Pre-exam jitters: How do you guys deal with the anxiety?

No, no, no... absolutely not ten hours. I can't even wrap my head around that idea.
Personally, I’d much rather pull ten days of three or four hours here and there than face five days of ten-hour shifts.
That sounds like a living coma to me. Or more accurately... it would be a living coma.

Just try to picture my second month of this year—I was pulling 10 to 12 hours of studying every single day just to prep for four different exams... I was absolutely wiped out. But hey, it'll be worth it because I’m going to clear my entire academic year by July 15th, including all those leftover credits I had to make up.

Casey Palmer5, you really nailed it!👍

Casey Palmer5 said:Just try to picture my February this year—studying 10 to 12 hours every single day, facing four different exams... I was completely burnt out. But it'll be worth it; I'm clearing my whole schedule by July 15th, including all those prerequisites.

🙏 🙏 🙏

I've never quite reached that level of discipline.
unfortunately...

College kids? Total losers. 😛 😛
Is finals week creeping up on us yet? 😎

I’m still just in high school, but I’m experiencing all those symptoms myself.😢 😳By the way, how much harder is college compared to high school? Is the workload actually that much heavier?😕

Hey everyone, here is yet another (not) student... I won't get too deep into it right now—I understand everything happening, and honestly, I feel just as lost as the rest of you—but instead of actually hitting the books, I find myself aimlessly scrolling through this forum... I'll try not to ramble too much though; I’m actually in a decent mood today, and I’d rather not ruin it by spiraling into a depression over my lack of productivity😁

Anyway, I just wanted to check in for some solidarity and to see who else is out there. We aren't alone in this mess👋 👋

Well, yes—and there’s one more thing... I was out running errands in town earlier (Nicole Mendoza80), but now I am back at my desk, though I am about to dive headfirst into some studying...

Ugh, I just finished up an exam and now I’m staring down the barrel of having to study for the next one since it’s this coming Wednesday. I just can't seem to get started... My little one is being such a handful today, too. He's tiny, but he's a total pain in the ass.

Amy Gomez36 said:Eight to ten hours?????😲

Jesus !!!!! I can barely manage two hours a day—maximum.

I could rarely focus while studying around other people.

Total lone wolf here 😉

The only three exams I actually crushed were in a group setting—back when I was working night shifts and living in a dorm by the Mississippi. 🙂

Good times.

Day shifts usually ran about 10 hours.

Now, I’m just trying to study! 😁

Studying in groups just doesn't work for me.
I start messing around and everything goes out the window.
But honestly, it’ll probably be one of my favorite memories. I always have a blast...

Oh, and I actually spent the whole day reading and studying today (plus made lunch)😎

crazy girl said:I'm still in high school, but I have all those symptoms mentioned above.😢 😳So, how much harder is college actually compared to high school? Does it just require way more work?😕

College isn't necessarily "harder" than high school for me... it's just a completely different way of learning.

In high school, you're under constant pressure. I know I personally deal with stress more often than most. You're always trying to keep up, constantly grinding through something.
The college rhythm works better for me. I study when I want to—which usually means cramming during finals week. My brain basically turns into static during those periods, but that’s just how it goes. You can choose whether to show up to lectures or not, but if you do show up, at least you can live with yourself.😉

Casey Palmer5 said:Ugh, I just finished an exam yesterday and now I have to prep for the next one since it's this coming Wednesday. But I can't even bring myself to start... My little one is being a total pain in the ass.

Hey Casey Palmer5, I've been thinking about those 14-hour shifts of yours all day.
Makes me feel like everything is going to turn out okay eventually...👍

I mean, you have no idea how drained I feel after being on my feet for 14 hours... my head is absolutely pounding 😢, and honestly, all I can think about is how much I want to crawl into bed. And the worst part? I haven't even started studying yet 😢

Look, I don't have the patience to sit around and try to learn everything bit by bit, day after day. My lectures are stretched out over the entire week—all those mandatory ones, ugh—but somehow, I manage to cram an insane amount of info into just two hours of solid focus.
i guess.

But that’s what I call effective studying. Digging through old notebooks or staring at textbooks doesn't count toward those two hours.

A little more pressure and the panic sets in... total red alert... time to reach for the Prozac and Vigapan.

And let's not forget the absolutely ridiculous amounts of coffee required to stay upright...😉

Hmm. Every now and then, I actually find a weird sort of amusement in all this chaos... almost like some kind of masochistic streak... a strange sense of enjoyment.
Luckily, those moments are few and far between! 😁

So, I wanted to share a little win... I actually passed that exam today without really studying at all...

I got a B on the written part—not sure how I pulled that off—but the oral exam didn't go great, so they gave me a C. Honestly, I don't really mind; the main thing is that I passed! 😁

And I wasn't even stressed about it... Maybe I just haven't faced a truly high-stakes exam yet. Usually, I only study for maybe an hour a day for two weeks before a test... and I've passed four of them so far, so I'm getting close to meeting the requirements!

Ashley Vaughn79 said:It’s not like I’ve ever been stressed... Maybe I just haven't hit a truly important exam yet. Usually, I study for maybe two weeks—an hour at a time—and I've passed four exams so far, which is almost enough to meet the requirements!

Jesus !!!!!, you seriously have to be attending some joke of a college if you think studying an hour a day for two weeks counts...😠

I love those kinds of "universities"... people graduate from places like that and end up with the exact same degree I got from my high school.

That's some impressive studying right there :2up:

Either you have a photographic memory or college is just way too easy for you. I can pick things up pretty fast myself, but even then, for those mid-level exams, I still have to grind for about two weeks—and that's at least 6 to 8 hours a day. I've still got four more finals left to take, though I’ve already had to retake ten of them so far...

Well... how easy it actually is... it seemed pretty straightforward to me so far.
But I suppose it might be one of the easier ones... provided you put in at least a little bit of study time.

If you want my opinion, though, I think there's quite a bit of luck involved in the mix...

I remember once walking into an exam after only cramming through four or five lessons. I honestly thought it would take a literal miracle to pass, but I figured, hey, since I already signed up for it, I might as well go in and fail. Then, out of nowhere, they asked me the exact questions I had studied. And I passed...

What do you think?

(knock on wood... don't want to jinx it😁)

I am honestly so sick of these mindless comparisons about whose major is "harder" or whose workload is more grueling.
I have two friends, both majoring in Psychology, and they couldn't be more different. One of them is constantly whining—just non-stop—about how brutal her program is, how much she has to study, and how impossible everything feels... it’s just endless noise. Meanwhile, the other one studies at a local state college; once she’s done with her coursework, she’ll grab coffee with me or head over to somewhere like Starbucks, and she won't say a single word about the stress of her classes. They are living in two completely different worlds. It just goes to show how much this all comes down to the individual.

Every single one of my courses is condensed into a single semester. I end up taking anywhere from 10 to 12 classes per term. That means I'm looking at roughly 22 exams a year. Of course, the second I mention that, people immediately jump down my throat, claiming my school must be a joke or that the exams can't possibly be difficult because "you don't even have to study." Look, obviously one of my exams isn't the same as one of yours—they're shorter—but even if I only put in two hours of studying a day during finals week, I still manage to pass (and I’m not talking about just scraping by with a D!). There will always be some idiot ready to nitpick and claim my degree isn't challenging... but seriously, people, you cannot generalize like that.🙄

Btw Ashley Vaughn79—congrats on passing your exam! 😉