If you thought you were going to just zoom past your final, chances are it’s for one of two reasons. Either you spent hours upon hours guzzling through study materials, making flashcards, forming groups and attending review sessions—or you simply are so naturally brilliant that you thought the test material would come easily, since, after all, you totally understood the lectures.
Either way, the moment your grade was posted online was probably pretty nasty.
Here’s how to cope:
Breathe
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Let it in, and let it out. If you’re panicking, you’re not going to help anyone.
If Possible, Email Your Professor or TA
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Chances are, it’s too late to have your grade change, but if at any moment your professor or TA said something that indicated they were willing to relook final grades, it might be worth a shot. Even if that’s not the case, however, sending them an email asking why you were graded the way you were might lead to some much-needed insight.
Breathe Again
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Preferably over a nice steaming cup of tea. Calms the soul.
Figure Out When and Where You Went Wrong
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It’s easy to just say, “I didn’t study hard enough,” but if you really give it some thought and figure out at what moment this quarter you started messing up, it could really put some things into perspective and help you out next time.
Write a Note to Your Future Self
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Speaking of next time, write yourself a note explaining what happened and how upset you probably are. Not only will writing your feelings out help to de-stress, but you can send it to your future self as a reminder not to let this happen again—just figure out the right time you want to receive it! I recommend installing Boomerang if you’re a Google user, or otherwise sending the letter through FutureMe or a similar service.
Breathe Yet Again
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At this point, you’ve done basically everything you can. There’s absolutely no functional use in freaking out anymore, so why do it?
Let It Go
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Chances are, you’re still going to graduate from college, you’re still going to get that diploma, and you’re still going to get whatever job you would have gotten anyway. This isn’t going to destroy your life, so don’t let it destroy your week. Just let it go, and be glad that finals are finally over!