Each semester it rolls around at a different time. It could be the second or third week of the semester; or maybe you’re one of those lucky students who got stuck with the professor that gives their first test by the end of the first week. Regardless of when it strikes, the first test of the semester is one that’s bound to give each of us a little bit of anxiety at some point or another. So here’s five thoughts that run through your head before the first big test of the semester:

1. “I’ve got this in the bag”

You walk out of class on the first day, syllabus in hand, and the first test promptly marked in your student agenda; ready to take on anything this new professor tries to throw at you. You vow to start studying a week before the exam, a little bit every night. Study guides, flashcards, and review sessions- oh my! No way that anything is going to trip you up this semester.

2. “I hope they don’t try that thing where they trick ya”

So the time of the first big exam is drawing near and as you begin to look over your notes in advance (as you had promised), you realize that you have no idea how hard this test is really going to be. Is he/she one of those professors that sprinkles a couple of trick questions om the test that make you sit there and question if you even studied at all? Or will it be a straight forward “if you studied you should do well” type of deal.

3. “Wait your telling me I have other work and a test on the same day?”

The test is slowly creeping closer and you realize that not only do you have other work but you also have another test on the same day. Ding ding ding you are the winner! So that whole plan of studying a little bit every night a week or so before the exam, is slowly being flushed down the toilet as you begin to prepare for the other exam. While trying to keep up with your other work, the hope you had has now been lost. In addition to your full plate, you have a 5 page research paper due sometime that week and half your textbook has to be read with lots of detailed notes on each chapter.

4. “Oh shit I have that test tomorrow”

If only we could go back to the first day of classes when our morale was high and we could (maybe) rearrange some things in our schedule to make this whole study thing have started a little sooner. You find yourself the day before the test, cramming to get every little note or doddle you made in your notebook to somehow stick in your brain. A brain that is already filled with chapter long notes from psychology, a research paper for bio and just about everything else other than the info you need for your exam tomorrow.

5. “Test curve please have mercy on me”

After very limited hours of sleep and too many cups of coffee to keep track of, you find yourself anxiously waiting in your seat to be handed the test. The only thing on your brain at this point is getting through the exam and praying the professor is nice enough to curve the grades so maybe by some sort miracle, you might just pass.