Midterm Phobia?

Looking down at your syllabus, do the butterflies roaming around in your stomach make you feel sick? All you want is to get over this time period. Well, we are back in the midterm phase: a nightmare for all the students who are not good test takers.

Midterm grades are often responsible for a strong percentage of our grade and therefore students strives to give their best and suffer through panic attacks until it’s finally over. Worse, midterms are a huge downfall for students who are not good test takers. There are many students who perform very well in class and can manage to finish all their assignments, but have a phobia of taking tests. Many students believe they can do better in class if they didn’t have to take any midterms.

“When you’re taking your test, you feel so nervous that even if you have the correct answer, you start doubting yourself, which messes up your answer,” said Viren Khuller, a senior Business Management major. Lack of time becomes another issue during midterm week. Many times midterm dates crash with other assignments, which make it difficult for the student to concentrate.

“I feel like the timing for the midterms really affects other coursework, as usually all papers and assignments are due at the same time,” said Zaroon Ahsan, a senior Finance and Marketing major.

Anxiety is another reason why students become worried during midterms. Many students go through physical problems such as headaches, diarrhea, and excessive sweating, which increases their heart rate, according to http://www.anxietybc.com.

They also go through emotional problems such as depression, excessive feelings of fear, and need of crying. All of these symptoms interfere in their studies. Anxiety creates a signal in the mind that makes the brain unable to retrieve what’s stored in memory and often causes difficulty in demonstrating your knowledge on the test, according to the same website.