The most anxiety-inducing word at Stevens is “test” or “exam.” The speaking of either of these words means that there is a countdown clock for you to be prepared enough to spew whatever amount of knowledge you have onto paper. Although you may have to deal with the fact that sometimes this knowledge that you absorbed leading up to it is not good enough, you have to note that that exam was and will never be the be-all and end-all.
When first arriving at Stevens, many students experience the “freshmen quiz period” as a way certain courses welcome them. Courses, such as MA 121-124 or CH 115, teach the discipline of having an exam only at 5 p.m. on a specified day. This can throw off your weekly schedule and worsen your preparation, as it occurs when you normally do not have anything going on.
If a test, like this freshman quiz, is coming your way, the best way to prepare is to be able to locate those times in your week when you have that studying free time. Lots of your schedule can be disrupted, or you may be the type of person to wait until the last minute to study. For example, I cannot study for an exam one to two weeks ahead of time, since I will not be able to recall the majority of the information. Additionally, I need that “last minute” mentality to get me best prepared. This mentality tells you that you must complete your studying now or you will fail, fall short, or disappoint yourself as the time to the exam winds down.
Other than preparing for an exam, taking the exam itself is a completely different story. For much of my college career, I never did well on the first exam of any given course. No matter how many people said how easy the exam was or how much preparation I did, it just never worked out. I always tended to adapt and bring it all together for the following exams.
I have gotten my fair share of feeling confident after each exam, and another student would come up to me telling me they got a different answer for multiple questions. I would spend the next few hours wondering if I actually did mess up that much and what that would mean for my grade. The best thing to do is to leave what you did on that test in the exam room. Walk away and do not bring up the test with your friends in the course to save yourself from more test anxiety.
When you do learn your grade, the best thing to do is go to the professor afterward and have them talk with you about what you did wrong. It may be difficult to come face-to-face with someone who may have just handed you your worst grade ever, but it also shows the teachers where they need to improve.
Throughout your college career, you may run into professors that are extremely frustrating and are not helpful to improve your course grades. It’s their job to teach you the material, but it is also your job to make time for them and their material. Midterms are approaching, some may be projects, some will be exams. Just keep your head up and know that there are a lot of grades still to make up for possible mistakes.
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