Weary LFV students:
As you know, the exam date of Friday, May 2 is fast approaching, and you are heading into your final weekend of studying. Good news: Soon you will be able to re-introduce yourself to friends, family, and maybe even a little sunshine.
At this point, most of you have been studying for this exam for months. It’s natural to feel a sense of panic and impending doom with the exam date so close.
My primary advice at this point has more to do with the often neglected “intangibles” of exam taking:
- Take good care of yourself mentally and physically. Eat well and don’t short-change yourself on sleep, especially the night before the exam. Your mind will be much sharper if it’s rested. If you sleep-deprive yourself to get in a few more hours of cramming, the true “cost” of that decision is being handicapped when answering all questions on exam day—even those that you know cold. Don’t do that to yourself.
- Stay positive by realizing just how much you do know and have accomplished this far in studying. Use negative thoughts to your advantage. If you are worried about some specific topic, you still have time to work through parts of the syllabus you’re not comfortable with. Remember that the probability that any one specific topic will appear on the exam is fairly low. The totality of the syllabus “forest” is a lot more important than any individual tree in it.
- Please, PLEASE set aside some time to work exam problems under exam conditions and practice your time management strategy as much as possible before the big day. It’s critical to be comfortable under time pressure and have a steady awareness of where you are time-wise while working difficult problems.
If you haven’t already watched it, please take a look at the video, “How to Prepare for FSA Exams” in the Introduction section of the seminar. This video has several tips on exam-day strategy.
As many of you know, I’m here—as I’ve been from the day you registered with us—to answer your questions. I’ll be on standby through May 1, and I’ll definitely be thinking about all of you on May 2.
Good luck, and always remember that in the long run, continuous effort counts more than winning on any given day. Stay focus, stay positive, and stay determined both before and after the exam, and everything will be just fine.