Dodging the Exam Fever

Ashish Kulkarni (name changed),a student of Neville Wadia Institute of Management Studies (NWIMS),knows the feeling only too well. He suffered a mild heart attack days before his exam last year and had to be admitted to Ruby Hall. Recalling the incident,Anuradha Sarkar,IT head and course coordinator of MCM program at NWIMS,says,“When we went to meet him in the hospital,Kulkarni said he won’t be able to write the exam. However,I motivated him and suggested that he should at least try to write the theory exam and later give practicals,so that he doesn’t lose a year.” Sarkar arranged notes and assignments of other students to help Kulkarni. “He wrote the exam,and scored fairly well,” she says.

Sarkar adds that over the years,she has seen many students getting stressed out ahead of exams. “I tell them to make their own notes while studying,as it gets them in the habit of writing. Another advice is to make a column besides their notes and jot down key points,so that during revision,they just need to take a look to know what the answer should be. Going through question banks is also very helpful,” she says.

Sandeep Meshram,associate professor and head of training and placement cell in College of Engineering Pune (COEP),has also seen many students getting stressed during exams,to the point that they are unable to perform even what they know the most. He raises the red flag to skipping meals and sleep before the exams. “Students do that often and then collapse out of exhaustion in the examination hall,” he says,emphasising the need to maintain a daily routine that includes time for studies as well as leisure.

Counselor Hassini Krshna advocates a simple tip that works very well: plan ahead and avoid discussing with friends right outside the examination hall.

Psychotherapist Parul Khona says,“About a week ago,a student approached me saying she was unable to concentrate on studies,which was,in turn,causing a lot of stress. The problem was that she had been grounded by her parents,who wanted her to spend the entire day with books. That is not a solution at all.” According to Khona,the only way to deal with stress is to create a timetable depending on the syllabus and the number of hours. “There is an alarming trend of college students gulping down strong black coffee. It damages the system and messes the hormonal balance,” says Khona.