If anyone knows a good (hypno)therapst in Southern California, who can teach me how to relax during an exam or improve my exam-taking abilities, please let me know. You can PM me.
I am at wit’s end, having messed up another exam once again.
And once again, I was able to correct my own exam without referring to my notes. Only during the test I kept reading the question incorrectly, and second-guessing my own choices on the multiple-choice part of the exam. But when the exam was over, my thinking cleared up and I was able to give the right answers.
I haven’t given up yet, but I am much closer to quitting my aspiration to go to med school. As long as my grades are messed up by poor test-taking, I stand little change of getting into any med school. Once again, no As this semester. 4 years and just a sea of B’s; the post-bacc was supposed to be 2 years, but I keep extending my post-bacc in the hopes my grades will improve; they have not.
Best wishes. I have been there and am there. 
Thanks for your sympathy. Sorry to kvetch so much, but I am still seeking advice. I am still looking for a therapist.
In the meantime, I found a book on self-hypnosis. I am
trying out the exercises related to test anxiety.
I don’t know any therapists, but did you try academic center at school? They usually have psychologists working for them and I think it would be a good place to start.
Kasia
Madkasia,
Thanks for your input. I am going today to talk to a learning specialist. I have sought help for this same problem several years ago (yes, years), but their suggestions have not helped. I will try them again, perhaps with different results.
I see that you are in med school at last. I remember when you were just starting out on this site (that’s how long I’ve been trying).
Most of my friends who were premed are now in med school and some have finished already; several are into their residencies, and one friend is even a professor at a med school having just finished her residency.
And me, I’m still trying to get my GPA high enough to even have a chance at med school. To make matters worse, any AdComm is going to see that sea of B grades, even if I get some A’s. Obviously, things are not working out . . . maybe some goals are just not meant to be . . .
Are you getting B’s in all the classes or just science classes? Have you tried taking a few easy non-science classes and see if you have trouble with those?
I seem to have the same problem. And it’s like the more I worry and get worked up about it the worse the problem gets…I know a B is not terrible but I need to get my GPA higher. I’m there with you, I will let you know if I find any good relaxation techniques that work.
I am only getting mostly B’s in the sciences, typically upper division. I have a few science A’s, but more than 3 times that many B’s.
I tend to do much better in the social sciences than in the hard sciences. In my first time in undergrad, I was getting A+'s in the social sciences/anthro at a top 20 university. Furthermore, I believe that my problems with science are not because the material is hard; I usually have little trouble understanding the material, and I can ususally articualte and describe the material quite well when I am NOT being tested. But when I am tested, whether formally (in class) or informally (in person), I tend to get flustered and my recall ability and logical thinking ability declines. To make matters worse, this tendency to screw up my tests and quizzes is almost completely transparent to me; usually I don’t realize it until the test is over and handed in to the professor. My failures are usually not due to a lack of knowledge, but due to fault in executing tests appropriately.
So you walk away thinking you did well on the test? Then when you get it back you’re completely floored? But it’s not so bad because you are getting B’s on them? That is exactly what is happening to me, but when I am studying I feel I have an excellent grasp on the material, and when I talk to the professor about how I am studying because I thought that was the problem he said that he thought the way I was studying was fine.
- nahani2 Said:
Hard sciences require that you can flip equations around no matter how they are given to you. Hard sciences require that you not only understand that fundamental concept but also how the final answer can be extrapolated to something else.
Take chemistry. PV=nRT is simple. P1V1=P2V2 is simple. However, start throwing in molar mass and one needs to know how to change that into the above formula to get the right answer.
In organic, it is not memorizing everything as much as it feels to me, as understanding why something works the way it does. Why does the protenated H react with carbon compounds the way it does, is far more useful than remembering H3O+ does blah, blah, blah in this specific reaction.
In remembering why it does what it does will be the same for most other types of reactions/mechanisms. In a similar way, it's like remembering why Lotus 1-2-3 thinks in columns and rows, makes a transition to Excel that much easier (both think in columns and rows).
BTW, I've not had organic since 1982 and the little bit that I picked up this last semester was by me sitting in a 3 hour lecture of ochem 2.
Yes, that's right. I'm nervous enough about my other hard sciences that I sat through a 3 hour lecture every week, did the homework problems, and reviewed the tests for a class I am NOT registered for all in the hopes that doing that kind of prep work now, will help me master it when I actually do take it for credit.
In math and physics the same principle applies. Memorize how to use the formula, but change it up to understand thoroughly.
Social sciences allow for some fluidity in thinking and some nebulous answers. Hard science not so much. Maybe a sig fig here or there nebulous but overall, it's either right, or it's not.
So, my questions back to the OP are:
1) why have you not talked to someone about test anxiety that can really help (sorry, I'm not a proponent of hypnotherapy)?
2) if hard science gives you fits, have you hired or talked to a tutor?
My first semester back was brutal more for what was going on outside of school in my life, than in school. However, one thing I did use and am thankful for:
1) use of the tutoring center almost daily
2) use of the professor's office hours
3) use of teaching others
- jkp2117 Said:
So, my questions back to the OP are:
1) why have you not talked to someone about test anxiety that can really help (sorry, I'm not a proponent of hypnotherapy)?
2) if hard science gives you fits, have you hired or talked to a tutor?
Actually, I did okay (A's) in the calculus, and physics (calculus-based). It is in the upper division biology, where you have to memorize seemingly endless pages of "which virus does this," "what biochemical reaction does that." It's strange but I don't find biochemistry, microbiology, and other upper division science courses all that different from my anthropology and sociology past courses; they both involve reading lots of words. But I find retaining those words and recalling those words for biology and chemistry much harder than those for the social sciences.
As far as getting help: I've been working with several individuals over the years to deal with this problem; up until now, I didn't have a name for it. Although most people would call it "test anxiety," I don't feel nervous when taking a test; I just can't recall much until the test is over. There are other angles to this issue as well, and the more I delve into this "problem," the more I see other ways to improve my scholastic abilities. I just hope it is not too late.
Sounds like you are addressing the problem which is great!
I think you can do it Nahani2…and if you didn’t want to go it you wouldn’t be trudging through or looking for answers and help. Don’t give up just yet!!!