Whether you’re earning your college degree online or studying at University of Southern California, taking any major tests can be extremely stressful. Many professors weigh their grading heavily on testing, and some of them don’t allow students to retake their tests. No matter what the situation is for you, you want to be sure that you have some techniques for keeping the stress down and holding on to all of the information that you will need for your exams. Here are 5 college test anxiety cures.
- Attend Office Hours
Whenever you have a test that you don’t feel entirely prepared for, it’s important that you go to your professor’s office hours to ask any relevant questions. Most professors may be a bit guarded with the exact material that will be covered in the test, but if you bring your previous tests, quizzes, or assignments, your professor may be able to help you narrow down the material that you should focus on.
- Find a Study Buddy
You can be learn material better and more efficiently by joining forces with another student in your class to take on all the material that will be covered. You can go over notes, deconstruct your required reading together, help one another with the concepts that each of you finds most challenging, and create study guides for yourselves. Just be sure you do this early enough so that you still have time to go over that study guide independently.
- Create Chapter Summaries
Speaking of study guides, one of the best ways to put together a study guide is to try and summarize each chapter that is covered on one page or less. This way, you know that you can simplify the material into basic ideas, giving you a much more digestible understanding of the big picture that you professor expects you to understand. If you can do this, then you’re probably in good shape for your test.
- Get a Good Night’s Rest
A sufficient night’s sleep is rarely taken seriously enough in college and it is often to the detriment of most students. When you sleep, your brain literally has the opportunity to sweep away all the debris of the day’s thinking so that you are fresh the next morning without any kind of mental clutter. If you deprive yourself of a full night’s sleep, don’t be surprised if you feel clouded and uneasy the day of the test.
- Eat a Healthy Breakfast.
Getting a good night’s sleep means going to bed early enough so that you have time to get up and eat a balanced breakfast in the morning. You are going to need all of the focus and strength that you can get, and if you don’t eat a good breakfast, you are going to lack energy and feel distracted. So be sure that you eat some protein, carbohydrates and fiber before you sit down for the big test. You won’t regret it.