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The SAT, nerves and the road to success
Monday, 7 september 2020 | Redacción CEU
On a daily basis, we have to face a multitude of situations that causes stress, in particular, in big cities where people maintain a breathtaking pace. Learning to deal with these types of situations is challenging, but it is even more so to learn to control stress in moments of special importance. Thousands of students in Spain are facing one of those decisive moments at the moment: the extra session of the university admission test. They are going to take a test that will be key in their future professional development. They will do it in a strange and uncertain context, equipped with hydroalcoholic gel and masks. It is something that does not particularly help calm their nerves... For that reason, today on CEU IAM’s Blog, we want to do our bit and offer them some advice that may help them to better face this test.
The purpose of an exam like SAT is to measure the knowledge and skills that students have acquired in the previous years of training. Many of the students who take this test not only want to demonstrate what they have learned, they have a cut-off mark in their mind. Some have failed in the previous exam and others want to raise their marks. These are small details that add another dose of pressure to an already stressful situation.
In the days leading up to the exam, it is common for these young people to experience symptoms such as physical discomfort, irritability, negative thoughts or fear of failure. Some of them may even go as far as to consider leaving school or have real fear of going blank in the middle of the exam. We especially want to address these students. The following tips can help them feel better and cope with this exam.
How to overcome nerves in decisive tests
At some specific moments in our lives, we face situations that may be key to drawing our way to professional success: competitive exams, the hiring process of a leading company, the exam of the last subject of a degree, the university admission exam, etc. All of them are opportunities where the stakes are high, therefore, we judge these moments as transcendental. This can lead us to an uncontrolled state of nerves that can jeopardize the result. How do we get rid of our nerves in this kind of tests?
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Paying attention to the things we say to ourselves
It may seem a trivial aspect, but it is perhaps one of the most important tips. The messages we give ourselves have a deep impact on our confidence and self-esteem. If we repeat phrases in our head such as "I'm not going to pass" or "this is impossible", we reduce our chances of success.
You should change these messages to others such as "I can handle this", "I have an opportunity for success" or "I am well prepared."
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Adopting the proper approach
One of the mistakes we usually make is to identify these tests as irrevocable judgements. They are critical opportunities, but in the positive sense -unique occasions- not in the negative one - difficult and very serious moments-. When we think about our path to success, we tend to see just one possible way. However, people can follow different paths to reach the same destination.
