How do I stop panicking in exams?

dayflower2016

I got my results back for first year yesterday, and I failed an exam. The thing is, it was a really simple maths exam, AND I passed the harder, longer maths exam earlier in the year. I've spent today going over the course material again, and I would swear, hand on heart if I took that exam right now, I have the necessary knowledge and mathematical ability to pass it - I've been going through old workshop questions and apart from the odd silly mistake, I can do them all!

The only way I can think that I failed was that I either panicked, made loads of silly mistakes (which I can't afford to do because this test is multiple choice) or a mixture of both. I have no idea how to stop doing both of these things, please help!

I also feel obliged to sit in my room until the retake and do nothing but maths, despite feeling comfortable that I actually do know the material, because if I fail the resit and feel like I didn't do as much work as I'm physically capable of, I'll hate myself for it.
Please help!

Reply 1

TommehBoi

Do you get the physical symptoms such as a pounding heart, sweaty hands, increased breathing etc?

Reply 2

dayflower2016

Original post by TommehBoi

Do you get the physical symptoms such as a pounding heart, sweaty hands, increased breathing etc?

No, I distinctly remember in this exam feeling both exhausted and really alert at the same time, as if I'd had no sleep or food and too much coffee, but nothing that points to a panic attack (only had two of those, one in a lecture and one in a tutorial). I finished the exam with ten minutes to spare as well and was checking over answers!

Reply 3

TommehBoi

Oh ok, I get quite nervous also during exams so I was prescribed some propranolol during my finals to get rid of the physical symptoms which calmed me down a fair bit. Probably won't be of any use to you though.

Reply 4

Dapperblook22

Original post by dayflower2016

I had this problem this year - I panicked in one of my A Level Maths exams and also made a few dumb errors (dividing by 50 instead of 40 for no good reason, the question even stated 40 :tongue:

). However, I learnt from this as this was fortunately my first exam, so I prepared myself for my 5 other maths exams.

When I first sat in the exam room the next time, I just had a few deep breaths, to lower my heart rate. I tell myself that everything will be fine, because at the end of the day it will be. I know I have practiced hard for the exams, I know I am in a good position. If the exam is tough, then I can only say I tried my best and look at other options, such as resitting the following year, or knowing that I have done well enough in my other exams that a lower grade in one will not impact too greatly. I also do not expect my exams to be easy; I always expect a difficult exam just so to not throw me when I am sitting the paper. This also puts me in a good frame of mind not to read over small details, but to consider each question and avoid silly mistakes.

When I answer questions, I check my answers as I go along. If I can, I try to use multiple methods per question, to check if they give the same answer (for example, solving a quadratic by completing the square then checking on my calculator by using the quadratic formula). For some types of questions I anticipate more time or less time may be needed. It takes me about 5 minutes to answer a 7 mark question in D2 dynamic programming for example, whereas an equivalent 7 mark game theory question takes me 10 minutes. This helps me to not panic, as even if I have 10 minutes left for a paper and the last question is dynamic programming, I know I have the time to answer it within my ability.

If you finish early, check each question for the dumb errors. Read through the question and make sure you have done everything asked; I missed a 1 mark question within a block of questions which I hadn't noticed until I went through the paper again. Unfortunately, I did not have time to answer it so it did cost me 1 mark. Tick each question as you go along to ensure you have done everything.

After my statistics exam, 4 out of the 5 remaining maths exams were great. My Core 3 exam was horrendous, but everyone else found it terrible too. I know I have done enough with my other exams that a poorer performance in two exams will not impact on what I want to do in the future.

Sorry for the long post, hope this helps and any other questions please feel free to PM me :smile:

How do I stop panicking in exams?

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you