Last-minute exam preparations

© James Austin 2002
Last updated 2 July 2002

Most of this is obvious to anyone who's sat an exam before, but here we go anyway:

1. Make sure you have the date, time and venue right.

2. Get a good night's sleep not only the night before the exam, but also the previous night. (You may well have found, like me, that after a long night on call the worst day is not the morning after, but the following day.)

3. Check that you have your respectable suit / professional dress / smart shoes etc.

4. Remember to bring your copy of your dissertation and ETR, as well as your letter of admittance to the exam. If you forget the copies of the dissertation/ETR it's not a complete disaster, as they can dig up one of the copies you submitted.

5. Arrive in good time - allow for delays (e.g. with London Underground). If you live far away from the exam centre, it's worth the investment to travel down the previous evening and get a room overnight, so you arrive rested rather than stressted.

6. For those of you who may forget: go to the loo shortly before each viva - and look in the mirror.

7. Relax!