Midterms, finals, pop quizzes... Few aspects of high school life cause more anxiety among students than exams. And with standardized tests coming up, students will soon be facing that all-too-common panic.

However, juniors and seniors facing the SAT or ACT can relax. Although these exams can serve as a gate-keeping tool for college admissions boards, test results aren't everything.

"Colleges place much more importance on academic performance than a student's performance on a standardized test," says Dean Yould. Yould is a college and career counselor at Sentinel High School in Missoula, Mont.

For 34 years, Yould has worked as a student counselor at Sentinel. He says students focus too much on the role of tests in the college-entrance process. And this focus is the main cause of their anxiety.

"They feel that it's a big part of their future -- whether they're going to get into college, whether they're going to get a scholarship," he says.

But many resources are available to battle test anxiety. Counselors like Yould can offer personal advice. Pamphlets and study guides can help students manage stress.

There are also websites to help students gain control of stressful situations. Tips include getting a good night's sleep before a test, eating a healthy breakfast of fruits or vegetables, and budgeting time during the test. Other suggestions include ignoring the temptation to cram before a test, changing to a more relaxing physical position, and not panicking when other students hand in their tests.

Mark Johnson is Sentinel's school psychologist. He views test anxiety as a three-part process: before, during and after the exams. Some students can be well-prepared in the days leading up to an exam, but they seize up the moment the test booklet hits the table.

"When they get there, that's when the anxiety hits them," Johnson says. To fight this sudden onset of anxiety, Johnson advises students to walk into an exam believing that they are in control. Confidence is the key to conquering test anxiety. "Keep your mind open," he says.

According to Yould, familiarity is often the name of the game. Taking the ACT or SAT as early as junior year increases students' opportunities to retake the test if things go wrong. And the more times students take the test, the less anxiety they will experience. However, performance on standardized tests typically tops out after three tries. In other words, students may not see any improvement after three stabs at the test.

"Most kids do better the second time they take it," Yould says.

He finds that students who suffer most from test anxiety are those who perform well in school. Students who achieve a 4.0 GPA often take their worries to Yould, claiming they "don't do well on tests."

Students aiming for acceptance into competitive colleges often experience the worst test anxiety. But all college-bound students face intense pressure to achieve high SAT or ACT scores.

"If there wasn't that pressure attached to getting into a college, they'd go into the test not thinking about it so much," says Gretchen Krueger. Krueger works at Green Hope High School in Cary, N.C.

It's also important to properly manage the "after" phase of an exam, says Johnson. If time allows, students should revisit difficult questions before handing in the test. Once the test is over, students need to remain positive about their performance. Adopt an "I did the best I could" attitude, Johnson says.

Yould remembers a student he had counseled who forgot her calculator the morning of her test. After numerous frantic phone calls home, she finally reached her mother. Her mother dropped off the calculator after the first section of the test.

The student went on to achieve one of the highest scores in the country, despite the unexpected stress! It just goes to show that it is possible to rise above test anxiety.