The Last 3 Months Before the YKS: Keeping Mind and Body in Balance

Is anxiety rising in the last 3 months before the YKS? Read our guide to the psychology of this period, realistic planning and the role of families.

There comes a morning in March when you look at the calendar, start counting the days and feel that the exam is no longer a distant goal but a concrete date. The countdown on the wall drops to two digits, questions like "how many mock exams have you done?" become more frequent in class, and at home everyone speaks a little more quietly. For many students, the last 3 months before the YKS (Turkey's national university entrance exam) are the most intense and anxious part of a year of preparation, and the time when they question themselves most. The sentences I hear most often in this period are strikingly similar: "I feel as if I don't know anything", "My net score dropped by five in one week", "I haven't finished the topics, I'll never catch up now." In this article we look at the psychology of the final three months, at why the mind becomes more fragile during this period, and at concrete things that can be done to stay balanced. The aim is not to study more, but to be able to use the remaining time without wearing the mind down.

Why Are the Last 3 Months Before the YKS So Psychologically Demanding?

During a year of preparation, the exam is a goal that sits in a corner of the mind without completely taking over daily life. In the final months, however, three things change at once.

The first is the feeling that time is running out. The thought "there's still time" is replaced by "I can't make up for it now." This makes every missing topic feel like a threat.

The second is more frequent measurement. Mock exams are now taken once or twice a week, and in the student's eyes each result starts to be read not as a rehearsal for the exam but as the result itself. Even the normal fluctuation of net scores can be interpreted as "I'm going backwards."

The third is intensified social comparison. At the prep centre, at school and in friend groups, everyone's ranking, targets and net scores are discussed. On social media, posts about "300 questions a day" circulate. The student starts to measure themselves not against their own path but against the visible picture of other people's.

When these three changes come together, the mind starts constantly scanning for threats. Up to a certain level, anxiety focuses attention and supports studying; but once that threshold is crossed, sleep, concentration and recall begin to suffer. In other words, much of the difficulty of the last three months comes not from knowledge but from this perception of threat.

Signs Commonly Seen in the Final Months

As the exam approaches, the following changes are common among students:

• Difficulty falling asleep, waking frequently at night, or waking up unrested in the morning
• Intense restlessness on sitting down at the desk, jumping from one topic to another without finishing any
• Sudden blocks on question types that used to be solved with ease
• Loss of appetite or, conversely, constant snacking driven by tension
• Signs of physical tension such as stomach aches, headaches and jaw clenching
• Touchiness towards family and siblings, losing one's temper quickly
• All-or-nothing thoughts such as "If it doesn't happen this year, my life is over"

Some of these signs appear to some degree in almost everyone approaching a major exam and ease off on their own after the exam. What matters is how severe they are and how much they disrupt the young person's daily functioning. We cover the general framework of exam anxiety in detail in our article on exam anxiety.

What does a fluctuating net score mean?

Mock exam results vary according to the questions solved on the day, the difficulty level of the publisher, sleep, and even the noise in the hall where the mock exam is held. A drop in a single mock exam does not show that knowledge has been lost. It is more meaningful to look at the average of several mock exams and at the question types where mistakes keep recurring. Let's say a student preparing for the maths and science track sees their TYT (the basic proficiency section) maths net score drop in two mock exams in a row. When they examine their wrong answers, they see that most of them are not in the word problems but are calculation errors made while rushing in the last fifteen minutes. In this case what is needed is not "studying everything from scratch" but working on time management. Looking only at the total net score makes this distinction invisible.

A Realistic Study Routine for the Last 3 Months Before the YKS

The most common mistake in the final months is constantly changing the plan out of anxiety. Making a new timetable every day or switching resources after every mock exam keeps the mind busy with the feeling of "I'm preparing" but prevents deeper learning.

Build a weekly skeleton

Divide the week into large blocks: which days will be for mock exams, which days for analysing them, which days for revising missing topics? Setting the rhythm of the week rather than the detail of every day preserves flexibility.

Prioritise missing topics

It is not possible to give every unfinished topic the same weight. Put first the topics that come up often in the exam and that you partly know. For topics you have not started at all and that bring few questions, saying "I'm consciously leaving this topic this year" is not a defeat but a strategic decision.

Analysing mock exams matters more than the number taken

Setting aside at least as much time for analysis as for each mock exam, grouping mistakes by type and noting the ones that recur contributes far more than increasing the number of mock exams.

Bring your body clock closer to exam time

A routine of studying past midnight and sleeping until noon makes it harder to catch the mind's most productive hour on the morning of the exam. In the final months, gradually bring your bedtime and waking time forward a little each week until they suit exam day. Taking mock exams at the real exam time whenever possible also accustoms the body to being alert at that hour.

Write rest into the plan

In the last three months, rest is not a luxury but part of consolidating what has been learnt. Half a day a week left completely free, a walk, an episode of a favourite series or a short meet-up with friends increases the next week's productivity.

The most valuable thing to gain in the final months is not a new topic, but the ability to keep your mind your own on exam day.

Small Daily Steps for Coping With Anxiety

• Set a worry time. Instead of arguing with "what if I don't get in?" thoughts as they arise during the day, write them on a piece of paper and look at the list for fifteen minutes at a set time in the evening. This limits how far the thoughts spread across the whole day.
• Think the worst-case scenario through to the end. Instead of leaving the question "What happens if I don't get in?" half-finished, carry it on realistically: "I'll prepare for another year, I'll consider another degree programme, my family will be upset but we'll talk it over together." A scenario thought through to the end is usually less frightening than one left hanging.
• Don't neglect your body. A twenty-minute walk a day, regular meals and enough water make a difference to attention and emotional regulation. Energy drinks and too much coffee may give a brief boost of alertness, but they come back as palpitations and disrupted sleep.
• Limit comparison. Muting "productivity" posts on social media in the exam year, or not joining net-score conversations after mock exams, makes it easier to focus on your own path.
• Define a "good enough day". If the question "Did I study enough today?" goes unanswered every evening, it becomes harder to fall asleep. In the morning, set the criterion by which you will count that day as good enough, and assess it against that in the evening.

The quiet signs of burnout

For some students, the last 3 months before the YKS are experienced less as anxiety than as burnout. These students do not panic or cry; they simply sit at the desk, look at the page and feel nothing. The sentence "I don't care any more" usually does not reflect genuine indifference, but shows that a load carried for a long time has numbed the mind. Families may interpret this period as laziness and increase the pressure; yet a burnt-out mind shuts down even further when pushed harder.

The first signs of burnout are usually these: reluctance even towards favourite subjects, getting out of bed in the morning becoming steadily harder, tiredness that does not lift despite rest at the weekend, and a flatness in the voice when talking about the goal. When these signs appear, rather than increasing study hours, it is necessary to lighten the schedule for a few days, put sleep and movement first, and talk again about the young person's relationship with the goal. We discuss this in more detail in our article on burnout in the exam year.

The Role of Families in This Final Stretch

In Turkey the YKS is often experienced as the exam of the whole family, not just the student. Relatives ask on the phone "which degree is she thinking of?", neighbours ask "is the prep centre any good?", and the money spent on prep centres and study materials at a time of high living costs quietly fuels parents' worry that "this effort mustn't go to waste." Even when it is not put into words, this worry seeps into the atmosphere at home and the young person feels it.

There are a few things I would suggest to families in this period:

• Ask about net scores less. The question "how many did you get?" after every mock exam can lead the young person to experience the mock exam as a moment of judgement. Instead, ask questions aimed at the young person themselves, such as "How was today, are you tired?"
• Carry your anxiety somewhere else. Share your own worries with your partner, a friend or, if necessary, a professional. If you tell the young person "I'm not worried, you relax" while the tension on your face says something else, the young person will believe your face.
• Keep the household routine simple. In this period, changes such as large gatherings, long holiday visits during Bayram (the religious festivals) or moving house can be postponed if possible. While doing this, take care not to put the young person under the pressure of "we're not seeing anyone because of your exam."
• Don't make the exam the only measure of life. The sentence "This exam is your future", though said to motivate, often multiplies anxiety. Making the young person feel that the exam matters but that their worth will not be measured by a result is a powerful source of support.

When Should You Seek Professional Support?

A certain level of anxiety is to be expected during the exam period. However, the following signs show that it may be helpful to speak to a professional:

• If sleep problems have lasted for several weeks and noticeably disrupt daytime functioning
• If the young person experiences anxiety so intense that they cannot sit at the desk, or attacks resembling panic attacks
• If constant crying, hopelessness, or statements such as "there's no point to anything" have become frequent
• If there are marked changes such as refusing to eat or uncontrolled eating
• If they talk about thoughts of harming themselves or ending their life

When the last point applies, waiting is not right; in an emergency, call 112 (emergency services) without delay. In other situations, getting support early rather than waiting until the exam can help the remaining time pass in a healthier way. Work in the area of anxiety and panic can also be adapted to the pressures specific to the exam period. It is also worth bearing in mind that these signs alone do not amount to a diagnosis.

How Are the Final Months of the Exam Period Addressed in Therapy?

A therapy process that begins when there are a few months left until the exam usually has a short, goal-oriented and practical structure. Within Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), the first step is to explore which thoughts are feeding the young person's anxiety. Thoughts such as "If this mock exam went badly, the real exam will go badly too" or "Everyone is studying more than me" are evaluated together with the evidence, and more balanced alternatives are sought.

Alongside this, work is done on skills such as breathing and relaxation exercises, bringing attention back to the present, re-establishing a sleep routine, and using mock exams as rehearsals for the real exam. In some young people, excessively high standards and fear of failure are linked to older patterns along the lines of "either I must be perfect or I am worthless"; recognising these patterns is protective not only for the exam but for what comes after it.

When needed, short sessions are held with the family, with the aim of adjusting communication at home so that it lightens the young person's load. For students with a busy schedule, sessions can also continue online.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I start a topic I haven't touched in the last 3 months?

That depends on the topic's weight in the exam and on where you stand with other topics. If it is a topic that comes up often and whose basics you can grasp in a short time, starting it may make sense. Consciously leaving aside topics that bring few questions and need a long time frees up time to consolidate the knowledge you already have.

Is it right to stop going to school in the final months?

Some students prefer to study at home in the final stretch. When making this decision, it is worth thinking not only about time but also about how the young person's daily routine and social contact will be maintained. Long days spent alone at home can increase anxiety and reluctance in some young people; it is also necessary to find out the school's attendance rules in advance.

If my mock exam net scores are falling, should I change my target?

A single drop is not enough data to change a target. It is healthier to decide by looking at the average of several mock exams and at the types of mistakes. Keeping the target flexible, meanwhile, reduces anxiety: setting one main target and a few acceptable options close to it helps you go into the exam without the pressure of a "single door".

• #YKS preparation
• #exam anxiety
• #mock exams
• #exam year

Yazar

Eda Erkan Alapala

Klinik Psikolog. İstanbul Kent Üniversitesi Klinik Psikoloji Tezli Yüksek Lisans mezunu; bilişsel davranışçı terapi, çocuk merkezli oyun terapisi ve çocuk-ergen psikoterapisi alanlarında eğitimlerini tamamlamıştır.

Eğitimler