Officer Advice: Coping with Exam Stress

"What would be your top 3 tips for coping with exam stress?"

Elizabeth:

1. Plan in advance: Planning in advance has lots of benefits. It will hopefully reduce stress levels slightly as you will feel more prepared. In terms of assessments or online exams, it also means you’re less likely to plagiarise. A lot of the time, students panic, and this causes them to plagiarise, or copy other work, in a rush.  
2. Plan in times to chill: A productive chill time means more productive work time. Productive chill time includes things that really help you to wind down. This could include watching tv, knitting, or even napping. If you block out times to rest your brain and your body, you’ll hopefully feel more energised during your study sessions.  
3. Get enough sleep: Getting enough sleep has similar benefits to planning out chill time. If you’re rested, you’re more likely to find it easier to focus on studying if you feel more awake. Your brain also absorbs information over night and so giving it enough time to rest, and do this, will hopefully make your study sessions more productive.  

Cam:

1. If you need extra help/have access needs, tell someone! I struggled through GCSE and A-Level exams without speaking to Student Support because I was too embarrassed.  
2. Take breaks – sometimes we think we should push through and feel guilty for taking breaks, but they are extremely important for your health.  
3. Take care of and reward yourself. 

Rachel:

1. Organise a revision timetable (trust me, your high school/sixth form teachers were right about that one!) 
2. Make sure you leave time for you to do what you enjoy (even if it’s just an hour or two a day to go for a walk) 
3. Reward yourself! 

Ash:

1. Study and rest. Trying to cram in every single bit of information a couple of days before exams will create more stress. If you have the time to study for a day (with rest breaks) and then take a day off and then go back to it – do it. It will help you remember information, but you wont tire yourself out before an exam.  

2. Plan something to do after the exam. You don’t want to leave an exam and constantly be thinking about it because it may make you anxious. Try and plan to go out and do something with some friends to celebrate completing the exam, give yourself some socialisation and take a rest from studying. 

3. Have a good snack collection with you when you’re studying. For me anyway, I love to just constantly eat when I am slightly stressed and not being able to do that makes it so much worse. So have some nice snacks next to you to nibble on. 

Dafi: 

1. Focus on your own work, not on other people’s.
2. Set targets that are reachable.
3. Remember to take the odd night to relax and to socialise.