prepared-ness for tests

[OpalOnyx]

I always walk into tests feeling unprepared. No matter how much I study, I'm still studying til the last minute...

wondering how it's like with med school. I obviously want to feel more confident and rested and prepared. Especially with exams in different subjects back to back?

what do you guys think... pre-med or med school wise, what's the best way to review/study and not drive oneself crazy in the process? haha does anybody feel ready, like they know everything, before the test???

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[aggie08]

I always walk into tests feeling unprepared. No matter how much I study, I'm still studying til the last minute...

wondering how it's like with med school. I obviously want to feel more confident and rested and prepared. Especially with exams in different subjects back to back?

what do you guys think... pre-med or med school wise, what's the best way to review/study and not drive oneself crazy in the process? haha does anybody feel ready, like they know everything, before the test???

I think it is pretty common to be unsure walking into a test. Especially once you're in med school the amount of information per test makes it impossible to be absolutely sure you know everything going into the test.

Practice questions help me a lot. They are useful to judge how well I know particular parts of the material. One thing I've found is that I do much better on tests if I go to bed early the night before and don't stay up all night studying. Then get up a little early and do a quick, basic review for 45 minutes or so before you leave for the test. When you leave, don't take your notes with you. It will just stress you out and you're not going to learn anything in the 2 minutes you're sitting outside the class (although, I realize this is easier said then done as I carry my flash cards with me EVERY WHERE).

 

[jgauger]

If you're not nervous you don't care enough. I feel anxiety going into tests too, but I think of it as a positive thing. If I am too confident I forget to read directions, don't look over my answers, and things like that. Nerves help keep me in check.

I'm not sure that this is helpful, but just thought I'd give you my perspective.

 

[OpalOnyx]

Thanks guys Very helpful in providing a fresh perspective on this...

And good point about getting up early to review instead of staying up all night... And the fact that nervousness can be a drive for doing well and avoiding overconfidence in testing situations.

muchos gracias.

 

[BlitzSleep]

If you're not nervous you don't care enough. I feel anxiety going into tests too, but I think of it as a positive thing. If I am too confident I forget to read directions, don't look over my answers, and things like that. Nerves help keep me in check.

I'm not sure that this is helpful, but just thought I'd give you my perspective.

I feel the complete opposite. I always walk into the classroom on exam days excited (yes strong nerd here). It's a great feeling destroying an exam. My philosophy is, if you know all of the material that is being tested, you're guaranteed an A. Be confident during the exam (this is very important)

 

[armybound]

Thanks guys Very helpful in providing a fresh perspective on this...

And good point about getting up early to review instead of staying up all night... And the fact that nervousness can be a drive for doing well and avoiding overconfidence in testing situations.

muchos gracias.

all-nighters are not good. start preparing earlier instead of cramming right before the exam.

 

[Cro]

I'm usually pretty anxious going into exams, regardless of how well I study. The one thing that always helped me was take a minute as you're sitting in your seat to take a few deep breaths. Close your eyes and just relax. Once the test is handed out, I'm ready to go.

As others have said, studying right before the test probably won't help you, but I usually find it reassuring to set aside about an hour before the test to just check up on my knowledge and get me ready and in the right mindset.

 

[FlowRate]

If you're not nervous you don't care enough. I feel anxiety going into tests too, but I think of it as a positive thing. If I am too confident I forget to read directions, don't look over my answers, and things like that. Nerves help keep me in check.

I'm not sure that this is helpful, but just thought I'd give you my perspective.

This is me. Controlled anxiety. I'm kinda a mix. I have to be just unsure enough to really check myself, but confident enough to feel sure about what I'm doing.

 

[vickpick]

i often do good when i walk in feelin unprepared while I do relatively bad when i walk in feeling confident

 

[OpalOnyx]

all-nighters are not good. start preparing earlier instead of cramming right before the exam.

yep... definitely not planning on doing that in med school

i do it for my grad classes, cause honestly - some of the material so dull - i'd rather study for 12 hrs the night before than stretch it out over a few days. I do fine on my tests. But of course, this is not gonna work for the retention or large volume of material in med school.

 

[ThaliaNox]

Most of my classes in medical school have buckets of practice questions and old tests to use as diagnostic tools for yourself. I know going into my tests how I'm likely to do because I know how I did on the practice tests. If I hadn't prepared enough, I wouldn't have done well on the practice tests. It helps me know when I have studied sufficiently.

 

[apumic]

Anybody else find they consistently do far better than they thought they were going to?

I've found that for me, the stress before a test is a positive thing. I have control of the stress (i.e., I don't get "stressed out") but it motivates me to study when I might not otherwise (wish to) do so. For me, the actual time during the test is usually extremely relaxed and possibly my 2nd "favorite" part of a test (to getting the results back), since that's when you get to see the fruit of your labor. Once I sit down, it's just a matter of working through a bunch of questions and problems, applying what I've studied and sometimes a few things I haven't (no biggie -- that's why I primarily study concepts; you can usually derive many of the details if you're conceptually strong enough).