Abstract
Board examinations represent a critical milestone for aspiring professionals, often requiring extensive preparation and significant personal sacrifices. This study explored the preparation experiences and coping strategies of review center examinees preparing for professional licensure examinations in the Zamboanga Peninsula, Philippines. Specifically, it sought to examine the challenges and opportunities encountered during board examination preparation and identify the coping mechanisms utilized by examinees in managing the pressures associated with the review process. The study employed a descriptive qualitative research design involving twenty-three (23) review center examinees selected through purposive sampling. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings revealed that examinees experienced cognitive fatigue and academic overwhelm, emotional volatility and isolation, sacrifices to personal well-being, peer collaboration and competition, logistical challenges within review centers, adaptation of study strategies, conceptual clarity through expert mentorship, and the development of strategic test-taking competence. To cope with these challenges, participants engaged in active cognitive restructuring, strategic pacing, digital detoxification, physical self-regulation, peer-supported learning, reward-based motivation, and spiritual anchoring. These coping strategies enabled examinees to maintain resilience, emotional stability, and motivation throughout the review period. The study concluded that board examination preparation is a multidimensional experience shaped by academic, psychological, social, and personal factors. Understanding these experiences may help review centers, educators, and support institutions develop more holistic interventions that promote both examination readiness and examinee well-being.
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