Dream Interpretation: "Unprepared for Exam"
Another summary from Gillian Holloway, Ph.D.’s excellent The Complete Dream Book: Discover What Your dreams Reveal about You and Your Life, this one, another of the “Dreams You Can’t Forget” on the “Unprepared for the Exam” dream.
Holloway says that many people experience the dream scenario where the dreamer finds him or herself about to take an exam in high school or college, but that the dreamer suddenly realizes that he or she totally forgot they had registered for the class, did not attend a single class, and is absolutely unprepared for the exam.
Paradoxically, this type of dream usually comes to people who are great achievers in life, rarely proceed without being thoroughly prepared, and seldom experience failure. In fact, she calls it the “Over-achiever’s Nightmare.”
Therefore, this dream is not warning the dream about an impending failure. It usually comes at a time when the dream has taken on more than the dreamer can manage without putting him or herself under a lot of internal pressure.
The author suggests that since the dreamer is the type of person who has such high standards, it will likely not even be noticed if the dreamer reduces the self-imposed high standards of excellence. The dream often results during a temporary time of increased workload, heightened responsibilities, or imminent promotion.
