This paper looked at the experience that college students have when taking exams. The sample population was made up of students completing their first exam of the semester. The study was designed to offer research-based support on how to help students improve their performance on multiple-choice exams. Student perceptions of the number of items guessed, confusing vocabulary words, distractibility, drawing a blank, and anxiety leading separately to recall and judgment interference were all found to be inversely related to actual exam performance at statistically significant levels. Qualitative explanations of this exam experience highlight the ability of successful students to focus, re-focus, block out distractions, concentrate, remain calm, and employ self-talk strategies. The findings can be employed in intervention programs to assist students as they attempt to overcome test anxiety and perform up to their academic potential. Appendix A is Questionnaire. (Contains 6 tables and 1 figure.) (JDM)