An AACC personal counselor said students who suffer from test anxiety should prepare as much as possible for their exams to build confidence.
Melissa Boling also recommended that students keep self-care in mind amid excessive studying, and build in “periodic breaks.”
“We all have our limit, and after a certain amount of time, we just kind of need to take a little bit of a break,” Boling said. “Go outside, get some fresh air, get something to eat, you know, walk around, and then, you know, come back to it after kind of taking that short break.”
Students will take final exams between Dec. 11 and 17.
Boling said test anxiety can manifest both physically and mentally.
“Some of the physical signs of testing anxiety … could be things like your heart racing, kind of having, like, some stomach upset, dealing with really tense muscles,” Boling said. “Or like, sometimes for some people, like, sweaty palms.”
Boling said students with test anxiety feel “extremely distressed” during tests, and may freeze up and forget information they studied.
Boling recommends using relaxation strategies during the test as well, such as taking deep breaths, visualizing success and keeping negative thoughts away.
AACC students offered their tips for coping with test anxiety.
Cheyenne Elliott, a second-year psychology student, agreed that studying helps with anxiety, and suggested that students try to take their minds off of the test beforehand.
“I usually just kind of talk to the people around me to relieve some of my nervousness,” Elliott said.
Andrew Littin, a second-year film studies student, said he keeps in mind that doing poorly on a test is “not the end of the world.”