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This may be a question that does not belong here, but... What advice would you give someone who is preparing for exams and cares about grades. What advice do should I follow during the exam and after the exam as someone who stresses about grades?

Please be harsh, I really do not believe that "grades are just grades in the end".

V001_7 P
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  • So what exactly are the alternatives to "grades are just grades in the end"? I mean, one alternative view is that grades are a measure of your own personal worth, or that they measure whether or not you are a "failure", in which case the best advice is to work on abandoning that belief. – Adam Přenosil May 23 '23 at 21:17
  • This question will probably strongly benefit from some details to narrow the question down, in particular: 1) Do you have any idea what your anxiety stems from? 2) How does your anxiety manifest? 3) What kind of exam are we talking about? 4) Do you have any chance to obtain accommodation? (Please [edit] your question to clarify.) – Wrzlprmft May 23 '23 at 21:28
  • As the above point out, a good answer to this question likely requires more information on the nature of your situation. If you find yourself to put a lot of weight behind your grades then it is only natural that exams will be stressful for you. If this stress is relatively minor, then you could follow any number of anxiety tips online to see if it helps you relax. If this anxiety is debilitating, then you likely should try and find professional help. – young_man May 24 '23 at 00:00
  • Related: https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/82591/how-to-help-reduce-students-anxiety-in-an-oral-exam – Sursula May 24 '23 at 08:57
  • Duplicate: https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/184943/how-to-reduce-stress-before-your-qualifying-exam – Sursula May 24 '23 at 08:57
  • Related: https://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/158523/what-can-i-do-when-anxiety-causes-me-to-perform-poorly-in-oral-exams-and-class-d – Sursula May 24 '23 at 08:58
  • What always helped me in exam-like cases (it was really the same if you took an exam, give a presentation or have a job interview for me), is just saying to myself "you studied all you could, there is nothing you could change anymore so just take the things as they come". For me this somehow always worked well :) – trikPu May 24 '23 at 11:43

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You are not the only student who suffers from anxiety around exams. It is so common, that in every university I have been, student counselors offered something (could be a meeting or individual sessions, or...) to help students with that anxiety. So best advise I can give is to make use of what is on offer at your university. They are the professionals, we are just random persons on the internet.

Maarten Buis
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The way to avoid anxiety, assuming it isn't a psychological condition, is to build confidence over the weeks (weeks!) leading up to the exam by using effective learning techniques.

  1. Take effective notes and then summarize them in writing. Don't assume that if you have heard something once you should remember it. Active learning.

  2. Work lots of exercises as appropriate. Get feedback on your solutions.

  3. Ask questions as needed and record the results.

  4. Don't cram the night before the exam. Get proper sleep. My most memorable F grade was after cramming much of the night before an open book test. Ugh.

If it is a psychological condition, your university probably has a counseling office that can provide advice.

Buffy
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