It's like a really long flight...

I was watching an old movie recently where the main character and his wife were leaving town on a vacation. The guy, his wife, and their luggage went up to the ticket counter. They bought two tickets, paid cash, and showed no identification.

Then they went to a first-class lounge where a lot of smartly dressed people smoked and kept their ties straight even though the actors themselves probably were drinking highballs or something. Long gone are those days.

Long gone are the days where undergrads used to dress the same way. We don't even consider putting on a tie most mornings. In fact, someone gave me the same bit of advice for travel and tests once.

When on a long flight try not to dress up. In fact, dress like you're a kid going over someone's house for a sleep over. Wear slippers, carry a pillow, don't worry about your hair.

The same is true for exam taking. You should always dress for maximum comfort if you're taking an exam. Some part of us, deep down, let's go of a little tension if we're wearing pajama pants. That much less tension will only add to the overall focus you can devote to test taking.

For my first biology exam this semester I showed up in a sweatshirt, soccer shorts, flip flops. This was about three weeks ago so it wasn't all that warm. I avoided a mirror all morning and just focused on the task of the exam. I managed to sit in place very comfortably for an hour and a half, no squirming, and remained warm enough the whole time. Around me were girls in tight jeans fidgeting with heels, guys taking off and putting back on heavy looking watches, etc.

Eliminate focus on the unecessary during test taking!