What if you failed a midterm exam?
Sometimes, you will fail a college midterm or other test no matter how much you study. Just how big of a deal is it when this happens and what should you do next and how to recover?
The transition from high school to college is a big one. Anecdotal evidence shows it is not uncommon for new freshmen to struggle with midterm exams. Even if you did well in high school, the new environment, increased academic rigor, and newfound freedom of college can decrease your academic performance. It can be difficult to balance the new experiences and the need to study. If you receive a disappointing grade on a midterm, it may be a warning sign that you need to find your life-school balance in order to recover by the end of the semester.
How you handle failure in college can have a major impact on the rest of your semester, so the best thing to do when you fail a test is to remain calm and follow these steps to recover.
Look Over the Exam When You’re Calm
When you get that failing grade, give yourself some space from the situation. Take a walk, go for a workout, eat a healthy meal, and then come back to the test to get a better sense of what happened. Did you bomb the entire thing or just do poorly in one section? Misunderstand one part of the assignment or a large chunk of the material itself? Is there a pattern about where or how you performed poorly? Knowing why you failed can help you learn the most from this experience, Moving forward with the right frame of mind makes all the difference.
Ask yourself
Once you are distanced from your initial reaction, you need to have an honest conversation with yourself about what you did wrong. Did you study enough? Did you not read the material, thinking you could just get by? What could you have done better to prepare?
If you already know that you did not put your best foot forward when you went to take the exam, you probably need to rethink your study habits and develop a new approach. If you did your best and still didn’t perform well, there is more you can do.
Commit to Making Changes
No test failure is the end of the world, but they should still be taken seriously. There will be other exams, essays, group projects, lab reports, presentations and final exams you can do better on. Focus on what you can do to improve.
If you have already developed effective study habits and always apply yourself to the best of your ability, it is possible that this test is just an outlier and will not set the course for the rest of the class or year. Don’t beat yourself up over one bad test and begin to doubt your abilities. The
best change you can make in this situation is to learn to move past setbacks.
If you know that something in your test-taking approach needs to change, try some of the following tips:
Set aside more time to study.
Join a study group.
Take practice tests.
Learn to take better notes.
Ask more questions.
Reach out to your professor
The best source of information on how to improve your grade in a class after a failed midterm is by going straight to the source. These meetings can allow the professor to see where the disconnect is and hopefully lead the student in the right direction for future tests, letting your academic professionals know you care about your grade in their course shows them you may have had a fluke with this disappointing midterm grade.
Get Help From Others
Besides your professor, there are other people available to help you with a course. Don’t be afraid to connect with them. Here are a few individuals to consider:
Teaching Assistants (TAs): A TA is a current student who has already completed the course and assists with teaching. This person, who likely has in-depth knowledge of the course material, may be able to help you through things like post-class chats and review sessions.
Classmates: Is there a study group in your class? If not, get a group together to review the material. Learn from one another, and build on everyone’s ideas. Together, you can create study guides, materials, and flashcards. The key is to use the time to actually study not binge on Netflix.
Tutoring Services: Most colleges and universities offer tutoring programs for specific majors and departments. Check with your school’s tutoring services. If tutoring services are not available for a specific class, consider meeting with an upper-level student who did well and already took the course. See if that person can offer any tips.
Make a list of everything you’ve done to study
if your class is paper heavy, all the steps you’ve taken so far each time you write a paper. You need to make a quick analysis of if these steps are working or not. Chances are if you’re failing you need to chuck parts of your current method or the whole thing entirely and start from scratch.
At this point in the semester, it’s about doing everything you can to get higher grades on the assignments you have left and making a new massive action plan that you know will work towards getting you those points you need to pass.
Take Care of Yourself
The most important thing to do in the face of failure is to take care of yourself. There is a time to buckle down and get to work and there is a time to give yourself credit for all that you have accomplished and not sweat the small stuff. Failures can be tough on your body and mental health if you don’t manage them appropriately and this can lead to future setbacks that won’t be as easy to come back from. Find a balance between working hard and practicing self-care and remember not to expect perfection from yourself.
You are not supposed to go through college without asking for help and most universities offer more resources than you could imagine. Take full advantage of everything your college or university makes available to you to not only prevent future academic failure but have a healthier life overall.
