What to do when you get a bad grade
It happens to us all. You study your butt off, work like crazy for that final exam, and then you get your grade and it’s not what you hoped it would be. Sure, you might have passed, but your grade is still pretty bad and you feel terrible. Here are a few things that can help:
1) Treat yourself to something nice. It’s not a reward, but a little ice-cream doesn’t hurt. Getting a bad grade is an awful feeling. Take care of your mental health FIRST, especially if you have anxiety.
2) Stay away from friends who are discussing grades. Tell your friends if you don’t want to talk about grades, and if they don’t shut up then move away. It’s rarely comforting to be around people who did better than you or worse than you. Talk about something else.
3) Realise that it’s not the end of the world. Bad grades happen to everyone (even straight A students, at some point), and the world keeps rotating. Time will pass and in a few weeks’ time you won’t even remember that grade anymore.
4) Implement a back-up plan/do damage control. What will that bad grade affect? Can you continue with your programme? Figure out what problems will or may arise from your bad grade and figure out what you need to do to minimise the effect of your bad grade.
5) Figure out the cause of your bad grade. Did you use the most appropriate study method? Did you procrastinate the entire semester? Was the exam *particularly* difficult? Sometimes, the cause of your bad grade is more long-term than just the period your spent studying, so be thorough when you try to figure out why you got a bad grade. Was it just a case of bad luck and unfortunate circumstances?
6) Speak to your teacher/professor/tutor. Ask if you can see your exam paper, and work through it again so that you can identify where you went wrong. Speak to them about the problems your identified and ask them for alternatives or extra help. Bad grades are only bad if you don’t learn from them.
7) Realise that it’ll all be okay, and that you will have some way to make up for it in the future. Nothing is permanent, not even bad grades.
I hope these tips help. If you have any questions, feel free to send me a message or an ask. I also have a studyinstagram @ munirastudies if you’re interested in following me there. Happy studying!