I have friends who get scared of examinations. Some of them even cry before exams. They fare badly in the exams because of this. Most of them I am talking about are intelligent. They spend lot of time preparing for an exam. Still do not have the confidence to attend the exams. Lot of them even skip exam because of fear of failure.
I love sitting for examination. I dont stand first in the class but I know am I good enough to get 70% marks if I prepare reasonably well. That way there is less pressure on me. Examinations are to assets ones skill, knowledge, aptitude. I prepare for an examination before attending one. Good preparation gives me lot of confidence. That is one of the reasons I like attending exams and do not worry about failure.
Here is my mode of preparation for any examination. I try to study at least 40% of the subject well before the exams. This way I am not too hassled on the day before the exam. I do not have stuff too many things in my head on the last day.
Previous day to the exam, I do not start studying from the first chapter. Generally the initial chapters are easier and I would have prepared on them well before the exams. So I start from somewhere in the middle then, come back to study the initial chapters. It takes lesser time for me to studying something I have already gone through. I make a point to write down notes of important things, so that I can skim through it on the morning of the exam. There are certain things you can write if you have understand the concept, there some you need to memories. I write the ones that need to be memorized many times so that I dont forget.
On the morning of the exam I go through the list of important things. I completely stop studying 30 minutes before the exam and just relax. Then go to the exam hall and have fun!