Negative Self Talk
No matter what your journey has been leading to/during vet school, NOONE should already go into the exam with self-doubt. Whether you failed exams in the past, had to re-do a year, or any other obstacle that has come your way, you should not cultivate negative self-talk during this time. Have you ever heard of the Law of Attraction? It’s the thought that we attract into our lives the things we focus on. So, if you’re focused on passing the exam and you believe in yourself, you’re already on the right track. But if you’re constantly talking down to yourself and drowning in the thoughts of failure before you even take the exam, things may not look good in the end. I remember telling myself that I was going to fail this exam anyway so I might as well prepare for it. I remember thinking during the exam that at least I know what it looks like since I’ll have to take it again in April. These negative thoughts really made a negative impact on my experience. So this is the #1 thing NOT to do during this time.
Relying SOLEY on Prep Material
The majority of students studying for the NAVLE will purchase a prep course to aid in their studying. The resources are great and really help to prepare you, but their purpose is to re-cap on all the important subjects you’ve learned and help create study/test-taking habits that will aid in your NAVLE success. These materials are NOT made to be substituted with what you’ve learned in the past 4 years. I relied too heavily on my prep material and wish I would have gone back and utilized my lectures and textbooks more when reviewing the material.
