I seriously doubt myself and have many apprehensions because to be honest, I'm not the smartest, not a good test-taker, and just nervous about college....
and yes i worry a lot because I don't want to end up not achieving my goals, and yes I am compulsive and crazy but it's just because I just want to prepare myself for success....
FP21's MOM, I'm so happy your getting a kick outta this, but seriously, get a life
1. You don't have to be the smartest to be successful. You have to have a brain in your head, but its more about hard work than anything else. And it is fine to be nervous about college, but you will need to become a better test-taker.
To be honest, I used to be a horrible test-taker. Then I started studying for my exams, going to class, paying attention, and taking notes. Suddenly, I became a freaking awesome test-taker, almost overnight.
You are going to need to get this anxiety under control. Go see a psychiatrist to see if there is anything that can be done. No, I am not kidding.
2. Prepare yourself for success by expecting success. You look more like you're trying to prepare yourself for failure by planning your excuses ahead of time.
My junior year in high school, I shot about 30% from the free-throw line. I was a decent player, and a good shooter, but I did not want the ball on the free-throw line. I always made them in practice, but I wanted no part of them in the games. As a result, I became a huge *****. I stopped being aggressive, because I didn't want to get fouled and end up shooting free-throws. This is a huge problem for a post player who does everything around the basket and likes to dunk. I ended up riding a lot of pine as the year went on.
My senior year, I led the greater San Antonio area in free-throw percentage. I think I missed two or three all year.
What do you think I did to make this turnaround? Practice shooting free-throws all summer?
Hell no. I was already a good shooter. My problem was in my head. I was choking, because I was afraid to fail. I told myself every day during that offseason that I wanted the ball in crunch time, and I wanted to get fouled. I wanted to shoot those shots, because they were free points, and I wanted to win.
I was still nervous. It was 1995, and I still remember my first free-throws that season. I was a little choked up, but I had the right attitude going to the line. The first couple shots went in, and I was home free. That year, I hit free-throws to win games, to send games to overtime, and so-on. We were state semifinalists that year too.
So just relax. You may not be some super-genius, but you've got a ****ing brain, don't you? Are you completely inept? Of course not. Figure out what you need to do to learn some effective study skills. Have some early success, find a major you enjoy, and build some confidence that way. Then you'll be home free.
A little compulsiveness will serve you well. Too much will be very counterproductive.
Prepare for success by not being afraid to fail. Learn from your mistakes, instead of freaking out, or becoming apathetic. And for the love of God, shut the **** up about how low you need to score on the MCAT and GPA in order to get in already.
