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"Whether it's the SATs, a final, or a quiz in a class you're not confident about, test anxiety makes everything harder. While some people are lucky enough not to experience exam-related stress, for most of the people that do, it won't ever entirely go away. There are ways to reduce it, however, or at least ensure that it won't affect your performance. Keep reading to find out how.\n\nDon't avoid the hard stuff.\n\n If you only study the material you find easiest, you might feel more confident going into an exam. That feeling will quickly vanish, however, as soon as you encounter those questions you've been dreading (and now aren't prepared for). Spending the most time reviewing the subjects you struggle with might seem overwhelming, but you gotta do it. Save the simpler stuff for the days closer to the test, and try out these tricks the whole way through.\n\nImitation is the sincerest form of...preparation?\n\n Does your anxiety revolve around the unfamiliar, high stress experience of taking a standardized test? See if you can mimic the format of a big college entrance exam, right down to the timer, number two pencils, and maybe even a proctor (this is a good job for a parent or study buddy). If you've put yourself through it once or twice before, the rigid test day circumstances will be less foreign and way less scary.\n\nDon't go it alone.\n\n If you can, study with a friend\u2014being with someone else can calm you down and spur motivation. But choose wisely! Someone who isn't approaching the test in the same way you are will end up being a liability rather than an asset. Make sure that your study partner is adding something to your study sessions, rather than serving as a perhaps welcome, but ultimately unhelpful distraction.\n\nNo cramming allowed!\n\n Trust us, cramming the night before a test will make you feel super freaked out\u2014and if that's not bad enough, it's highly unlikely you'll remember most of what you frantically studied. If you've been preparing in advance, the best thing to do the night before a test is a light review. If you haven't been studying much, the impulse to cram might prove irresistible, but try not to stay up all night. Ten straight hours of rote memorization won't be much help.\n\nCatch up on sleep, please.\n\n It's essential to at least try to get a solid amount of sleep the night before a test. If you know your anxiety will have you tossing and turning the night before no matter how much you prepare, make sleep a priority in the days leading up to it. You'll get your body in the habit of chilling out on the early side and feel a little less guilty if you can't get all the shuteye you need the night before.\n\nEat. (Yes, eat.)\n\n Test day butterflies might make you lose your appetite, but the last thing you want is to be distracted in the middle of an exam because you're starving. This is especially important for long tests like the SATs and ACTs. Plan out your breakfast, and bring backup; granola bars, fruit, and other healthy snacks will be easy to transport to the test site and eat during breaks. And, of course, they'll make you feel better than junk will!\n\nTake control of the clock.\n\n Timed tests aren't great for anxious exam-takers. Since this is frequently how many major exams are formatted, the only way around it is to find a way to make the clock work for you. If you're taking a test in several sections, like the SATs or ACTs, take a quick glance through each before you begin and divide it into manageable chunks based on how much time you have. You might decide to spend 10 minutes on the first 10 questions, 10 minutes on the second 10, and leave 10 minutes at the end to double check your answers. This will prevent you from wasting a block of time on a single question that has you stumped, plus give you some control over how you go through the test.\n\nIt's not a contest!\n\n When you sit down to take a test, imagine it was written only for you. Pretending the exam was crafted with you in mind can turn the most intimidating final into something more manageable. Relatedly, don't focus on how your peers will do or how long it will take them to complete. Ultimately, the only grade that matters is yours. (Yes, even if there's a curve!)\n\nGain some perspective.\n\n Despite how you might feel at the time, no single test is going to make or break your academic career. Almost every successful high school or college grad has a bad test grade on their record. While an unsatisfactory result can feel devastating, it's important to remember that the test is just a measure of your knowledge on a particular subject at a given point in time, nothing more."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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