Take a deep breath...

Week 2 Summer term.

I can't recall if I mentioned this before, but I live in a flat full of first years. Which is great, because in your time here, first years are some of the best kind of friends you can have. They aren't jaded by the university experience yet, they are vibrant, interesting, and coping, much the same as study abroad students are.

However, I do have one peeve. They have no exams till June.

I just got finished taking my second exam here. I hesitated to write about the experience of the first because I thought it might be useful to see if the second would lend itself to the same feeling. Thankfully, that wasn't the case.

First of all, the pre-exam tension before you head in is killer. If you weren't nervous before, you certainly will be now.

People will tell you that everyone revises in their own way and that there is no "best way" to revise. These people are in denial. If you must procrastinate, make sure that you leave yourself at least a week to revise the lectures before the exam. I'm not going to tell you that any less and you aren't applying yourself, because you will have gathered that by this point. What is especially relevant to those who haven't exactly been proactive at studying for the exams is that if you haven't looked at the materials from each section of the course for at least a few minutes of every day, then your stress will be exponentially higher than need be. 10 minutes every day people. THAT'S ALL. Save yourself some truly embarrassing stress. Take it from me, I'm a psychologist.

Referencing the above, to help you even more, find a friend who is willing to learn passively, and explain to them the answer to previous exam questions. Explaining in this way to someone who likely has no idea what you are talking about and making it sound interesting demonstrates knowledge and understanding. Contrary to popular belief, the former is not enough to get you through one of these exams.

DO NOT BE INTIMIDATED. I was sitting next to this one girl who had decided to write the word count equivalent of Dostoevsky's 'Crime and Punishment'. Necessary? Absolutely not. You are meant to be exhibiting knowledge and understanding of the question being asked. Not perform what lectures call "knowledge dump". These people have lives to lead. Show some respect. The point is, don't take that as a sign that if you don't fluff up your mere 2 pages it's going to get a bad mark. As long as it is all concise, relevant, and answers the question, you are done.


Drink plenty of water the day or two leading up to the exam. You are 70% of it. You will need every bit of yourself for these things.


Basically, here's the point of these bits of advise. Exams here are NOT like they are in the States. They are vastly more intense, require more understanding of the material, can be on classes you took months ago, and require you to have done at least some revision. You absolutely cannot walk in without having been to a lecture and expect to pass the class. The exams count for 50% of your grade. That simple.


In other news, the weather is becoming exceedingly gorgeous and everything is in bloom or starting to flower. One of the most beautiful things I have seen here is the countryside in last few days. Take some time to yourself and walk to town from the university. It's a good hour, but a great show in local beauty.


More to report soon. Postings will be sparse for a little while due to much studying and less outing.