In the midst of football games, farmers markets and endless socials, the first round of midterms often sneak up on busy college students. Many of these midterms require over a week of studying in order to ensure success — something that most first year students, myself included, learn AFTER receiving that daunting F… However, there are many ways to turn your grade around. Receiving a bad grade on an exam may make you angry, sad and confused. It’s important to not dwell on those negative feelings and instead let it motivate you to do better. Attitude is everything, and thinking about dropping your class or changing your major (all ideas that ran through my head) isn’t a solution. Whether it’s a class you love or a class you have to take, there’s a reason you’re in that class and succeeding should be something you want to do, not something you have to do. Remember people, “Cs get degrees” is a joke, not a lifestyle.
If you’re not receiving the grades you’d hoped for, changing your study habits is vital for future success. Go to office hours, start studying sooner or look into tutoring. It’s easy to blame the professor for making the exam impossible or think about how unfair it is to have an exam on a Thursday night (don’t they know it’s Thirsty Thursday?), but focusing on things you can’t change isn’t a solution and will leave you with the exact same grade come the next midterm.
What’s important to remember is that it’s just one grade on one exam during one year of your four (or more) years in college. While an F is a scary thing to see, it does not ensure failure and it does not define your intelligence. Whether we like to admit it or not, failure is a stepping stone to success in college and with time you WILL bounce back.