Dealing with Exam Stress At this time of year with examinations looming, students start to feel pressure in the strive to achieve their goals. Teachers constantly reiterate how important the upcoming months are, increasing the need to do well, and consequently increasing the stress. However, by focusing on how much there is to do you are only putting yourself under further pressure. Here are ideas to help students deal with stress: 1. Plan – Drawing up a revision timetable helps you to manage your time and realise that you can get through that ever-increasing pile of work. Planning time for breaks will also help keep yourself fresh 2. Revise – Reading through long passages of text will not enforce the information. Try writing out important notes with coloured pens, underlining the most important aspects to help you remember it 3. Test Yourself – This will show you which topics you need to look at again, and what you are more secure on. It will also make the actual exam seem less stressful as you are used to tests 4. Comparisons – Do not compare yourself to your friends, you will only worry yourself if you think they have done more than you or revised different topics. Concentrate on what you have done and what you are doing.