How do you feel before an exam?

[nicky]

Well, I am a ferry stressful type to be honest, especially when it is an important exam. I am a smoker, so smoking a cigarette before the exam helps me a little, but I am still nervous as hell when I start.

[justusforus]

I usually try to prepare well for any sort of exam.  The stress I think comes from a fear of failure and often a feeling of not being prepared.  If you do the best you can in preparing, get rest and tell yourself you have done all you can do, then you should walk in without stress.

I recently was "stressed" before an exam, which is unusual for me.  Think about it, stress will add nothing to your performance....and if you let your fear of failing immobilize you...you will  most like accomplish that fear.

[ArchaeRogue]

I don't get stressed for exams, nor do I study for them. I personally think school is a place for learning; I come to school to learn, not take standardized exams that apparently measure my competence with a particular subject.

Needless to say, even if I don't study, the lowest grade I'll get is a B.

On the other hand, I think it is pretty impossible to get anything below a C unless you completely guess on the test. I mean if it was short answers, then I could understand, but if it's multiple choice, just do elimination and go with your best judgement.

[rebel]

Depends on the exam and it's type. If it's an exam I've paid a big amount for I'd definitely be nervous as in case I failed it I would have to pay again and so on. If it's a speaking exam, then I'd also be frustrated although I don't really realize it. Last time I was very nervous on a speaking exam when I thought that I'm perfectly fine just a minute before entering the room.

If it's simply a school exam I couldn't care less about it as I usually know most of the things or have prepared a scheme I could easily cheat with so I wouldn't be nervous at all.

[jcannon]

So nervous! I've never tested well. In fact, I have a midterm coming up this week and even though it's an open book test (and should be simple), I'm terrified! I'm even fairly sure that I know most of the content, yet I can't stop my nerves...

[Firelily99]

If I have taken the time to learn the material then its a "no worries" attitude.  If I haven't studied for the exam then I do the best I can, kick myself in my can, and make sure I put out a better effort the next time.

[drkn335]

I always feel really nervous before the exam :sweating:, and then when I am sat waiting for it to start I real very nervous, But as soon as the exam starts I feel really relaxed and it's like there is no one else in the room. I just focus on the test and get on with it

[mickey4533]

It depends on how prepared I feel. I'm usually pretty confident if I covered all the content taught. However, I do stress out a lot before exams that I can't prepare for, such as the SAT. I find that I always walk in feeling more confident after a good night's sleep though.

[erronousRogue]

I find that trying to worry about anything does nothing but decrease my chances of success. Especially in verbal exams, appearing with a a calm demeanour and an air of confidence about you increases your chances of being perceived as knowledgeable, despite the actual mistakes you might make during the test.

Just keep your cool and you'll blaze through anything.

[zackeymane]

I feel somewhat anxious. I could probably just call that being alert, though.

[Daimashin]

Whenever I sat for exams I'll always leave the final the day before the exams start to relax. I will not touch anything related to that exam as I want to relax my brain. I found out that forcing yourself to more information will only increase my stress level and that won't help my memory one bit. I might end up losing more stuff instead.

[rossonomous]

I am normally very relaxed and go in with a level head. The only time I get a little worried is actually when I have a language exam. I feel much more under pressure in these situations.

[Rosa]

Before any type of exam I am usually very anxious :sick:. I try to breath normal and that seem to help. If during the exam I start feeling stressed again, I repeat the same thing and that takes me through .

[Firelily99]

If I know the material then I have no worries and if I haven't studied then I have no reason to worry!  Its going to be a bomb and I deserve it for not studying!

[TheStoryteller1]

I'm usually pretty calm.

I worry and fret about the exam over and over until the exam, study, prepare as much as I can. On the exam itself, I just relax and tell myself that I'm doing the best that I can. It has to be good enough. If it hasn't been, I evaluate my mistakes and plan what comes next once the results come. Until then I am calm.

I'm anxious before things like presentations though. Besides preparing as best as I can, my trick is feeling as good as I can. Usually that means I even plan out what I'm wearing, so that I feel 100% confident.

I have a friend that never got over her anxiety about such things. She used to take natural supplement that makes you calmer. I used it THAT one time when I did stress over exam, and it did calm me sufficiently. Sadly since it wasn't mine I have no idea to this day what was the name, but I think it was from an organic company in my country.

[dorannmwin]

I really didn't have one particular way that I felt before my exams, it really depended on what subject that it was. If it was something that came easily to me, I never stressed over it. However, with those subjects that I just did not get, I would have a lot of anxiety over those tests and exams.

[kristinaw]

No matter how good I am at a subject in school, I always stress out before an exam. It's the unknown that scares me. I think exams are a horrible way of measuring one's competency in a subject. Because of exams I am a B student but I can easily understand and discuss the subjects with other people.

[Peninha]

Good question! I think that my feeling before an exam is proportional to what I have studied!  :grin: If I have done a good job and studied hard I am feeling totally relaxed, with some anxiety, but relaxed and ready to do it. If I didn't study properly I'll be super nervous and I know I am in trouble...

[TheHandThatThieves]

No matter how much revision I've done, I generally feel pretty nervous - university level English exams can be kinda tricky, especially with regards to things like formal semantics. Nonetheless, listing to Sandstorm by Darude on the way in usually puts me in a good headspace.

[fredkawig]

You have to be prepared before an examination. Stress is good when it keeps your mind alert on what you have studied for the past hour or day. It can help you by rushing adrenaline to your brain to help you remember the things that you have studied. Too much stress or too little stress can make you fail the examination. You have to be prepared in order to balance anxiety and stress.

[LivetoErr]

It depends on how well prepared I was for the exam. If I managed to get a cram session in before the exam I would have no problems and be calm. If life got in the way and I didn't get a chance to study then I would get nervous. Normally, I'd manage to pull off a decent grade so the worry was unnecessary

[sos]

I usually feel rather tensed before any major exam but if it is a minor one I am very relaxed and I usually pass the minor ones.

[1inamillion]

I also get very stressed before exams. If I didn't study enough I obviously fear not knowing the answers and getting a low score. But if I studied a lot and feel like I know the subject well, I also get scared that I might confuse or mistake something and get answers wrong. I'm also very competitive, so on tests I always want to take better grades than my friends. So when I get the worse, or one of the worse grades I feel down for quite a long time.

There are many things you can do before an exam to help you prepare well for your exams. The more you do to prepare for an exam beforehand, the better you will feel during the exam. To make  myself feel better I study hard and prepare myself in advance because if you study everything in detail you will not have to worry about anything as you know everything.  Sometimes I do get nervous, in order to avoid being nervous I listen to music, chat to friends about a movie, read an excited book  or about something interesting other than study which makes you feel good. 

[mizore742]

I'm not really stressful right before the exam but sometimes at random parts of the day I have a panic attack because there's a lot going on in my life sometimes. To release my stress, I just take three deep breaths and think about nothing else besides my breathing. It helps a lot especially right in the middle of a test.

[sos]

The feeling is always mutual

I get nervous only if I never prepared for the exams.....but I'm the confident type of guy!!,,always ready 4 any quiz that comes my way