Test Anxiety: How Do I Deal With It?
Ready to take that next step and get started with Grad School? Visit our website and register today at prep.utah.edu or call at 801.581.5361.
Guest Post by: Julie Nelson, Test Prep Instructor
Test anxiety can derail even the best-laid plans. If you don’t account for it, it can undo weeks’ worth of hard work. It therefore deserves to be addressed in its own right. If you know that test anxiety tends to get you down, you’ll benefit from spending some of your study time learning how to manage the stress. Here are some things to keep in mind.
First, try to identify where your test anxiety comes from. Possible causes include obsessing over the importance of the test, fearing embarrassment if you don’t perform well, fearing having to take the test again, fearing having to change your plans for graduate school, fearing that others will be disappointed, or an honest recognition that you are ill-prepared for the test, etc. Being able to put a name to your anxiety can help you decide how to deal with it.
Second, identify what you can control and what you can’t control. You can control, for example, whether you are prepared for the test. You can take practice tests so that you know what it will be like. You can make sure you have everything you need on the morning of the test. You can arrive on time, so you aren’t flustered when you get there. You can go to the test center a week ahead of time and look around so you’ll know exactly what to expect. You can dress in layers so you can adapt to the temperature.
Third, spend some time legitimating evaluating what you will do if the test doesn’t go as well as you hope. In other words, make a backup plan that you can live with. Maybe you’ll take the test again, maybe you’ll put it off for a year, maybe you’ll go to a different school, maybe you won’t go at all. Make an alternative plan – and make sure it is one you can live with. Importantly, if there are other people involved in your decision, like parents or a partner, discuss your alternative plan with them so that everyone can be OK with the backup plan.
Fourth, be prepared. Do study. Do practice. Do take practice tests. Don’t go in there unprepared.
Fifth, learn some relaxation techniques that can help you in the middle of the test. Stretch your neck, stretch your hands, imagine yourself lying on a hammock, learn to take deep breaths. All forms of meditation and mindfulness can improve your performance on test day. These will be more effective if you implement them ahead of time, rather than wait until test day to try them. If you are a student at the University of Utah, try the mindfulness clinic.
Sixth, learn to identify what stress looks like for you. It might be something you have experienced more times than you’d like to acknowledge, and know exactly what it feels like. But some people encounter it for the first time when applying to grad or law school. Hungry? Cold? Sick? Ornery? Nauseated? Short of breath? Sweaty palms? Could be stress.
Seventh, think of this test as one stressful event in a long life of stressful events. Look back on other life events that were stressful – and acknowledge that you made it through. And look ahead to other life events in the future that will inevitably be stressful. (Graduate school, for example.) Recognize that managing anxiety is a very real skill that will benefit you in the future. Consider this an opportunity to master it.
Last, if anxiety is really standing between you and your best performance, consider finding a counselor or therapist. They are particularly trained to help you manage your stress and can be extremely helpful. There is no shame in seeking professional help. If you are still in school, a school counselor can be particularly effective. At the University of Utah, school counselors can be found at the Counseling Center.
Ready to take that next step and get started with Grad School? Visit our website and register today at prep.utah.edu or call at 801.581.5361.
