How to stay calm/not let nerves get to you before the exam?

[AegonTargaryenVI]

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Testing fairly soon, but I wanted to ask the community about the best ways to not let nerves and anxiety get the best of you in the days leading up to the test AND during the exam. The last thing I want is for me to score lower than my FL average or significantly worse than expected just because I let my head get the best of me. Any tips and advice are always appreciated.

 

[Lifeblood_20]

Testing fairly soon, but I wanted to ask the community about the best ways to not let nerves and anxiety get the best of you in the days leading up to the test AND during the exam. The last thing I want is for me to score lower than my FL average or significantly worse than expected just because I let my head get the best of me. Any tips and advice are always appreciated.

I’ve found meditation to be very helpful. Meditate every morning before doing anything else; meditate during studying breaks. When I feel myself start to panic, e.g. during FL breaks, I’d close my eyes and focus on my breathing, even if it’s just for a few seconds. Then tell myself it’s going to be alright; go to the bathroom during every break to fist bump with myself in the mirror.
Hang in there, good luck

 

[Cornfed101]

From the sounds of it, you may be done with FLs, but the biggest thing that helped me was trying to replicate the real test as much as possible when I was taking FLs. When I took the real thing it was just like any of my practice exams and I had practically zero anxiety on test day.

 

[AMCASTuesdays]

In the week leading up to the test, I resurfaced into the real world and did some fun stuff with friends that I hadn’t gotten to do all summer because of work and studying. I suggest keeping yourself busy as a way to relax before the exam. Don’t go nuts or anything, just have something to do during the day besides staring at a wall or jumping down a “what if” rabbit hole, and make sure you’re eating well and getting good sleep at night. Also, start setting up a nighttime routine that helps you wind down, because the night before the exam is going to be a time when stress might start trying to crawl its way back into your life. Find a podcast, or a sleeping app, something you can start while you begin to get ready for bed (early). You might want to think abt giving ur test material to a friend two days before the exam so you arent tempted to touch it lol

 

[deleted987519]

Definitely mimic testing conditions during FLs (I even did this down to the outfit I wore, what I ate for breakfast, what I ate during the lunch break, starting at 8 am, etc.)

Drive out to the testing center a couple days in advance - you don't want there to be any surprises the morning of!

During the exam, keep in mind your score is relative to everyone else, so if you feel like you bombed a passage, tell yourself it was 1. an experimental passage that won't be scored or 2. everyone else went 0/7 as well 😉

 

[Lardy Boy]

Look in the mirror and Slap your self. Then tell yourself you got this. Worked for me

 

[AegonTargaryenVI]

Thanks everyone for the tips. I've done the FL's already so now its just a matter of hammering in weak areas and Anki/KA docs without freaking out haha. I'll make sure to use all your advice.