Without a doubt, we can all agree on the fact that exams are perhaps one of the biggest burdens on students. As if the entire process of the exam wasn’t enough to scare students off, the factor of competitiveness adds to the stress. But, many students believe that this competitiveness is what drives them to work hard and score well. This research has divided the student opinions into two opposite spectrums which is why we have decided to write this blog and address the different opinions so that you can choose based on the facts, so let’s begin!
Fuels Motivation
It is said that it is always good to have a target. Without which you literally have no aim. We say that it is 100% true, until you have a proper goal to achieve, you won’t really push yourself to do better. When you get into a competitive academic relationship with your peers, you end up pushing your boundaries since you now have a goal to achieve (to do better than the other person). This force drives you to work hard, but if you see the benefits of it in long term, you will realize that the only person who will benefit from this entire scenario will be you because you will gain the best grades in the end.
Helps Self-Reflect
A sense of competition is developed. When you realize that you are capable of competing with someone. You only get competitive when you know that you have the potential to compete with the skills and abilities of the other person. And, then you work hard on yourself to improve yourself since the quest in competitive exams is to become the absolute best. Thus, when you work hard and get your result that is when you can truly understand your true position in terms of academics. Getting into competitive exams can help you reflect on your progress based on the results that you receive; if you end up succeeding, through online exam help it means that you are on the right path. But, if you end up failing to achieve the purpose, it means that you still have some mountains to move!
Pushes Oneself To Do More
We all are aware of our capacities, as a student, you would also know what your saturation level is when it comes to academics. However, as the saying goes; there is always room for improvement. When you start getting competitive, you develop the wish to do better than the person you are competing with. This feeling helps you in pushing yourself out of your comfort boundaries (which is a big thing for students since most students are the victims of procrastination). Once you develop the feeling to get better grades than your competitors that is when you finally come out of your safe zone and take risks which end up helping you improve your caliber!
Healthy Competition Is Always Good
Not all competition is bad and negative, some of them force you to become a better version of yourself. As we just discussed, when you violate your boundaries and start taking risks that is when you get to explore your true potential of yourself. No one has ever been able to achieve something great unless they finally pushed themselves out of their comfort zones. This is why we believe that healthy competition is not just good but it is sometimes necessary as well so that you get to explore your limits and become a better version of yourself!
But, like we said that these opinions are as far spread as two ends of a spectrum. Since we have already discussed the positive end, let’s just take a look at the negative impacts of competitive exams as well.
It Can Be Unfair
Exams were made to judge students’ abilities and talents in a fair and just environment. However, equality and fairness are 2 different things and this is why exams can be unfair. Exams do not consider students’ circumstances and test every student on the same scale. However, any student who is struggling with a condition such as ADHD would be far behind in the race. Moreover, if a student falls sick or goes through something during the exam season, they will get a lower score. Hence any special condition can ruin their track record for life and this is why exams can be unfair.
It Increases Stress
Every student has to go through stress during their exam and when there is more competition, this makes the situation worse. When you are super stressed. You don’t get to give your best in the exams which pulls you back from getting the best possible grades. This is super demotivating for students and in fact, a reason why a lot of students dislike the summer season. Moreover, with mental health issues on the rise, competitive exams only make things more difficult for them. This is why we barely see any students getting excited or looking forward to giving their exams.
Lowers Self-Esteem
If you have ever been compared to someone, you would know that the feeling is far from nice. Competitive exams mean your scores. And in turn, your intelligence will be compared with the other students. This kind of comparison is horrible for a lot of students who are already struggling with their self-esteem. Most students are at the end of their teenage years and starting their twenties during their college days. Hence when they are dealing with the impossible standards of society, it can feel too overwhelming to have their intelligence rated on shallow scales of the exam systems.
Negative Experience
Have you ever heard a student say that they absolutely enjoyed their exam season and cherish those memories? That’s right, nobody in their right mind would ever say this in their student life. This is because the competitive exams put them under a lot of pressure because of this they have to neglect their basic needs. These students have to compromise on their diet, sleep, and self-care to make sure they get good scores on these exams. Hence, these exams are tied to negative experiences for students. Who are just eager to finish their exams and return to normal life.
Hinder Progress
Have you ever felt completely blank when you are going through a stressful situation? This is the reality for many students who have to appear in competitive exams. Even though they might have been preparing for months and know everything on the exam word for word, the stress of exams can ruin their performance and progress. In fact, many students report that they could not prepare as much as they should have because they ended up procrastinating out of anxiety. So when these exams bring down their morale, they lose their motivation to learn and only focus on getting through their exam season in one piece.
The Final Verdict:
Whether or not competitive exams are good for students’ morale or not is something you cannot answer with a simple yes or no. while some students take competition as a push to feel motivated, others might be feeling demotivated because of it. Hence, it all comes down to how competitive these exams are. If competitive exams demand things that are impossible to accomplish, it will have a negative effect on most students’ morale. Hence even though the competition is necessary, we need to maintain a healthy balance to make sure they don’t turn into a nightmare for students.
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