Oh no! It’s Week 9, that can only mean one thing … final exams [insert Sad face emoji].
Final exams are stressful. Even if you’ve studied for them. I can certainly relate. During my first year at Dartmouth, no matter how much I studied for final exams, I couldn’t help but feel stressed. I had a bad case of nerves going into final exams, and I think that prevented me from doing better on certain tests.
During my sophomore year, I discovered a few techniques for getting over these nerves. By practicing these techniques, I ended up feeling a lot more confident during exams, and was able to perform better on my tests [my GPA was thankful].
Here are my top 3 tips for conquering final exam stress:
Tip #1: End the paralysis. It’s easy to get into a mental trap of stressing about exams. It’s paralyzing. Each minute you spend stressing about exams, is a minute that you could have spent studying. The best way to end this destructive mental trap is to take a deep breath, and say to yourself: “I will not waste any more time thinking about my problems, instead, I will work towards conquering these problems.” It’s a simple declaration, but it’s empowering.
Tip #2: Exercise. There’s a ton of research on the benefits of exercise on academic performance. You can read them here. If you feel like you don’t have enough time to exercise right now, then make an exception. The 30 minutes that you spend jogging will save you hours of stressing on your paper. It’s because exercise, especially cardiovascular exercise, will spike your dopamine – helping you to stay calm, clear headed, and ready to go.
Tip #3: Call a friend. I know we’re in college, and it’s easy to feel like you need to handle everything on your own. But sometimes, you need to call a friend, or a family member. Talking to a trusted friend or a loved one for a few minutes can be really soothing and helpful. Being able to get advice, or even just having a listening ear, can be enormously helpful. If you can’t call a friend or family member, then schedule an appointment with your Dean, or with an adviser from the Academic Skills Center – we are here to help!
Hope these tips help. Keep fighting! Together, we’ll conquer final exam week!
Jonathan A. Lu ‘19