Constantly doing horrible on finals

[ponybreeder4]

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I study and study, yet i still do horrible on finals. what's wrong with me!

 

[binko]

Test anxiety.

Strategies:
1. circle all verbs in the directions of every question
2. put squares around all the information you're given in every question
3. study in the same place you'll be taking the test if at all possible.
4. make sure to be well-rested and not caffeinated when test-taking.

 

[silverlining1]

I'm really sorry 🙁 That must be so frustrating.

I bet the biggest issue is one of study strategy. I struggled with this in the first quarter and a half of med school (still kind of dealing with it, but on an upward swing), and I decided to switch things up. Instead of reading through everything quickly 3 times, I decided to go really slowly twice - and it's working! I'm doing more practice problems and making my own study sheets - and that's helping too! It's helpful if you can identify particular weaknesses you have (for example, I am pretty bad at multiple choice test formats), but even if you don't know what's wrong, just try something new. If you don't know what to try, ask some friends what they do. Trial and error can be scary, but so is staying on your current path.

Good luck in the future!

 

[ponybreeder4]

My GPA is a ****ty 3.2 right now...after the finals this quarter it will probably go drop to 3.1, granted i go to a huge premed powerhouse institution, but still...how in the world will i get into med school with such a ****ty gpa 🙁

 

[starfishprime]

Test anxiety.

I find it interesting that the first answer is so often exculpatory.

OP claims to do poorly on finals, not tests in general. For this reason, I think we ought to consider that her (?) retention of concepts/knowledge is bad. The solution? Uncertain. I've never had this problem.

 

[bkz]

Could you give us a little more information? What kinds of trends/patterns do you notice when you do badly on a final? The same type of class, the same type of study pattern, the same time of day? It's hard to help w/out more details

 

[redlight]

lower your load (class/ec) and put more time into individual classes.
become more organized so you can target problem areas earlier and get help sooner and more efficiently. talk to profs, friends doing well in your classes, etc. hopefully they can help you fine-tune your study approach or point you in the right direction.

 

[ZeusonRoids]

I don't understand these threads. There are obviously a few things that might be wrong

1. You have overextended yourself
2. You have not put in enough effort in studying (even though you think you have)
3. You have a learning disability that you should get documentation for. (I do not mean this as a jab at you)

 

[DrYoda]

I find it interesting that the first answer is so often exculpatory.

OP claims to do poorly on finals, not tests in general. For this reason, I think we ought to consider that her (?) retention of concepts/knowledge is bad. The solution? Uncertain. I've never had this problem.

Perhaps studying further ahead of time could help this.

 

[virusgirl]

I study and study, yet i still do horrible on finals. what's wrong with me!

So i decided to drop an impacted class and made the decision to drop during about week 5..of course being a lazy college kid i did nothing about it til 9th week where i went to get a petition. surpise surpise, my petition got denied. I did no work for that class since the week i decided to drop and obviously am now failing. *** do i do???

I'm quoting you from another thread... Is this the same class that you're doing badly in? Or is it more of a general problem?

I don't mean to sound like a jerk, but your second quote (from the earlier thread) makes you sound like you don't take all of your classes seriously and don't have amazing study skills. Were you a "lazy college kid" who "did no work" just for that class, or is it a trend? It's hard to reconcile that self-description with your later assertion that you "study and study."

If you are not approaching all of your coursework seriously, then that is a problem. If you are taking it seriously, then I would make an appointment with a counselor or advisor to figure out a way for you to develop better study skills.

 

[binko]

I find it interesting that the first answer is so often exculpatory.

OP claims to do poorly on finals, not tests in general. For this reason, I think we ought to consider that her (?) retention of concepts/knowledge is bad. The solution? Uncertain. I've never had this problem.

I have this problem. I know how frustrating it can be to be told "Study harder" or "maybe the class is just too hard for you". I've heard it all, since high school. I've only recently discovered the methods I mentioned above and it's helped a lot.

I concluded that it was test anxiety in this poster's case exactly because he/she mentioned finals specifically. As in, tests where the stakes are really high, and also where the tests might be longer and organized test-taking methods might be more useful.

OP, your school should have an academic services department for stuff like learning disabilities and the like. They will probably also be able to help you with test anxiety or whatever it is that's causing your problems.

Also test anxiety doesn't just apply to test-taking, it applies to studying for the dreaded test as well. And you don't necessarily have to feel all stressed out to be suffering from anxiety enough to affect your performance.

 

[fizzle]

I study and study, yet i still do horrible on finals. what's wrong with me!

Maybe your "studying" is very inefficient. I remember you made that topic about getting into trouble because you didn't withdraw early from a course because of your self-proclaimed laziness. I'm beginning to see a pattern here...

 

[Global Warming]

You might be studying and studying and studying...but when do you start?? I have to ask because I know many classmates who also complain about the work they put into a class, but none of the results. However, when I go to ask about their study habits..I discover the flaw.

May I ask, how often do you study??

Personally, I study moderately every single day during the quarter and I REALLY enjoy it because there isn't any sense of rush. However, if you wait until test time to study..you are undoubtly going to do poorly. Concepts are easy, but retaining the vast number of concepts given to science students takes time to remember.

 

[binko]

Not knowing the OP's history and only my own situation, I can say that sometimes "laziness" and "ineffective studying" are also symptoms of test anxiety – you get so overwhelmed that you can't eve figure out where to start.

The issue here isn't figuring out that you need to do something different, it's *what* to do different. I feel like most of the posts in this thread are just people telling the OP to "try harder" and "do better", which really frustrates me since hearing this when I had this problem just made me feel like I must be stupid or lazy by nature, which in turn made me more scared about tests/studying since I felt doomed to failure.

OP, I reiterate, there ARE people who can help you. Probably a whole office full of them at your school. That is where you need to start. If "try harder do better" hasn't worked for you, then you need to see someone in academic services.

 

[drizzt3117]

You might be studying and studying and studying...but when do you start?? I have to ask because I know many classmates who also complain about the work they put into a class, but none of the results. However, when I go to ask about their study habits..I discover the flaw.

May I ask, how often do you study??

Personally, I study moderately every single day during the quarter and I REALLY enjoy it because there isn't any sense of rush. However, if you wait until test time to study..you are undoubtly going to do poorly. Concepts are easy, but retaining the vast number of concepts given to science students takes time to remember.

That just depends on how you retain info. A lot of people study a lot more near exams and that works fine for them, even in med school, because they don't retain info long term as well.

 

[kernel]

I am a terrible test taker in general. Up until this year, I hadn't thought about how heavily my study habits weighed in on this.

Like many others said, reevaluate your studying habits. Experiment until you find what works best for you. Study often and in advance, and in suitable environment. Work lots and lots of problems.

If you have severe test anxiety you could also look into some of the resources the counseling centers have available at your school: do you need extra time?

Good luck. Keep your head up -- you're not alone!

 

[tennisball80]

Not knowing the OP's history and only my own situation, I can say that sometimes "laziness" and "ineffective studying" are also symptoms of test anxiety – you get so overwhelmed that you can't eve figure out where to start.

The issue here isn't figuring out that you need to do something different, it's *what* to do different. I feel like most of the posts in this thread are just people telling the OP to "try harder" and "do better", which really frustrates me since hearing this when I had this problem just made me feel like I must be stupid or lazy by nature, which in turn made me more scared about tests/studying since I felt doomed to failure.

OP, I reiterate, there ARE people who can help you. Probably a whole office full of them at your school. That is where you need to start. If "try harder do better" hasn't worked for you, then you need to see someone in academic services.

Do you get more time on a test if you tell them you have anxiety ?

 

[binko]

Do you get more time on a test if you tell them you have anxiety ?

If you mean that as the personal "you" then no, I haven't gone to the trouble of getting my test-taking woes documented because additional time wouldn't do me any good on most tests anyway. My problem was going through them too fast, not too slow.

If you mean that as a sort of general "you", I don't know. If you get it documented then maybe.

 

[iTool]

I am a terrible test taker in general. Up until this year, I hadn't thought about how heavily my study habits weighed in on this.

Like many others said, reevaluate your studying habits. Experiment until you find what works best for you. Study often and in advance, and in suitable environment. Work lots and lots of problems.

If you have severe test anxiety you could also look into some of the resources the counseling centers have available at your school: do you need extra time?

Good luck. Keep your head up -- you're not alone!

I agree. Experiment.