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29 June 2020 | Story Valentino Ndaba | Photo Pixabay
Should the anxiety burden be too heavy to bear, contact the Student Counselling and Development office.

Do you need help with sharpening your coping skills to alleviate exam anxiety? Look no further; Dr Neo Pule, counselling psychologist at the UFS Student Counselling and Development Office, has tips for you on how to manage stress.

Stress comes with the territory of exam preparation. “The quality of a person’s performance is hampered when the level of stress is either too low or two high,” says Dr Pule. In order to strike a balance between the two states, you need to treat your emotions as information and apply coping skills when necessary.

How you think can have a profound effect on your emotional and physical well-being. Some social strategies of coping with stress include social support, humour, self-nurturing, and healthy distractions. Take care of your mental health this exam period by following these simple tips from Dr Pule:

Before the examination:
1. Allow yourself enough time to study
2. Ask your lecturer what the format of the exam will be
3. List the chapters you need to prepare for
4. Write down key facts
5. Make flash cards, drawings or notes
Important: Focus on areas your lecturer spent a lot of time on.

During the examination:
1. Pace yourself and budget your time accordingly
2. If you blank on a question, skip it, and move on
3. Don’t panic if others are handing in their papers
4. Apply yourself and try your best
5. Breathe!

After the examination:
1. Let go!
2. Don’t compare your answers with peers
3. Reflect on the good and the bad in a healthy manner
4. Relax
5. Treat yourself

Bloemfontein Campus and South Campus
Student Counselling and Development: +27 51 401 2853 or herbstp@ufs.ac.za

Qwaqwa Campus
Student Counselling and Development: +27 58 718 5033 or +27 58 718 5033 or +27 58 718 5032

News Archive

Achieve academic goals with an online presence
2016-11-02

Description: Academic Reboot Pack 2.0    Tags: Academic Reboot Pack 2.0

The Academic Reboot Pack 2.0 of the
University of the Free State introduces
an online academic approach to help
students complete the 2016 academic
year.
Photo: iStock

With the recent break in the academic activities at most of the countries’ universities, higher education managers are pressured to come up with ways of completing the rest of the 2016 academic year.

An approach introduced by the University of the Free State (UFS), is the use of online learning platforms.

For the remainder of the year, students will be required to do the majority of their work online. To support students during this time, the UFS has created an Academic Reboot Pack 2.0, which included #8 Habits of Highly successful online students.  

Stay informed and prioritise your work

Make the online environment the top priority in your daily schedules. Be extra vigilant in your studies and use online learning platforms such as Blackboard to check your modules for new announcements and academic information.

You will also need to prioritise between important and less important tasks. This will give you an indication as to which tasks to focus on first.

Optimise your environment and work until you achieve goals

You need to optimise your study environment in a space where you can be productive and study efficiently. Continue working until you have achieved your goals, but also remember to reward yourself when you have reached them.

Staying organised

Remember, you need to stay organised and declutter your environment. It will be best to create a filing system for your paper-based notes, as well as the electronic files on your computer.

Get study buddies and keep a healthy body and mind

Get study buddies as this provides a good opportunity to share knowledge. If you are not sure about something, contact your lecturers via email or on their office numbers.

Lastly, keep a healthy body and mind because you will need to keep going a little longer than anticipated this year.

Get your copy of the Academic Reboot Pack 2.0 on Blackboard under announcements or click here to download it.

 Also see the first Academic Reboot Pack.

If students have any question or queries regarding the Academic Reboot Pack 2.0, they can send an email to: advising@ufs.ac.za

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