The Stress of College Exams
Exam stress is a real thing that happens to many students. And, it’s understandable why it happens. So much of your grade relies on a single test score. If you fail your test, you could fail your class. Not only do you have to worry about the embarrassment of failing a test, but also having to retake the class. Credit hours can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars, and the last thing you want is to throw money out the window. This adds more stress on top of exam stress.
In addition, you may rely on scholarships, grants or financial aid to make college more affordable. If you don’t maintain a certain GPA, you could lose this money and have to pull out of school. Also, participating in extracurricular activities and holding certain titles among these organizations often require a certain GPA. Now the stress has multiplied exponentially.
While it’s normal to feel some anxiety surrounding a big test, exam stress is a bit more pronounced. Common symptoms of exam stress are:
- Excessive worry about the upcoming exam. You might have trouble sleeping or eating because of the worry you are feeling.
- Imagining catastrophic consequences. If you don’t do well on the test, you might imagine yourself facing the worst of the worst, such as having to drop out of college.
- Irrational thinking, beliefs and demands. You might place too much pressure on yourself, such as expecting yourself to get a perfect score.
- Feeling little control over the situation. Instead of taking control and believing in yourself, you might feel that the odds are stacked against you.
- Physical effects. Stress has physical symptoms as well, such as headaches, upset stomachs, shortness of breath and racing thoughts. If you experience these symptoms around your exams, test anxiety may be to blame.
Exam stress can happen to anyone, but it is more likely to happen to students who have had bad testing experiences, have a lack of self-confidence, are afraid of failing, are perfectionists or cannot study because of extreme anxiety. If any of this sounds like you, you could be at a higher risk for exam stress.