Student Stress-Busters: East and West According to research, frequent testing is the second-most-stressful life event for high school and college students. To reduce such stress, college applicants from Beijing give one another head massages in preparation for China’s college entrance exams (left). In the meantime, students at a dorm at Northwestern University in the United States try to blow off steam by performing “primal screams” during their final exam period (right).