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Lakewood Times

Lakewood Times

Lakewood Times

    How to Calm Exam Nerves

    How to Calm Exam Nerves

    Juniors, we have our SAT this week, and I’m positive that you’re not alone in feeling nervous or anxious about it. Students are pressured into making sure they get top scores or A’s in every subject, tests included, but expecting that of somebody is nearly impossible.

    The students that plan on going forward into college seem to stress the most, being told that they need the highest score possible to get accepted into their dream school, but that isn’t really the case. Colleges don’t just look at test scores and grades, they read essays and take into account what kind of person you are. Don’t let your scores determine what kind of student you are.

    So what can be done to make sure you do the best you can on your exam? Studies show that getting a good night’s sleep the nights leading up to the test can help results and keep anxiety down. It’s also important to have a good, nutritional breakfast the morning of the exam.

    When you’re at your testing site, it’s important to only focus on what you’re doing. Don’t worry about what other students are doing or how much progress they’ve made. Focus on yourself and your test. Keeping a positive attitude is really important too. How are you going to succeed if you tell yourself you’ll fail?

    If you don’t understand a question, don’t stress about it. Move on to the next, and come back to it later. If you still don’t understand what the question is asking, or you just don’t know the answer, guess. This new version of the SAT doesn’t penalize you for getting the answer wrong, so don’t leave anything blank!

    “Test anxiety can be hard to cope with, especially since it enhances stress and alters your ability to focus. We can handle it by simply calming down,” said Hana Johnson.

    The most important part is to do your best. Good luck everybody!

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