Medha and Saanvi of Orchids The International School on Exam Pressure, Mental Health and More

Orchids The International School has achieved great success in the education sector as seen by its Class 10 and Class 12 results in 2024. In the coming academic year, a large number of students-including those in classes 10 and 12-will take the board examination. Thus, let's use the provided questionnaire to gain insight into the perspectives of two pupils from Orchids The International School, Sahakar Nagar Branch, (School Vivekananda), Bangalore: Saanvi and Medha.

Careerindia has made an effort to comprehend the mental health, psychological factors, and numerous other aspects of a student who is a board examinee and will be taking the exam in the future. Saanvi and Medha, two students at Orchids The International School, have been asked a series of questions and responded with their thoughts. Now let's explore it:

1. How did you conveniently schedule your time to prepare for different subjects simultaneously?

Medha: I divided my study hours into 2 hours of study sessions for one subject, and tried to do 3 subjects every day. So in a week, I would have completed the goals set by me for all the 10 subjects. I would mostly focus on science during the week and other subjects on the weekends.

Saanvi: The schedule that worked the best for me was to divide my time properly so that I could study all the subjects and understand the topics properly. I used to spend 4 days a week studying Science and Mathematics; the other 3 days were divided between History and Civics, English, Kannada, Geography, and Computer Applications.

2. Which subjects had been the most challenging roadblocks for you, and how did you overcome them?

Medha: Math has had to be the most challenging subject for me, due to its vast syllabus and ample practice which is required. I set aside 2 hours every day in the morning, exclusively for the practice and concept understanding of maths, during which I not only practiced sums from my textbook, the internet, and other sources but also focused on solidifying each concept prescribed by the board.

Saanvi: I felt that I was a bit weak in English. To improve myself I took the help of my teacher, practiced a lot with the help of the English grammar books provided to us, and also used the sources available online.

3. How did you manage to juggle extracurricular interests and your academic studies?

Medha: I pursued extracurricular interests during my study breaks, or sometimes on the weekends, although a major chunk of my 10th grade was purely devoted to studies and preparation for the boards.

Saanvi: I am interested in activities like Swimming, Arts & Crafts as well as cooking. However, during this period I chose to not indulge myself in those activities so that I could study.

4. Have you ever felt anxiety, or have you ever been under stressful circumstances while preparing for an examination? If so, how did you handle it?

Medha: Anxiety, stress, and other negative emotions are sure to arise when you have an exam at a national level. However, my parents always made sure that I was motivated enough and helped me deal with my stress, and workload in a very effective and healthy manner. I practiced meditation and mindfulness in the morning hours, which helped me a lot in terms of maintaining my focus and keeping my calm.

Saanvi: Yes, particularly during the pre-Board time the school had set a challenging paper and I had a panic attack in the examination hall, however, I was able to overcome it by calming myself, attempting the easy questions first and then focusing on the tough questions.

5. How do you anticipate pursuing your goals for a profession or academic pursuit in the future?

Medha: Given my deep love and interest in Science, more specifically Physics, Chemistry, and Computer Sciences, I have chosen the science stream for my 11th and 12th and intend on writing the JEE exams, to pursue a career in AI and ML.

Saanvi: Setting a target and pursuing that is of utmost importance. From day one must remain consistent and try to get rid of all their distractions. Dreaming about something is important but having the desire to make that a reality and working hard towards it despite the odds is more important.

6. What positive effects have you seen on your growth as an individual while studying and appearing for the ICSE exams?

Medha: ICSE provides a deep understanding of all the concepts, and not only a surface-level introduction, which helped me explore the side of me which always wanted to explore more about all the topics. Besides, it helped me develop my critical and analytical skills, thanks to the new system of testing introduced by the ICSE.

Saanvi: I think that during the period of preparing for my examination, I realized that hard work is the only way to earn your dream. Being consistent is difficult but the fact that I had the desire to make my dream a reality made it possible for me to remain consistent. I have realized that I am the only one ultimately that can make my dreams come true.

7. If you had the opportunity to go back, what would you have done differently to prepare for your exam? In what way do you plan to implement your academic success to achieve your goals?

Medha: Even if I had an opportunity to go back, I don't think I would change anything in my preparation, as everything that I prepared for is what helped me achieve in the high 90s. Taking this result as a stepping stone, and a motivation I intend on continuing my consistent efforts in terms of preparing for my future exams and goals.

Saanvi: Despite all the effort that I put in I did find that I could have done things better in some ways. One such thing would have been to participate in more competitions as well as debates held in our school which would have improved my vocabulary for the best.

8. Does your achievement seem to have been attributed to any specific practices or changes in perspective?

Medha: My achievements, apart from the constant support and guidance from my parents and teachers, is attributed to certain practices that I adopted during my preparation for the boards. The new method of testing- based on concept application, forced me to think about a concept in as many new ways as possible. So, when I sat down to study I would make sure that I wasn't memorizing, but gaining an in-depth understanding of all the concepts.

Saanvi: The one change in perspective was that I replaced the word "IMPOSSIBLE" with "POSSIBLE". By working hard one can achieve their dreams as nothing is impossible.