They say “school sweet but na exam dey spoil am,” and honestly, that thing no be lie. As a student who went through Nigerian polytechnic system studying Mass Communication, I can boldly say exam period is one of the most stressful and confusing time for students. But somehow, we always survive it.
Exams always come with pressure. In my own experience, as soon as exam timetable drops, everything in school changes. You will just see everybody moving up and down, looking serious, borrowing notes, asking questions from lecturers, and trying to complete their files or assignments that they’ve been ignoring before 😅. That’s when you know wahala don start.
For me, I used to feel very nervous anytime exam is coming. Especially courses that have long theory parts. As a Mass Comm student, we write plenty essays and news writing. So it’s not just about cramming, you must understand the structure of writing and know current affairs too. That’s why I had to find my own way to stay motivated and prepare well.
What helped me the most was group reading. Me and some of my coursemates will form small study group. We go to one person’s room or use empty class, then share topics and teach ourselves like mini revision class. When I hear someone explain, it sticks better in my head. Also, I’m the type that forget things easily if I only read alone. So discussing with others helped me a lot.
Another thing I did was to use past questions. Most times, polytechnic lecturers like repeating old questions, or at least rephrasing it. So I go to senior students or school library to collect past questions. Sometimes I even form questions by myself based on the topics, then try to answer them like it’s real exam.
During exam period, I reduce my social media time and avoid friends that don’t like reading 😅. I try to eat well mostly simple food like indomie, rice or bread and tea and I take short naps during the day to refresh my head. If I force myself to read when I’m too tired, I just end up wasting time. So resting is part of my plan.
One funny but true thing is, sometimes fear of failure is what motivates me. I just imagine doing carryover and having to explain it at home, and that thought alone will give me serious ginger to sit up. Nigerian education system is not easy, especially with issues like power outage, short notice for tests, and sometimes harsh lecturers. But we still move.
Exams are tough, yes But with the right mindset and preparation style that fits you, you can always come out strong. That’s how I always encouraged myself “if others are passing, me too I can pass.”
