Feel absoulete dread for my January College exams

Vlove

So I am currently a first year Business Admin mature student and I have three exams coming up in Jan- Accounting, maths and Management. I'm finding it really difficult to structure my study since its the horrible holiday season (yeah I hate Christmas) with family around and I have a fear that I may not pass both maths or accounting since I haven't been properly taught them before in past cert courses (please don't judge). Ive been like having thoughts of Plan B which I don't to think about like for example do a course in an non third level instution like pitman or just get job.

I am studying them both of course but its just hard and depressing that I am fearing for my life in failing on one of the modules or even a few. I have Asperger's with an anxiety disorder so this doesn't help at all for me to calm down and not get anxious over the subjects. The exams are literally just around the corner ( the Friday of new years week) and I feel like I'm not learning most of what I should learn off by heart for the exams because theres a lot involved.

Yes I know, Third level is tough and I'm unfortunately in that pit. I do often ask myself why I choose to go to third level and have this big blocks of stress hanging over me?

MartyMcFly84

I you advise you focus on what you can control.

There is still plenty of time. Try not to get worried about studying and actually sit down and study. I know it sounds silly, but I used put off studying and then panic when had exams. Now I just try and study as much and I can when I can.

If you look you will always find somewhere to study. Try your best to do what you can over the next two weeks. You have time to take a good shot at the exams.

If it doesn't work out, then you know you didn't pass but really tried. In the end they are only exams. Nothing will change one day to the next. The sun will still rise and life goes on. The good thing about exams is you can always do them again a few months down the line when you are better prepared.

You will only ever be successful if you have failed. The key is just not giving up.

Jasper_

Base your study around past exam papers. Give or take the same questions come up every year, just in a different forms.

Get the past 3/4/5 previous exam papers in each module, they are usually on the college website/intranet/moodle/webcourses or whatever your college uses. Failing that ask your librarian where you can access them.

Print them out and start working out the solutions from your lecturer notes/text book.

If you can't work them out from this, I would suggest two things. If you have any good friends in your course, ask to get a few hours studying with them, they may be happy to help you. Failing that, search online for maths/accounting tutors, some are about 20/30 an hour, one on one tutoring is amazing for learning.

If you can work them out, then put away your notes/text books. Take out a stop watch and test yourself on the papers, over and over again.

Good luck OP.

Xterminator

Hi Op

I think it was benjamin franklin who said "fail to prepare and you prepare to fail".

The good news is you have time. sit down, devise a study plan, create good notes, from your studying. If you need to go somewhere quiet to study do that. some ideas - library/grandparents house/study with friend from course

Believe me, if you can walk into the exam hall knowing you put in a good shift over the christmas you will feel better about the exam, the course and yourself. you can beat the anxiety by being prepared. Its 10 times worse when you know in your heart you have not done your best.

Don't let yourself prevaricate and find yourself with plans to study that get out off due to distractions etc.

fishy_fishy

I think everyone feels the way you do coming up to exams. Having done plenty, here are my tips:

- STOP thinking about plan B. It will only distract you.
- practice past questions
- in university exams there's usually a pattern as to what comes up. Does your class have a WhatsApp group? Try to find out what everyone reckons is coming up and make sure you can do that. Yeah, sometimes that strategy will get you burned on a question or two, but by and large I find most lecturers are happy to give some signals about what's likely to appear.
- try to understand rather than learn off by heart. Rote learning is a mug's game and with those three subjects (from experience) if you understand the stuff you'll do better than if you're just trying to learn it off.

But do try to remember that how you're feeling is normal. There'll always be that person in the class who's super prepared and Has studied everything but they're the exception. Most people are worried, and most people still pass.

Katgurl

Op

I empathise. I was also a mature student in college. I found it hard getting ready for exams in first year because I didn't have a strategy. Also, being the only mature student I felt a bit left out. I just had to remind myself of my end goal and keep struggling through.

It really is straightforward (but not easy). Get hold of exam papers from the last few years and practice the questions. Get help answering the questions anywhere you can; a tutor, a friend (you might have some professional friends can help), internet forum. If there is a WhatsApp Or Facebook group ask for any tips you might have missed.


I'm a maths teacher. I gave maths grinds in my final year to loads of commerce first years that were repeating. So it all worked out. When you feel overwhelmed think about the end goal!

On a practical note, www.khanacademy.org gives great maths tutorials. I would also recommend buying yourself some secondhand leaving cert books for maths, business, accounting. The material you are covering in first year will not be a million miles away.

The White Feather

OP, I would agree with nearly everything others have said already except maybe the rote learning part but it depends on how far you are along in the subject.

I was in the exact same position as you are a few years ago. 3 exams after Xmas but just a different course. I had spent too much time staying in bed and arsing around at friends houses than studying or being in class.Then exams are right around the corner after Christmas. Obviously I felt I had no chance as no one wants to study over the Christmas period. Nearly all my friends gave up and either failed or didn't even bother turning up for the exam. I barely passed by just doing enough to get over the line.

How did I do it?

I did as others here have said. I drew up a plan where basically I would study non stop. Only breaking for meals and a few programmes on TV as a treat! I had no chance if I didn't do this.

I went to the college library and poured over the past exam papers like others here suggested. Depending on how you are in the 3 subjects already is key. If you think you know a little bit already then you are halfway there. I really knew only a little bit about 1 subject and was like someone who never knew anything about the other 2. It seemed hopeless.

Go back as far as you can with all the exam papers. I noticed a pattern when I looked at them. There was nearly always a few subjects that are asked about. Then study them. In my case, and hopefully yours, the same questions popped up just asked slightly different. In my case you had to do 5 questions and nearly always 1 question asked every time. The other ones seemed shuffled. But looking back over the papers, they asked 1 question 2 years in a row then dropped it. Then back for another 2 then dropped. I gambled they would ask it again and started studying. It was one subject that was my weakest but the exam means I needed 2 questions fully right and maybe a line here and there in other questions to get over 40%.

Maybe your subject is different but I wrote out the correct answer to the previous question that would be guaranteed to get full points. Then I just learned it off as there was too little time to study it.

I had 3 subjects exactly like you so I learned off 6 answers like a computer! I would just get a blank sheet an start writing from memory until I could regurgitate it all correctly.Once i had them learned then I studied anything extra I could.

You may think all is lost but you will be surprised at what you know when you are studying.You said Maths and accounting are the ones that you fear so in your case that means you can concentrate on them. I studied non stop around the clock just breaking for meals. Its either work like a dog now or fail.Presumably you have taken today off but begin again tomorrow. its a week until Jan 1.

If you are a night owl, stay up and study and sleep in. I was like this. I studied until 5 in the morning.Otherwise its the opposite. Get up and have breakfast and shower and hit the books.All day. Break for food and small breaks here and there. I made it my life for the few weeks.I got over the pass line. Think as well once one exam is done your workload is down to 2. So it gets easier!

One funny note, I got the time wrong for the first exam and arrived half an hour late. Barely allowed in. Sat down. Nervously turned over the exam paper. Saw 2 questions that I had crammed for and quickly unloaded the answers from my brain before I had a brain freeze! Then I took my time and just wrote as much as I could for the other questions. Definitely write loads of material too! Then I got up and left to go study for the next one. Arrived late and left early!!! Barely passed!

Maybe none of my experience is applicable to you but definitely just study hard until now and the exams.Do what ever in your life that you absolutely must do then study all the other time. I found myself knowing more than I thought and I was hardly ever in class. My experience taught me not to arse around so much but it showed I could do it when the pressure was on. You can too.Wasters wouldn't even think about exams. By wondering if you will pass then you know you have it in you to pass but just worried you won't like I was too.

Hope this rambling post helps! Happy Christmas either way!