Common Academic Fears Haunting Students

Oct 25

Decisions, failures, tests and more

Source: Rawpixel (*https://www.rawpixel.co*m/image/5803565), Ghost/Multo (@sketchify) added in Canva

While ghosts and zombies may be scary to some people during the spooky month of fall, there are a few more realistic fears that may haunt students as the school year starts to pick up the pace.

1. Fear of taking the wrong direction

"Am I taking the right classes to achieve my goals?”, “Did I choose the wrong major?," "Is it possible for me to go to law/med school?” and “What will I do after I’ve gotten the degree I want?” Like choosing a path in a haunted house, you can never really know if you’ve made the right choice until you’ve gone through the door. Making a lifelong academic decision when you're still a teenager or young adult can be quite scary. While the fear is warranted, here are some methods that might help you tackle it:

Instead of focusing solely on the goal itself, focus on why your goal matters. Why does this outcome mean so much to you? When you align your decisions with what is important to you, even if the path changes, you’ll feel more confident.
Speaking of confidence, be compassionate with yourself when things don’t go as planned. The act of making a decision is often better than endless hesitation. Starting off with being indecisive is okay! Make sure you're exploring your possibilities as a possible method to address this if you're not sure what to do for your future.
When exploring possible directions, visiting a career center would help you learn about your options. Career centers are offices that assist people in finding employment interests and honing their skills in the workplace. Such places are frequently found at educational institutions like high schools, colleges, or universities but can also be independent nonprofits or agencies. They are an excellent resource for informing decisions about your future. On the same note, consider academic advising if you’re unsure about your current path. Advisors can help you explore other fields of study or specializations to see what works best for you.

2. Fear of failure

Many students, no matter how far along their academic career, will aspire to make their parents, mentors, teachers, and even themselves proud. Setting personal standards encourages students to try their best, but it can also create unnecessary stress. The feeling of not wanting to disappoint can make students postpone or stay away from any situation or activity that might result in failure.

Sometimes, failure can simply mean doing poorly on an exam or test, but it doesn't have to define your worth. Success doesn't always have to mean achieving your original goal; it can also come from learning, growing, and adapting along the way. The fear of failure can be deeply ingrained, but there are a few tips that can help you overcome it, such as shifting your focus from perfection to progress and viewing mistakes as opportunities to improve. Ultimately, nothing you do now is more permanent than giving up—continuing to try, even in the face of setbacks, keeps you from being haunted by the ghosts of regret.

3. Fear of test-taking

You can have sufficient knowledge of course concepts, work well in class, and even complete homework with excellence. However, have you ever fallen short of demonstrating the same understanding when it comes to testing? Setting aside the problems with standardized testing, some students experience test anxiety as a terror that exceeds even that of ghosts and zombies.

I won’t be telling you to just do some square breathing because if it were that simple, we’d all be amazing test-takers. Here are a few things you might want to try instead:

Creating a comfortable pre-test environment. Anything that can boost your self-assurance and ease of mind can be considered this. Arriving at school early for the test and taking the time to sit with the fear before starting can help alleviate some of the nervousness as you get closer to the test time. Find methods for relaxation that work for you. This might be pretending that the exam room is another ordinary class or speaking with your classmates or peers.
No amount of studying right before a test will make a significant difference on its outcome. Getting a good start on your studying early will help with memory retention. You’ll be less likely to forget everything when the exam starts when you’ve had that information in your mind and have recalled it before.
Similar to the fear of failure, recognize negative self-talk and try to counter it. Negative self-talk can become a habit even for those who don’t engage with it regularly. For instance, thoughts such as “I should have studied more,” “I don’t know anything my classmates are talking about,” “I have to get above X%,” and “I have to prove myself” are negative ideas that can lead to a downward spiral. Sometimes you have to be your own reassurance, you need to remind yourself that you are capable and have done your best.

4. Fear of not belonging

This fear covers a natural physiological need where academic life meets social life. It is heightened with the rising era of social media, in which students are subjected to continuous comparison with others, particularly in stories, posts, or comments others have made about their clubs, achievements, and career paths.

The fear of not truly belonging is similar to the fear of not fitting in, but different.

You can fit in with a group and still feel disconnected. Whether you're just starting to join groups or are already a part of them, you may still feel unable to connect. The fear of not belonging can prevent you from meeting new people, but in order to form connections, you do need new interactions. Being physically present by staying in the circle of conversation, as well as mentally engaged, can allow you to properly assess whether a certain group or place is somewhere you want to belong. While you may have a sense of being an outsider, of not belonging, and of being judged for it, you might find, by being present, that faculties, clubs, and friend groups, might be welcoming, and that you’ll be able to find the right connections.

5. Fear of asking for help

When we need help, we’ve usually reached a point where we cannot progress with our goal without assistance. It's not uncommon to feel embarrassed or behind when you have unanswered questions. Despite the overall benefit of getting help, asking for it always seems uncomfortable. One of the reasons is that students may internalize expectations of independence and feel pressure to figure things out by asking for help. There's also the fear that asking for help may be met with a judgemental or unhelpful response, which can discourage students from trying to seek assistance again in the future. While this can happen, it might not be the case for all teachers so you should still try asking for help if you haven't already! Here are things to remember when you find yourself needing help with schoolwork:

Sometimes, asking friends or classmates for help feels less daunting than approaching authority figures. Study groups or peer tutoring sessions are also a great way for you to have your questions answered, and will benefit those around you as well. Chances are, you aren’t the only student who might need help with something. Additionally, if none of your peers know the answer, it can be less intimidating when you ask questions with the support of your classmates.
Teachers are there to help; it’s their job to ensure that students understand the material. Most educators appreciate students who seek clarification and are proactive about their learning.
You may write down what you want to ask or practice how you’ll phrase your request. That isn’t to say that you need to have perfectly formulated questions but it does help to show what exactly you know already, and what still needs to be worked on. Prepare well for the conversation with your teacher. This can make the interaction feel more manageable and less intimidating. This can also help ensure you’ve done your best to answer the question yourself and to make your questions as efficient as possible. Teachers appreciate that you’ve taken the time and effort to work with the concept on your own and will gladly help you from where you got stuck.

Academic fears can feel like the rustling movement in the shadows when walking out on Halloween—tense and sometimes overwhelming. The scariest part is often just before you begin to step forward. Face your academic fears one step at a time and you'll find that the monsters are less significant in the grand scheme of things than you had imagined.

Christine A.