“I was better prepared the second time around.”

Philipp, Business Chemistry Bachelor’s student

“It’s almost like a ritual for me: I take a bag of pieces of dried mango with me to every exam. Chewing on them calms me down and gives me a dose of sugar when I get stuck on a question, something that has happened several times already. It’s how I totally messed up an economics exam. I simply underestimated the material and was quite nervous. I had to take the exam again one year later. The second time around I crammed much more. I still put myself under a lot of pressure and was also quite nervous on that fateful day. The fact that the exam was held at the exhibition hall in Oerlikon didn’t help matters: lots of unfamiliar faces, strict entry controls and very strict rules that would lead to failing the test if violated. Fortunately I passed, and to this day I still take my bag of dried mango with me to exams.”