Test Anxiety - Began my third year as an undergrad?

[Illuminating]

I've never had a problem taking exams, standardized tests, etc. before - in fact - I used to love final exams because I'd score so high on them that it'd raise my overall grade a few notches. Until this last semester (spring semester of my junior year), I never really made "stupid" mistakes on midterms/finals before - I always ended up with a grade I deserved.

It all started when I took an intense, condensed 5-week organic chemistry course over the summer and ended up with my first C- to plague my transcript. I just couldn't handle the rigor and compression of the course material, and quite honestly, did not deserve said C- (I should have failed). For the first time, I cried over a class because I simply couldn't understand what the final exam questions were asking.. after passing the course, I literally became mentally paralyzed and traumatized. I took the rest of the summer off, spent it with my family, essentially "rejuvenating" myself.

From the beginning of this semester, I was absolutely frightened of organic chemistry B.. (I retook organic chemistry A the coming fall semester, earning an A on the midterms/final) hearing horror stories about how much more difficult it was than A. Regardless, I went into it with a good mindset.
Please don't tell me, "you just didn't know the information well enough", because that is NOT the case. The moment I walked out of the room, I could answer all the questions correctly as my friends & I discussed our answers to the hardest problems -- like the cloudiness just dissipated instantly -- but I'd soon realize that I had written something other than the answers I was arguing for. I messed up my first midterm, and then consequently, the final. I earned "A"s on the other ones. I helped/tutored several of my friends proving my knowledge of the material, and even helped them score an entire letter grade above me on several occasions. I don't understand why this is happening .. it doesn't affect my other classes (biology, biochem).

I've tried a multitude of things my parents have suggested -- sitting in the exam room for an hour beforehand, reviewing material, changing my study environment from my quiet desk to other rooms, listening to music before the exam, etc.. but I'm just at a loss for words. My overall grade is horrendous (C+) and completely unrepresentative of my knowledge of the subject. I'm taking a break from all rigorous academics this summer besides internships/research and light studying. I'm just scared that this will continue to happen and therefore, destroy my future.. any suggestions?

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[Pharm Phiend]

I can completely relate to you, i think my symptoms are a lil worse. it starts the nite before especially if it is an early class, i cant sleep cause of fear that i wont wake up in time to take the test. however i do fall asleep for a few hours eventually. the morning of the test, i know this is a TMI, but i get the runs before hand. i go to the bathroom at least 3 times before i leave my house then when i get there, (which i get there 30 to 45 minutes early) i start panicking when going over the notes if i forget the slightest detail. When i start the test my palms start sweating, my heart races, i even feel dizzy or nauseous this sends me into a frenzy and i start forgetting the material or start second guessing myself and tend to put the wrong answers at times.

BUT what has worked for me to remedy this is to do breathing exercises, focus on my breathing before i go to sleep, the morning of the test, and while im waiting to take the test, i also pray and ask God to calm my nerves! i dont look at my notes unless im really unsure of the material. i find that these things help (oh and i stay away from caffeine it makes me feel worse---shaky and nervous). my english teacher actually told me that i had this when she noticed that i looked freaked out before tests or when were asked to write essays in class i would just blank out and get really upset and anxious, but when it came to writing essays outside of class i would nail it. think about something that usually calms you down and try practicing it. everyone is different so what may work for me may not necessarily work for you. good luck!

 

[xNeenax]

BUT what has worked for me to remedy this is to do breathing exercises, focus on my breathing before i go to sleep, the morning of the test, and while im waiting to take the test, i also pray and ask God to calm my nerves! i dont look at my notes unless im really unsure of the material. i find that these things help (oh and i stay away from caffeine it makes me feel worse---shaky and nervous). my english teacher actually told me that i had this when she noticed that i looked freaked out before tests or when were asked to write essays in class i would just blank out and get really upset and anxious, but when it came to writing essays outside of class i would nail it. think about something that usually calms you down and try practicing it. everyone is different so what may work for me may not necessarily work for you. good luck!

Hello,
Thank you so much for your response. I have the same problem as both of you guys. I've had test anxiety since I started college. When I walk to class before a test, I'm usually shaking and when I'm taking the test my hands get very sweaty. It's very bad, when my palms sweat, water just drips down from my hand and gets on the table and my test, so I would always have to dry my hands and the table.
I do make bad grades on my test when that happens because I make TOO MANY STUPID MISTAKES
I circle the wrong answers, I misread questions, I do simple computations wrong, etc. And when I'm done with my test, I sit there and check of my test over and over and over again until time is up. However, I can barely catch those mistakes that I've made.
My gpa has been dropping each semester and I really hate myself for this.

I'm going to try the whole breathing exercise thing and see if that helps.

 

[pharmschooler]

If your problem only seems to occur with organic (but not in other difficult classes, like biochem), I wonder if you've conditioned yourself to feel this way. You might have to re-train yourself so you stop thinking so negatively about organic chemistry.

Before doing your next o chem course, get a copy of Klein's Organic Chemistry I & II books. They're short and sweet and to the point. Go through; read them, do the problems.

I doubt you don't know the material, but you probably don't trust yourself that you know the material. That might require more studying, so you can prove to yourself you know and understand.

Just my 2 cents...I could be wrong.

 

[2411t]

If your problem only seems to occur with organic (but not in other difficult classes, like biochem), I wonder if you've conditioned yourself to feel this way. You might have to re-train yourself so you stop thinking so negatively about organic chemistry.

Before doing your next o chem course, get a copy of Klein's Organic Chemistry I & II books. They're short and sweet and to the point. Go through; read them, do the problems.

I doubt you don't know the material, but you probably don't trust yourself that you know the material. That might require more studying, so you can prove to yourself you know and understand.

Just my 2 cents...I could be wrong.

Remember when all the sophomores would strike fear into the hearts of Freshman about the difficulty of OChem? You'd get psyched out before you even started the class. How much of a difference it was my 2nd semester when I appreciated the intricacies of OChem.

 

[R2pharmD2]

I've never had a problem taking exams, standardized tests, etc. before - in fact - I used to love final exams because I'd score so high on them that it'd raise my overall grade a few notches. Until this last semester (spring semester of my junior year), I never really made "stupid" mistakes on midterms/finals before - I always ended up with a grade I deserved.

It all started when I took an intense, condensed 5-week organic chemistry course over the summer and ended up with my first C- to plague my transcript. I just couldn't handle the rigor and compression of the course material, and quite honestly, did not deserve said C- (I should have failed). For the first time, I cried over a class because I simply couldn't understand what the final exam questions were asking.. after passing the course, I literally became mentally paralyzed and traumatized. I took the rest of the summer off, spent it with my family, essentially "rejuvenating" myself.

From the beginning of this semester, I was absolutely frightened of organic chemistry B.. (I retook organic chemistry A the coming fall semester, earning an A on the midterms/final) hearing horror stories about how much more difficult it was than A. Regardless, I went into it with a good mindset.
Please don't tell me, "you just didn't know the information well enough", because that is NOT the case. The moment I walked out of the room, I could answer all the questions correctly as my friends & I discussed our answers to the hardest problems -- like the cloudiness just dissipated instantly -- but I'd soon realize that I had written something other than the answers I was arguing for. I messed up my first midterm, and then consequently, the final. I earned "A"s on the other ones. I helped/tutored several of my friends proving my knowledge of the material, and even helped them score an entire letter grade above me on several occasions. I don't understand why this is happening .. it doesn't affect my other classes (biology, biochem).

I've tried a multitude of things my parents have suggested -- sitting in the exam room for an hour beforehand, reviewing material, changing my study environment from my quiet desk to other rooms, listening to music before the exam, etc.. but I'm just at a loss for words. My overall grade is horrendous (C+) and completely unrepresentative of my knowledge of the subject. I'm taking a break from all rigorous academics this summer besides internships/research and light studying. I'm just scared that this will continue to happen and therefore, destroy my future.. any suggestions?

I know it sounds counterintuitive, but are you studying too hard? I mean, are you studying 48 hours straight and then taking the exam or something ridiculous? I've done that to myself before (not 48 hours obviously, but staying up late studying, then getting up early to study just prior to the exam). I would study so hard and so much that by the time the exam rolled around I was so mentally exhausted and stressed out I did worse than I would have if I'd spent the entire day before relaxing.

 

[Illuminating]

If your problem only seems to occur with organic (but not in other difficult classes, like biochem), I wonder if you've conditioned yourself to feel this way. You might have to re-train yourself so you stop thinking so negatively about organic chemistry.

Before doing your next o chem course, get a copy of Klein's Organic Chemistry I & II books. They're short and sweet and to the point. Go through; read them, do the problems.

I doubt you don't know the material, but you probably don't trust yourself that you know the material. That might require more studying, so you can prove to yourself you know and understand.

Just my 2 cents...I could be wrong.

Thanks for all your input & stories.. I don't feel so alone.

But in response to this.. & @R2pharmD2:
I actually own all the Klein supplemental books, on top of 3 other organic textbooks (Vollhardt, Wade, and Klein's new textbook) in ADDITION to my own textbook for the course. Perhaps I was studying too much.. but I am confident that I knew the material because I was able to correctly answer any question I randomly chose from any of the four textbooks. I bought these three other textbooks to supplement my learning during ochem A (when I repeated), and ended up with good results so I decided it'd be best if I studied all 4 textbooks + lecture notes for ochem B.. :| I did start studying 2 weeks prior to the final since ochem was my first final -- I couldn't sleep the night before even though I was 110% ready. I just sat there staring at my blank computer screen..

& perhaps I have just conditioned myself to feel so anxious about organic.. it's all over, though. I guess there's always the PCAT, but just thinking about this class gives me this terrible feeling in my stomach despite my knowledge of the material.

 

[crazybob]

I've never had a problem taking exams, standardized tests, etc. before - in fact - I used to love final exams because I'd score so high on them that it'd raise my overall grade a few notches. Until this last semester (spring semester of my junior year), I never really made "stupid" mistakes on midterms/finals before - I always ended up with a grade I deserved.

It all started when I took an intense, condensed 5-week organic chemistry course over the summer and ended up with my first C- to plague my transcript. I just couldn't handle the rigor and compression of the course material, and quite honestly, did not deserve said C- (I should have failed). For the first time, I cried over a class because I simply couldn't understand what the final exam questions were asking.. after passing the course, I literally became mentally paralyzed and traumatized. I took the rest of the summer off, spent it with my family, essentially "rejuvenating" myself.

From the beginning of this semester, I was absolutely frightened of organic chemistry B.. (I retook organic chemistry A the coming fall semester, earning an A on the midterms/final) hearing horror stories about how much more difficult it was than A. Regardless, I went into it with a good mindset.
Please don't tell me, "you just didn't know the information well enough", because that is NOT the case. The moment I walked out of the room, I could answer all the questions correctly as my friends & I discussed our answers to the hardest problems -- like the cloudiness just dissipated instantly -- but I'd soon realize that I had written something other than the answers I was arguing for. I messed up my first midterm, and then consequently, the final. I earned "A"s on the other ones. I helped/tutored several of my friends proving my knowledge of the material, and even helped them score an entire letter grade above me on several occasions. I don't understand why this is happening .. it doesn't affect my other classes (biology, biochem).

I've tried a multitude of things my parents have suggested -- sitting in the exam room for an hour beforehand, reviewing material, changing my study environment from my quiet desk to other rooms, listening to music before the exam, etc.. but I'm just at a loss for words. My overall grade is horrendous (C+) and completely unrepresentative of my knowledge of the subject. I'm taking a break from all rigorous academics this summer besides internships/research and light studying. I'm just scared that this will continue to happen and therefore, destroy my future.. any suggestions?

Do you study alone or with others? If you study with others, is it with close friends or classmates that you don't necessarily know very well?

Do you ask professors or tutors about what helps with test anxiety? What about other professors in the same department who isn't your instructor?

When you take exams, do you sit very close to other students? I've found that sitting away from most students helps me focus because I'm farther away from distractions than before. For example, if I'm taking a test on school computers, I try to find a table of 4 where no other student is sitting at the table.

Have you ever tried to have sample questions on a sheet of paper and then sit down to answer them as if you were taking an actual exam?

I used to have similar problems too, and I just had to take my time and not spend time getting nervous over one question. I try to answer the ones I can first, and then go on to the others when I have time, so I can look at it after answering some questions, so I'll feel less nervous about answering a question that hasn't been answered yet.

If you want my personal opinion and what I've tried, send me a PM. I won't judge because I've gone through something similar in school.

 

[Notecard]

I used to get a bit nervous before tests too. I found that reviewing material for an hour before the test is a bad idea (for me). Usually I won't study at all the hour before tests. I won't even think about it. I just listen to my ipod and read a book instead.

Then when the test comes it's kind of just like, "okay let's get it done." I'm completely calm and rely on how well I understand the material rather than any memorization at all. It's weird but that's the best I can explain it.

I found that when I study in the few minutes before the test I get lasting impressions of what I just looked over. Then I end up looking for those specific concepts throughout the test instead of objectively answering each question. Everyone is different though, it's hard to give advice other than to keep trying and finding what works for you. Good luck!

 

[tm79602]

I find that I have the same problem with test anxiety; particularly with math (even in pharmacy school). I have tried the relaxation and breathing techniques and that still did not work for me. I know the material backwards and forwards prior to the test, but once that test gets in front of me I start to blank out. I was prescribed Propranolol 10mg which has helped me tremendously with the physical effects of having test anxiety (no more hand shaking, heart is not racing anymore, and I am more calmer during the test).