‘SELF-CONFIDENCE BRINGS SUCCESS IN LYS’

16 JUNE 2016

The Undergraduate Placement Exam (LYS) marathon for prospective university students is taking a start this weekend. More than one million 600 thousand students will be taking Social Sciences exam on June 18, Mathematics on June 19, Science on June 25, and Literature-Geography exams on June 26. The experts state that students need to stay away from negative and pointless thoughts, and that having self-confidence in their knowledge brings success.

Clinical Psychologist Merve Yavuz, IUE Psychological Development and Counseling Centre Coordinator, who made recommendations to students who will take the exam, wanted students to ‘block’ negative thoughts. She said that experiencing negative feelings such as anxiety, excitement, panic, and stress excessively would decrease the level of success. “Exam anxiety is a common concern for each age group. Right amount of exam anxiety is useful. It motivates the person to accomplish their best. Therefore, instead of getting rid of it completely, one needs to keep it at a level to have positive effect on their performance,” said Yavuz.

Yavuz, who implied that students increased their level of anxiety due to factors such as making guesses about exam results, poor time management, worries, etc., stated the following:

“Before the exam, students need to say, ‘I will do my best’, ‘I know that I don’t have enough time but how can I use the time I have efficiently?’ ‘I can give priority to the important subjects even if I can’t study the entire resources’. Such thoughts have positive impact on the student.”

‘Focus on Yourself’

Yavuz indicated that not the exam itself but different meanings associated with the exam and exam results, and the negative feelings about the exam caused the students to be anxious. Yavuz said, “Trust your knowledge. Identify your exam habits, such as putting a check mark next to the question you are sure about. Think positive, encourage yourself. Being tense at the beginning is normal. Take deep breaths and exhale slowly. Read the instructions carefully. Do not watch others during the exam, seeing their pace would only make you more worried. Pay no attention to anything that distracts you, focus on your questions. If you feel anxious, try to do breathing exercises.”