Conquering Test Anxiety

March 23rd is here, and you know what that means – SAT scores!

Hopefully for all of you out there who took the March SAT getting your scores will be a relief. You’ll be able to put SAT stress behind you and move on to a new kind of stress – college applications. But for some of you, those scores will lead you right back to another 8:00am Saturday morning SAT administration. If this prospect fills you with dread, you’ve come to the right place.

Most people suffer from test anxiety at some point in their lives (yes, even test prep teachers! We’re human too!) Perhaps you’ve experienced the following situation: you’re staring at your test booklet, completely baffled by a question, you decide to move on to another one which you then find equally challenging, you realize that the clock is ticking, suddenly all the questions seem impossible, you feel a deep inner conviction that you have no chance of getting anything right, you’re positive you’re going to bomb the SAT, you’ll never get into a good college or get a good job, you’ll be an epic failure, and you’re going to die alone with 75 cats.

I break out into a cold sweat just writing all that down.

When panic sets in, a common response is to repeatedly tell yourself to calm down and get over it. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always work. In fact, this approach can backfire – if you don’t immediately feel less anxious you might feel as though you’ve “failed” which then leads to even more anxiety about failing! So are you doomed to four hours of SAT induced nausea every time? Not even close. There are some effective strategies you can use to conquer the dreaded test anxiety beast.

A Healthy Mind and Body

You can take steps to stop test anxiety in its tracks well before the actual day of the test. You probably plan on going to sleep early the night before the test and eating a good breakfast that morning, but eating well, exercising, and getting lots of sleep in the weeks leading up to your test can have a huge impact on how you feel on the big day. This can be hard to do, especially during junior year when work is piling up and EVERYTHING seems to be the “the most important thing for college applications,” but taking care of yourself is worth it, especially since it reduces feelings of impending doom the day of the test.

Just Breathe

I know, I know. No one really thinks that taking three deep breathes has any significant impact on a serious SAT panic attack. But the facts say otherwise. When you suffer from test anxiety, your brain has basically become convinced that the SAT is a saber-toothed tiger lunging for your throat. A few deep breathes can calm the part of your brain that’s screaming, “Danger! Vicious predator! Run away!!!” So the next time panic strikes, try breathing in on a count of three and out on a count of six. Repeat this three times.

Visualize Success

You probably have a pretty clear image in your mind of what failure looks like. But what about success? It’s easy to focus so much on what can go wrong that you can’t help but live out that story line. Think about what a realistically successful test taking experience might look like. Of course we all want to waltz in and get a 1600 by only doing five minutes of work per section (which leaves plenty of time for power naps), but that might be setting your expectations a tad too high. I’m talking about a viable game plan for those four hours. Visualize yourself working through each section using effective strategies – focusing on questions you know how to do, making good guesses on harder questions, and using the techniques you worked on while prepping for the exam. Then visualize yourself leaving the testing center confident that you used the tools you mastered.

Speaking of Strategies…

One of the best ways to nip anxiety in the bud is by going in prepared. Make sure that you know the structure of the test and questions and that you have worked on solid strategies to apply to each section. You’ll have less time to get distracted by anxiety if you’re focused on using techniques. Check back here in the coming weeks – we’ll be sharing strategies that you can use in Reading, Writing & Language, and Math. Each post will provide you with another tool to help you beat test anxiety!