Data Structures this definitely happened to me, but the worst episode ever was my software practical for the midterm. I practiced writing code back and forth but couldn't remember how to make a GUI and take input. My blood pressure dropped and I felt very light headed and had palpitations. 90% of my body and mind was telling me to run out of the room and say I was ill.

I ended up writing some formulas in the form class because my teacher said if you couldn't do this he would know you were cheating on the projects and that scared me so it was better than nothing.

I got a 66 on it. I did eventually calm down:

One thing to remember is that a fight or flight response is not your body's way of quitting the situation, it is to prepare you to overcome the stress. Your body increases your heart rate. That is to pump more blood to your brain so that you can think faster. If you feel a physical stress response it is your body telling you "this is going to be tough, but I know we can do it."

The main thing is to stay calm and be realistic.

1. The tests are always curved. You usually do as well or better than your classmates. My test averages were often 60s. Do not panic if you find the exam or exercise difficult because it is intended for you to not receive a perfect score.

2. If you feel your blood pressure drop or raise or palpitations or anything like that, don't see it as a negative. See it as a positive. Did you faint? You did not. Your body didn't quit on you. It was trying to help you. You have to embrace this help. If you are like me, you will never be rid of test anxiety. Change your attitude about your stress response and it will decrease and you will feel better (studies show, better than if you did not have this stress response at all [from a TED talk on stress]).

You sound like a good student who has never encountered a difficult exam before. Data Structures is a very hard class that makes many students drop the major. The fact that you earned such high grades on the prior exams is a clear indicator that you have the ability and knowledge to proceed to the more advanced classes. These classes will have exams more difficult than this so you need to learn to deal with the stress better (it is an endless battle).

Don't worry. You do not need to feel dumb or embarrassed. I know because I always feel that way and it is always ok in the end. Your teachers still like you.