Testing anxiety advice? HELP senpai
hmm 🤔 see i’m prob not the best person to give advice on this bc i don’t have testing anxiety lmao. for context, when i took the ACT, i told myself there’s no way in hell i’m taking this more than once (bc imagine studying for it again), so i better get it right the first time, and that’s what i did. 💀
i don’t want to sound like a motivational life coach, but i will say that a lot of it is self-induced. like sure, some of it has to do with personality and/or how your parents/guardians raised (or didn’t raise) you, but a lot of it can be changed.
something i see people do a lot, esp. for standardized testing, is when asked what college they’re aiming to get accepted into or what their goal score is they’ll say, for example, “1540, but that’s kind of unrealistic, so 1520.” or something along those lines.
and it’s like no. it’s not unrealistic, especially not for scores (admissions can kind of be a crapshoot tho lmao rip). by saying shit like that over and over again, you’re unknowingly perpetuating testing anxiety and indecisiveness on test day, whether it’s standardized testing, college apps, or even something as simple as a little french quiz in school. you are not limited by your socioeconomic status or upbringing. there is no limit on what you can achieve. by building your anxiety like this, you’re setting yourself up for failure. because guess what happens when you’re between two choices on a question? you doubt yourself. you doubt yourself because it’s what you’ve been doing all your life.
you need to be self-aware of how you think about yourself, and, furthermore, you need to be aware of how others influence your thoughts. when i went into the ACT, my mother asked me what my goal score was, what score i wanted to not retake it, and i said [insert number here], and she said to be realistic. and i tuned her the fuck out 😭😤, which is exactly what you should do.
besides motivational bullcrap, i would say watch your time limit. sometimes wristwatches are helpful for standardized testing. i never bother with them because i kind of have an internal clock, but i know it helps some people. there’s nothing more stressful than realizing you have almost no time left and like four pages more of questions to do. pace yourself.
and then, most obviously, practice, practice, practice. if you feel prepared, it reduces the anxiety. i hope this helps a little, and gl on whatever exams you have coming up. 💖
