periods of time studying concept after concept. Studying smart means starting well before the exam and planning out which chapter to study in a timely manner. When studying, making corresponding notes that identify the concepts that you had difficulties learning, or are likely to forget is impactful. With these notes, you can then condense them into point form notes, which then can further be condensed into 1-2 page notes about a full chapter. Reviewing these notes 1 week before an exam, and only these (consider you would have studied the technical concepts beforehand) will help you identify the concepts that you know really well, and ones that you may need to review again and again. Then, once the time of exams rolls around, bringing these notes to your exam will give you an overall look at the whole of the exam content, which is much better than flipping through a textbook last minute.
5. Think Positive
A positive mind is cabilable of many things, including exam success! If you have studied, keeping a positive mindset will ensure you keep high grades as well. Challenging your negative thoughts and replacing them with positive thoughts will help you keep a clear mind and make you more capable of retaining information. Thinking over and over again that you will pass will make the exam feel much easier, and will increase your likelihood of actually passing!
Good luck! 🍀
