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Posted Feb. 4, 2015
After Exams - Dealing With Unexpected Results
A hard fact of student life; although we can spend weeks revising for exams, quizzing ourselves on the tiniest minutiae of a topic, we can still be met with an exam entirely focused on that one piece of the subject we were sure was not going to come up. Equally, we can arrive at a exam panicked and potentially hungover, turn the paper over and realise its all on that one bit we have just read on the bus ride in. Studying is an inexact science, even when you’re studying the exact sciences. So what to do when you didn’t get the results you wanted, or did far better than anyone was expecting you today?
Whichever, your first step should definitely be to talk to your tutor, your lecturer or the subject co-ordinator. It is always important to know how to ask for help at university and dealing with unexpected results is no exception. Doing badly in an exam might well just be a blip, but it could just as easily show that for some reason you are not connecting with the course. Either way, they will be able to offer you advice, pointing you towards helpful extra reading and helping you tease out concepts to make sure you have a solid grasp of them so as to get back on track for your next assessment. Even if you failed the exam, they will be able to guide you through the resit process, ensuring you do not make the same mistakes again.
If you’ve done better than expected, a trip is still advised. If your high results put you in line for a better overall grade, they will have additional advice of how to maintain this success through your next assessed work. This may feel uncomfortable at first as a kind of secret boast, but it isn’t: they are there to help you do your very best, and talking to them can help to ensure this result is not just a one-time fluke.
As well as talking to others, unexpected results are a great time to self-reflect. Have you done anything different in achieving this grade. If so, how do you go about maintaining or changing this? What was it that made this mark lower or higher than usual, and what can this teach you going on? Writing some thoughts out or simply taking a few minutes to think about them can give you a workable action plan to move forward.
And if you can attribute your lack of success to an external factor, or even just stress, it might be advisable to speak to someone professional to discuss your issues. All universities offer counselling services for times exactly like this, and you would be amazed how many of your colleagues and class mates have used them at one point or another. You might be nervous or feel like you’re wasting someone’s time, but remember; if it’s affecting you enough to alter your grades for the worse, it’s important enough to discuss with someone.
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Whichever, your first step should definitely be to talk to your tutor, your lecturer or the subject co-ordinator. It is always important to know how to ask for help at university and dealing with unexpected results is no exception. Doing badly in an exam might well just be a blip, but it could just as easily show that for some reason you are not connecting with the course. Either way, they will be able to offer you advice, pointing you towards helpful extra reading and helping you tease out concepts to make sure you have a solid grasp of them so as to get back on track for your next assessment. Even if you failed the exam, they will be able to guide you through the resit process, ensuring you do not make the same mistakes again.
If you’ve done better than expected, a trip is still advised. If your high results put you in line for a better overall grade, they will have additional advice of how to maintain this success through your next assessed work. This may feel uncomfortable at first as a kind of secret boast, but it isn’t: they are there to help you do your very best, and talking to them can help to ensure this result is not just a one-time fluke.
As well as talking to others, unexpected results are a great time to self-reflect. Have you done anything different in achieving this grade. If so, how do you go about maintaining or changing this? What was it that made this mark lower or higher than usual, and what can this teach you going on? Writing some thoughts out or simply taking a few minutes to think about them can give you a workable action plan to move forward.
And if you can attribute your lack of success to an external factor, or even just stress, it might be advisable to speak to someone professional to discuss your issues. All universities offer counselling services for times exactly like this, and you would be amazed how many of your colleagues and class mates have used them at one point or another. You might be nervous or feel like you’re wasting someone’s time, but remember; if it’s affecting you enough to alter your grades for the worse, it’s important enough to discuss with someone.
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