The talk with Dr. Katrina was definitely helpful especially during Finals week. I often have test anxiety in the forms of appetite loss and not being able to fall asleep. One of the big things I took away was establishing a routine before exams to help calm myself. During finals week, I tried getting food before my exams as part of my routine and doing something other than study. It definitely worked for my early morning exams. Another big takeaway for me was that it was nice to know that other people have similar experiences with test anxiety and it made me more comfortable to talk about it.

Anxiety is an issue I feel a lot of us are familiar with. It can be difficult to manage the stresses of maintaining a social life, getting adequate sleep and being well rested, and doing the best academically that you possibly can. Especially for a lot of us, being at a university like Cornell means that we feel pressure to meet some level of academic expectation, and we hold ourselves to a certain standard. Because of these things, exam season can be increasingly more and more stressful, more so than the rest of the semester for sure.

I was glad to have the opportunity to attend the Test Anxiety Seminar last week. While this semester I was fortunate enough to end up with an exam schedule that was very light, I knew that the skills I’d learn in this seminar would be helpful not only in my last two semesters at Cornell, but the rest of my life beyond. And to that point, I think my biggest takeaway from this event was the mindset that you need to have when in this sort of stressful environment. The idea that you shouldn’t say anything to yourself that you wouldn’t say to a friend is a very powerful one. Furthermore, the idea that you shouldn’t lie to yourself, only sit down and think about if something is really worth the level of stress and pressure you’re putting onto it, was also very eye-opening. There was a lot to unpack in this seminar, and I’m incredibly glad that I had the opportunity to attend this event. I think I’ll be processing everything we talked about for a good while still.

I sincerely hope for more events like this one next semester!

With finals coming up, I decided to check out the Managing Test Anxiety event. I think all of us have heard about how to try to avoid test anxiety, with methods such as reviewing class content frequently and starting to study early, but this event was different. Although it did mention the aforementioned strategies, the event focused on how to work with test anxiety once you are actually experiencing it. We also talked about the different ways that we, as test-takers, may be thinking negatively about ourselves, our abilities, and/or our outcomes and how that affects the way that we approach tests.

This event helped me learn more about the symptoms of test anxiety as well as how to deal with them. I had never thought of myself as having test anxiety, but after reviewing what it actually was, there are common symptoms, such as blanking out at the beginning of an exam, that I have experienced. I did end up using some of the strategies during my exams to calm myself down and focus, which did make me feel more confident while taking the exams.

We’ve all been there before—sweats, stomachache, loss of appetite, shakiness. Symptoms of anxiety. For college students, a big source of anxiety is tests. Katrina Blomquist from Cornell Health told us the classic thoughts and feelings of test anxiety and how to combat them with simple thought trains. For example, if one is anxious about a big test and start anxious thoughts of “I suck” or “I can’t do this,” he or she can try to redirect his or her thoughts to “I will try my best” and “I have studied to the fullest of my ability.” This talk was extremely important to me as I struggle with anxiety and even have to take daily anxiety medication. I know the physical and mental symptoms of anxiety all too well. It was beneficial for me to be in a room with other people interested in how to alleviate feelings of anxiety and know I am not alone.

I honestly expect to learn much from this seminar about managing test anxiety. I expected the speaker to iterate things that should already be common knowledge to test-takers and college students. Repeatedly, I’ve heard the same thing over and over in the past. “Don’t wait to the last minute”, “go to office hours for help”, “stay on top of your work.” These sayings are rather idealized study habits for college students that are easier said than practiced. I feel like many college students like myself begin the semester with good study habits and keep up with the classes as well as possible. However, things happen; we get bogged down by extracurriculars and other commitments and even having several difficult classes can get pretty overwhelming sometimes.

This talk was so much more than just reiterating basic study habits. The speaker did a great job focusing on things that we are more in control to help reduce the stress and anxiety about taking tests. She did a really good job just focusing on one’s mental health in general. She pointed out that even little things that many college students do on a regular basis can be a source of anxiety and fear for tests. For example, she brought out the fact that many college students think of themselves negatively when preparing for tests, saying things like “I’m so dumb” or “I am going to fail.” I think we college students tend to be overdramatic with these things, and saying negative stuff like that sets ourselves up for failure even when we don’t realize it. She talked a lot about mental and physical ways to cope with test anxiety, which I will definitely take advantage of during the heat of final exams. But overall, I’ve learned to come into a test with the intention of showing what I know and learned from the class, rather than thinking of it negatively.

The main takeaway I had from the “Managing Text Anxiety” workshop was that students should go into tests thinking “this is a new way to show what I learned” rather than dreading the test. I struggle with both test anxiety and regular anxiety during my everyday life. Attending this workshop made me realize that I was not alone. Many people at Cornell struggle with anxiety issues. Just because Cornell is full of smart people, does not mean we do not battle with those things. The woman who instructed us was very knowledgeable of what goes on in our heads. She taught us a breathing exercise that I think will make a huge difference on how nervous I feel before a test. She also gave us tips such us bringing a snack to the test or a drink so it seems informal. I hope next year, Rose invites her back for another session.

Brutal, honest, and practical.

No.1. The ultimate method to manage test anxiety is to be as well prepared for the test as you can.

No.2. But the semester is already over! You still have one week. Separate your preparation evenly throughout the week. Don’t cram overnight. Spend the last night sleeping.

No.3. But I still can’t get over my worried thoughts. Ok. Realize that the thoughts are useless. You can choose to cling to it, you can choose to fight it, you can choose to not care about it. Yes, it is there, it’s hard to let it go. But just treat it as some annoying coworker.

No.4. It’s overwhelming my brain and body! Do some relaxations will help, deep breath, stress parts of your body before relaxing them, etc.. But believe you’re gonna be fine even having the stress with you. You don’t have to deliberately try to lift it away. You can do well even with it!

No.5. It’s good to realize that sometimes we are falling into pitfall mindsets, like arbitrarily predicting the future: “I’m gonna fail!” But how likely? Is it as likely as you quantum tunneling across your dorm wall? If the probability is really large, fine, you still have a whole week to shrink it down.

No.6. (Crediting a fellow student) Realize that what you learn and what you do is for yourself. You enjoy the material. You want a solid grasp. You want to do well. GPA? Worry about them only after they become official.