lots of crying depressed girls walking around college

[trustysteed]

someone needs to tell them to man the fock up.

 

[BrumJim]

Exams have that edge of "trying to succeed without trying". Yes, preparation is critical, but if you worry too much, either up to or during the exam, the stress will affect your performance, and you won't do as well. Of course there are those that don't prepare, look calm, but are being too casual, but that is to ignore the importance of preparation.

I found that self-inflicted depression was the best exam results-improver I have ever come across. I would spend the last hour or so before an exam riding my brain of every joyful and positive emotion. Made me a near-clinically-depressive teenager, but I have a proud set of exam results to go with it. Sadly I don't think that this method works for very many people at all - must be wired differently from the rest.

The other golden rule is never to discuss the exam paper afterwards. There is nothing that you can do about the answers you have already given, nothing you can learn from your failures for the next exam, and the worry and insecurity will only degrade your performance further. But there again, being such a ray of despair and general misery-guts, no one wanted to talk to me after exams anyway.

Crying - you have generally ignored either point 1 (don't worry, it'll only give you something to worry about), or point 2 (what happens in the exam room STAYS in the exam room).

 

[ChrisKH]

There's always a re-sit. Says he of many...........

 

[4F]

Thought this was another thread about Blazed losing his mobile when i read the title.

Now that was a great thread

 

[darkstar]

There's always a re-sit. Says he of many...........

Yup, depends what level though. Uni exam retakes are capped at 40%, which is practically a fail if you're after a 1st. If someone fails a uni exam though, they have been dossing and not working at all.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Having just sat my first exam since the dreaded O-Levels nearly 30 years ago (painful memories came flooding back, I was even more bone idle then than I am now) I can confirm that they are still a complete nerve wrecker. I was sitting a masters level accounts module and it was very very nasty. And I had actually revised.

 

[slowmotion]

The other golden rule is never to discuss the exam paper afterwards. There is nothing that you can do about the answers you have already given, nothing you can learn from your failures for the next exam, and the worry and insecurity will only degrade your performance further. ).

Yes, good advice. I never, ever even took the exam paper out of the exam room. There is absolutely no point.

 

[montage]

OK now you won't like me saying this Foodie, but A levels from my experience aren't particularly taxing. I agree the step up from GCSE to A level is significant, but thousands of kids go through A levels every year, most of which don't cry. I did mine 3/4 years ago now and the average girl who was upset after an exam, hadn't worked hard enough revising for the exams and didn't turn up to lessens. Just my experiences though.

Says the geographer

(from somebody who is going on to study geography!)

 

[summerdays]

Each person and how they deal with the stress of exam time are different and there probably is a gender divide between the reactions as well. My eldest is sitting one of her GCSE's early so sits her last maths paper tomorrow - she seems to be coping absolutely fine - however she might go to pieces next year when its the main set. Somehow I think the younger two will be more stressed by it all when its their turn.

Good luck to anyone doing any exams at the moment ... and why are you reading this if you are

 

[summerdays]

Says the geographer

(from somebody who is going on to study geography!)

Geography is a great subject.... but forgotten so long ago... (from one who studied it). I think that is one of the ironies of it all ... how much we use what we have actually learned as opposed to using the learning skills that we did whilst studying these subjects.

 

[ChrisKH]

Having just sat my first exam since the dreaded O-Levels nearly 30 years ago (painful memories came flooding back, I was even more bone idle then than I am now) I can confirm that they are still a complete nerve wrecker. I was sitting a masters level accounts module and it was very very nasty. And I had actually revised.

Me and Mrs. KH still have exam nightmares ( sit down, turn over paper, and don't recognise what's in it) and we haven't taken any in 20 years. I remember having an out of body experience in my CSE Mathematics in May 1979. Fortunately I was only taking it as practice for the O-level.

 

[User169]

There's always a re-sit. Says he of many...........

Isn't there talk of Universities disregarding A level retake? I thought I'd seen somewhere that they were considering only taking into account "first time" marks.

 

[montage]

Thanks Maz, of course I've told her all that stuff, I'm an expert at failing but have made an OK fist of life...
But the point here is that the concientious and hard working kids that want to do well, have eat slept and drunk these exams over the last few months and of course they're devastated when it goes wrong ( or they think it's gone wrong), and for many it will have. Of course it's not the end of the world, but for them for a while it seems like it. It's not nice to think yourself a failiure.

...erm....whats her number?
Ok, that was low - but then, this is a flippent thread, and it is in the cafe....of cyclechat

She needs to just put it behind her for a bit and concentrate on the others, crying will not pass exams, revision will. As you said, it's never great thinking you have failed exams and I truely hope she does well. This is coming from somebody who understands that feeling of failure better than most. I didn't work much for my GCSEs, but due to their nature managed to scrape up enough A's to keep the smiles on parents and teachers faces etc. AS levels were a different story. I didn't just let my socks down, I took them off. I was screwing up at college, but was given a wonderful second chance and moved to another college. Unfortunately a leopard doesn't change it's spot and come results day in the summer I ended up with something like D,D,E. Hardest thing I have ever done is resit the year, being only one of two to do so at my sixth form. I completely changed my subject choices, some of which I didn't even study at GCSE level. Two years later, despite all the "old man" jokes I am possibly now the happiest I have been in a long time. Made some truely great mates and really really looking forward to going to uni, which I didn't even see as an option when I began college. I'm doing 4 A-levels and slightly optimistically looking at A*,A,A,B (new A* grade has been introduced last year for 90% + ). I turned down an unconditional offer which was part of a scholarship to aberystwyth uni 1) to go to lancaster instead and 2) because I needed to prove to myself I can do it. First exam in a week and although I am bricking it, I am also in a position I would never have dreamed myself to be in a few years ago.

Sorry the moral of the story - she can retake as many fking times as she wants till she passes

 

[threebikesmcginty]

I remember having an out of body experience in my CSE Mathematics in May 1979.

 

[summerdays]

What subjects did you change from and to?