How to Help With College Exam Stress
High school and college exam season causes stress for students. For the parent, there are tearful phone calls, evidence of short tempers, withdrawal and signs of crumbling self-confidence. Help with exam stress at home and at a distance with lots of support.
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Instructions
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Stay calm. Your college or high school student has enough stress for both of you. Hide your own concerns rather than feed into his.
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Communicate. This is a good time for a parent to up the number of emails, text messages or instant chat sessions. Keep it short though, and stay positive. Get your student talking about individual courses, exams and study schedules.
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Visit during the pre-exam period, if possible. Stop by the weekend before classes end. Get your student off campus, even share your hotel room, and spend time on leisure activities that involve lots of good meals.
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Prepare for the meltdown phone call. This is more likely in the first year when a college student becomes overwhelmed and anticipates failure. Listen, wait for the storm to subside, then encourage your student to discuss issues one at a time.
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Feed your student. For the college student, send a few extra dollars for a nice meal off campus, or mail off nutritious snacks and homemade goodies.
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Set up a study area for a high school student, and suggest the same to your college student. Remind them how important it is to be away from others having a stress attack, since stressful students tend of feed off each other.
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Utilize school resources. High school guidance counselors and teachers have exam tips and outlines. Many post-secondary schools have guides for parenting college students as well. Read them, and follow the advice.
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Tips & Warnings
Sometimes successful high school students find their study techniques don't work in college. Let them know it's okay to ask for help. All schools have resource centers for students.
Failure is a part of life. Of course, you don't want to support bad work habits or a slack attitude, but sometimes even the best efforts fail. It's a hard lesson for students and even for a parent, but not the end of the world. Help them figure out what went wrong and how to fix it for next time.
Don't contact the school. College administrators say that students must take charge themselves. Teach your high school student how to advocate without a parent.
High school and college students with learning disabilities find exams particularly stressful. Confirm that accommodations are in place before the exam period begins.
Watch for signs exam stress is out of control, especially if your student is at a highly competitive school. Exam stress can be a dangerous addition to existing issues with coping or depression.
