Well I'm sat in my car waiting to go into college to take an exam in 15 minutes. I got huge butter flies I've read my material over and over. Just want to sit in classroom and get the exam over with. How do you guys deal with nerves or are you all calm and don't worry?
Exam nerves anyone else get them?
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Soldato
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it's perfectly normal, my way of dealing with it is to say "i've gone to the lectures, i've read the material, i've done the exercises and past papers and that's all i can do"
my general rule of thumb is i never revise or do anything the day before an exam (assuming the scheduling leaves me sufficient time), spend the day relaxing and making sure you're well rested, there's not much point staying up to midnight cramming as if you have to do that it's already too late and all you're going to do is make yourself tired.
the other thing is to remember that all you can do is your best, and there's a certain element of accepting that if your best doesn't cut it then at least you tried and you can live the rest of your life without wondering "what if i'd done that", if an exam is particularly hard and you're well prepared then it's quite possible it's just a hard exam and it'll get marked accordingly, i recall having a particularly brutal set of exams while on exchange in germany and yes it brought me to tears at the thought that i'd possibly fail at that point, but i just turned up did my best and it turned out that's just how they do their exams- hard papers easy marking.
my general rule of thumb is i never revise or do anything the day before an exam (assuming the scheduling leaves me sufficient time), spend the day relaxing and making sure you're well rested, there's not much point staying up to midnight cramming as if you have to do that it's already too late and all you're going to do is make yourself tired.
the other thing is to remember that all you can do is your best, and there's a certain element of accepting that if your best doesn't cut it then at least you tried and you can live the rest of your life without wondering "what if i'd done that", if an exam is particularly hard and you're well prepared then it's quite possible it's just a hard exam and it'll get marked accordingly, i recall having a particularly brutal set of exams while on exchange in germany and yes it brought me to tears at the thought that i'd possibly fail at that point, but i just turned up did my best and it turned out that's just how they do their exams- hard papers easy marking.
Man of Honour
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Exams, interviews, presentations. Normal.
So glad those days are behind me 
Associate
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The only times I get really nervous is when I take a test of some sort (driving test, exams, job interview etc.). I've become less nervous overtime with the exams as I have taken so many of them, however, I get really nervous AFTER exams when people talk about their answers - so much so that when I finish (regardless of how well it went) I just leave without speaking to anyone!
Soldato
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The only time I get nervous is the time between clicking on the finish button and seeing the score a few seconds later
I hope it's not a biology exam.
I'm quite lucky, never really got nervous about exams or academic work in general. Somebody told me ages ago that the only times people actively want you to show off are in exams, presentations, and interviews, so enjoy the opportunity to do so. If you know your stuff, why worry?
Perfectly normal, although these days people run to the doctor for any kind of anxiety. For a presentation I'd rather watch someone who's slightly nervous instead of being fueled up on Xanax running through it like a robot with no emotion.
I have severe anxiety when taking exams as my assignments have all been distinctions and with the OU (its actually just changed for the better) your lowest score of your exam and assignment counts towards your final result. So if you get 100 on assignments and 20 on the exam you score 20 - so the pressure was massive to achieve well.
My last exam this year they made a monumental **** up where they didn't release a formula sheet we should have had. I was stressed yo begin with but being told we wouldn't be provided a sheet as they didnt have it, and me basing my 2 months revision and a week off work around it tipped me over the edge. I left the exam after 30 minutes, went home and laid on the sofa the rest if the afternoon feeling physically sick from anxiety and my nerves
My last exam this year they made a monumental **** up where they didn't release a formula sheet we should have had. I was stressed yo begin with but being told we wouldn't be provided a sheet as they didnt have it, and me basing my 2 months revision and a week off work around it tipped me over the edge. I left the exam after 30 minutes, went home and laid on the sofa the rest if the afternoon feeling physically sick from anxiety and my nerves
Soldato
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Normail ! Delivery by Norman, your friendly delivery expert
Anyways to the OP - yes totally normal to worry about exams, deep breath, focus and you will be fine!
Caporegime
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Never got nervous on exams and flew though every one. GCSE's, theory test, civil service entry exam. Just don't get nervous about them at all.
The only examinations to get worried about are medical ones.
The only examinations to get worried about are medical ones.
Soldato
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Great! Some really good advice in this thread. I went to uni at 26 and discovered nerves I didn't know I had. Got to the point I would leave exams before the end (after answering all questions) to escape the anxiety.
I temper the nerves with a