#ibexam

Our student bloggers are invited to write in their own words and to hold nothing back –we promise we won’t edit them. Read Farah Walter's blog on 5 thoughts before mock exams on our From Students to Students blog:

Dear Readers,

It is the time of year again when mock exams take its toll on IB students. Depending on what grade you are in, you have either been through them or will be in the upcoming years. This is why I wanted to share 5 thoughts that you may have before taking your mock exams.

1. Everyone else looks really prepared

This crosses my mind before every test! However, it is important that you do not let this influence you. For your final or even mock exams, I urge you to avoid conversation on “everything” that you have learnt. It will either stress you out or confuse you. Just remember that you know what you know and the rest does not matter!

2. This is just a practice

Although mocks are considered a practice for the final IB exams, they really are important and useful. Firstly, students are able to experience the pressure and conditions that they will be under in May. Additionally, you will get to experience the time it takes you to finish your paper, which is incredibly important. Therefore, you do not want to take these exams too lightly. Learning for the mocks will make studying for the finals so much easier. Instead of learning everything again from the beginning, you can simply continue where you left off. 

3. I need to look at my notes again

I am one of those people that is never able to shake this feeling. However, similarly to the mocks or the final IB exam, I advise you to write what is most important (only for the day of the test) on a piece of paper and to only refer to that. It may be counterproductive to stress yourself out by looking through millions of flash cards for a “last minute” study sesh.

4. Maybe it will not be that bad

I would not bet on it. For many, the mocks will be pretty awful. That is a given. However, you will have the perfect chance to prepare for your upcoming IB exam and perhaps score the maximum number of points.

5. How will I feel when I take my finals

I do not think you can compare the feeling you have during your mocks to the one when you walk into your first and last IB exam. You should rather be thinking about the pleasure of finishing your whole school career with a great IB.

I wish everyone who is taking the May 2017 IB exams the best of luck!

It’s 2pm and I’ve just started studying which is pretty late! Yesterday was super hectic, didn’t get a chance to get work done, so hoping today I can catch up on what I was supposed to do yesterday too! 

The party animal: After your last exam you were ecstatic. The years of agony are done - at least for now. But how should you treat your saturated and exhausted brain? Well, do you remember the “Memory Clear” button on your calculator? You have one of these too, but you trigger it with one hell of a party. The good news is, with your IB exams completed, there’s nothing to stop you from a second, or third, or fourth, or fifth party. Eat, sleep, rave, repeat... Enjoy! 

The sleeper: The countless all-nighters working on essays, revising for exams, or catching up on homework require you to do only one thing after your last exam: sleep! No, you’re not looking for one of those seven-hour naps people like to take every night. I mean the real thing, where only the urge to use the bathroom can wake you up from your fourteen-hour dream marathon. You surely deserve it, but after you’re done hibernating, it’s time to live in the real world again.

The fanatically spontaneous: During school there was a schedule for everything. Your classes, your deadlines, your exams, your holidays. You needed 150 CAS hours, were restricted by word limits and assessed using grade boundaries. This is all over! Your new motto is to do whatever, whenever, wherever, with whomever, simply because this is what you feel like doing. There is no more need to plan, you are free and you do as you please.

The global citizen: You learned a second language, about the geography and history of certain regions, and about the cultural backgrounds of your friends. Now you want to go and see this world you heard so much about. From Paris to Berlin, New York, Tokyo, Buenos Aires, and Cape Town, it’s all on your bucket list and you have no time to lose. “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” - Augustine of Hippo

The lifelong student: Just because your revision and exams are over you don’t think the learning is over. Your teacher is life, and you embrace all the beauty, tragedy, insights and unanswered questions it has to offer. You may still be young, but your wisdom is already intimidating. It’s because you know that your knowledge and your experiences are invaluable, as they are the only things that no one can ever take away from you. Either that, or you simply enjoy the satisfaction you get from being the biggest know-it-all in the room.

The restless: So what if exams are over? Now you need to study for your dream universities’ admission tests, then finish your Bachelor in two instead of six semesters (with a flawless GPA, of course), so that you have your Masters before turning twenty. Otherwise you won’t be president before you are 30, and that would be pretty embarrassing wouldn’t it?

Congratulations and all the best wishes to the participants of the 2015 IB May exams! To those coming up next: Keep going and it will pay off in the end!

Your SMARTPREP Team