Hey all,

If any of you have seen my previous post, you'll know I just started Uni. I'm excited to be studying and everything, but there's a problem. The first time I tried university, back in 2013, the stress got to me really bad. My grades, while being high, weren't good enough for me - I got a 91 on one assignment and beat myself up for not getting any higher - and when it came to exams, I totally freaked out and ended up not sitting them at all.

I'm worried that the exact same thing is going to happen this semester. I'm only a week into my courses but I'm already quite worried over the assignments and what needs to be done; revision questions, notes, weekly activities, readings...I want to do it all right away, but that would mean not ever doing anything besides study, and if I don't study and do something else relaxing, I feel horribly bad because I know it's time I could be using productively.

Does anyone have any tips on how to handle the pressure? I've asked my university lecturers in the past but they don't really understand, the most they've told me is "everyone gets stressed" and a certain amount of stress is healthy, which doesn't help my situation at all.

Any advice would be appreciated.

I think that you need to understand that you may not perfect college. All you can do it strife to do your best. And if a 91 on an assignment is your best, then pat yourself on the back for a job well done. That is a good grade!

[tradika]

Look up grade anxiety. I have it too!

[shortandcute]

[kim_johnson]

1. Perspective.

What matters most is consistency. Performance across multiple subjects across multiple years of study. If you only get 60% on a test that is only worth 2% of your final grade for a single paper that you did in your first year... That will most likely come out in the rounding, or something.

Lecturers like to try and instill a sense of panic in their students. Partly because they are trying to extract the best work and some people really need a bit of a cattle prod... Others need... More of a sense of perspective, however.

Learn how your grading system works. Is 90% and higher an A+? If so... Then anything above that is perfect, really. If the test was only worth 5% of the total assessment for the course then the difference between an A and an A+ on the test would likely come out in the wash again...

Of course all these little assignments and percentage points add up over the long haul and I'm not saying to blow them off. But I am saying to try and keep things in perspective. Especially if it comes to prioritizing your time between a 2% piece of assessment over here and a 30% piece of assessment over there.

I can't remember what the name of the principle is... Maybe something something about diminishing returns... The point is that you do get a return on investment that is fairly linear... Until you get to that last 20%. Then... You need to put a lot more in than you will get back out. So... Say that 2 hours study for the test gets you from a C to a B. But then 4 hours more study might be required to get you from a B to an A. Might be 5 hours more study to get you from an A to an A+. To get nothing wrong... Might be another 10 on top of all of that. And even then, there might be a tricky tricky trick question that the lecturer threw in there precisely so that nobody ever ever ever gets to feel complacent! Given how many other classes / assessments you have to juggle... Is that a wise use of your time?

2. Recovery.

Basic things like sleep, nutrition, exercise. If I eat junk food / too much coffee / take sugar then I get highs and lows and highs and lows and start to feel pretty burned out. I worked pretty hard training at the gym over the summer... Breaking my body down so it would grow back stronger. Now classes are my priority and exercise is all about recovery. I'm fit enough to do some equivalent of going for a 30 minute run that gets the endorphins going and helps me feel good. Or to do a few laps of the pool. Or to go on a bit of a vigorous walk through the park. That kind of thing can be really important for clearing the head which is really important for getting a good nights sleep.