How to Relieve Test Anxiety

By Maddie Howard on May 22, 2017

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It’s that week again. The week you’ve known about for the past semester and didn’t feel like doing anything about until the night before.

Maybe some of you still have time before yours start, perhaps some of you are in the middle of your own, and maybe for some of you finals have already passed, and this advice is falling on deaf ears. In any case, here are some tips to approaching that impending anxiety that seems to come at the end of each semester.

Tip #1: Be prepared/confident

The two should go hand in hand. If you’re nervous and stressed going into your final, chances are you aren’t sure you’ve gotten the right preparation for what’s to come.

The best advice for boosting confidence before you take your test is to be sure that you have prepared yourself with every source of information you can find that is relevant to the exam. Study guides offer insight into what the teacher will be looking for, but it’s not necessary all inclusive. More than likely, your teachers will want you to demonstrate a grasp of ALL the material that was taught.

Tip #2: Take care of yourself

Your brain is an organ, and it is a part of your body. I know that seems pretty rudimentary to you at this point, but when it comes to college students during finals, personal care often goes out the window. You want to keep a sharp mind during your tests, and to keep your mind sharp you need your body in tip-top shape to match.

Making sure you get the proper sleep, nourishment, and exercise during this week will keep your mind clear and your anxiety low. So, maybe trade in that Twinkie for an orange, and think about subbing that late night study sesh for a good night of shuteye.

Tip #3: During your final, don’t stress!

You’ve prepared, you’ve slept the right amount, eaten healthy, and maybe even got in a quick workout. Don’t freak out that this exam is the culmination of an entire semester of work. It’s just another step, and you’ve got this!

Breathe: that’s probably the most important thing to keep in mind when test taking. First, read the directions thoroughly so you can get a firm understanding of the task. Next, budget your time: determine roughly how much time you have to spend on each question and try to aim for that. If you space out on an answer or think you are spending more time than you should on a problem, move on and worry about that question later. You want to maximize your time (and your grade!), so return to the question if you have time at the end of your final.

Finally, the last thing to do to reduce anxiety is to accept it. Finals are admittedly a stressful task for everybody — sometimes it will determine your grade for the semester — but, if you relax and breathe rather than drowning in anxiety, your testing experience will be much easier.

Good luck to all of you on your finals!

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