We can all agree that if there is a difficult period for any college student, then it is without a doubt the freshman year.
Bad Grades Freshman Year of College
You see, it takes a while for some students to adjust to college life and the demands that come with it. As such, it’s not uncommon for students who scored impressive grades in high school to end up with countless C’s and D’s a few months down the line; after joining college.
Getting bad grades during your freshman year can be disappointing, but that does not mean that you won’t get accepted into the next year, research programs, or internships. Or into a grad school. Life happens, you know? But you can get back from bad grades freshman year of college. Maybe you were not adequately prepared for that year, had a tragedy, or you overloaded your schedule. All in all, we must admit that pushing through college can be hard, right?
You may feel as if you ruined your chances, but you’re not alone in this. In real terms, you can make a defiant comeback. Better still, you can bounce back with much energy than you had before. That being said, below are some tips to help you come back from bad college grades.
Tips to Help You Come Back from Bad Grades
There are no double standards when it comes to bad grades- they’re just disappointing. A bad college grade is a big bummer. But here is what’s important: The grade should not define you. Let what you do after that define you. This article brings along sure great tips to not only help you come back from bad college grades but also to enable you to use them as a lesson for your own betterment. You’ll definitely get to know about how to retrain your brain and to hopefully never have to struggle with a poor grade again. Keep reading.
Accept That You Got a Poor Grade
This doesn’t only apply to dealing with bad college grades but also all life problems. The point is: We all have our strengths and weaknesses. We also have our ups and downs, right? Well, at some point up the academic ladder, people get bad grades. Bad grades freshman year of college doesn’t make you a lesser student in any way. But simply because you don’t hear about students scoring poor grades doesn’t mean that you’re alone. After all, would you expect someone to proudly flaunt a grade D paper on social media? Would you?
We all know that scoring a poor grade can easily throw you into a world where you feel as if you’re alone, but truth be told, you aren’t. Some students decide to allow themselves some time away from it a bit. You should also hit the pause button a bit, at least if you feel overwhelmed. But note that it won’t help if you choose to ignore your poor grade-it’s yours after all. Sometimes all you need to handle a tough situation is to take a break or a quick bite, and you’re ready to face the problem head-on.
Other folks swing into action as soon as they receive their results’ slip. This lot starts figuring out an effective game plan to help them get up and running once again. This is in fact the best option, especially for those with hard hearts. You see, you can’t fear facing your problems. And postponing action only works to create more problems and anxiety. No matter the route you decide to go, make sure to not avoid it. Eventually, you may want to call yourself to a crisis meeting and unearth the reason behind your bad grades. After that, you can come up with a plan that can fix the problem once and for all. Once you’ve done that, you can…
Try to Fix the Bad Grade
If you draw inspiration from Churchill Winston, then you might be aware that both success and failure are not final, and nor are they fatal. The same way success is not final, your bad score is not either. However, there’s no guarantee but you can see whether you can fix your bad grade(s). Yet still, you can try to alleviate the impact of your current grades so that they won’t affect your next term’s grades.
If you think you can improve somewhere on that term paper, don’t shy away from approaching your instructors. Some tutors are always ready to add you more credit for any extra effort. At least you won’t miss one or two chances to improve your overall score. Additionally, in some schools, students are entitled to the privilege of dropping bad grades from their term grade. Or you may get a chance to revise your assignments to earn extra credit.
The point is: Don’t relax and get satisfied with poor grades until you have explored all the options at your disposal. Maybe you can consider revisiting your syllabus to understand where your grade lies in the bigger picture. Maybe that assignment you’re worrying about isn’t worth more than 1% of the total grade. This is to mean that you shouldn’t be worried about bad grades that don’t add much value to the final grade.
But then, we just don’t wake up from our comfort zones and decide to drop things that easily. Who knows? You may have to live with that disappointing grade all your life. Either way, it’s the highest time to move to the next tip to arrest the situation as early as now.
Honestly Think About Went South
Up next, honestly scrutinize your assignments. Do that keenly. Don’t be tempted to shove the bad score into the deepest point of your bag without digesting any feedback that your instructors may have provided.
During such a time, it’s fundamental to overcome emotions- you don’t have to go for the prof’s jugular nor should you get mad at college life. Instead, look at your tutors’ remarks closely, taking time to understand exactly what messed up your grades. You know, you should first of all evaluate all aspects of the assignments and ask yourself if:
- You studied adequately for the tests. Did you study for the tests enough or you rushed through the preparation? Maybe you were studying under distractions such as social media? Think about the studying habits you employed just before the examinations.
- You took time to write the tests properly. How many minutes did you take to write the tests? Well, remember that longer writing periods doesn’t necessarily translate to the best grades. But it’s helpful to give yourself enough time to write tests.
- Your mistakes cost you. Most students get bad grades here and there, but there’s always that segment of your test that is always difficult. Note down that area so that you may put into it extra effort in future.
- Your bad grades form a pattern. You may want to understand whether your current grades fit into other grades you have received so far. Are they dropping consistently? Well, might you have an academically hard semester this time round? How do these grades compare with other units you’re pursuing? If you find that you’ve a string of bad grades, you should start getting worried as that is no longer a random poor grade.
Talk to Your Instructor
Though it’s overly important to evaluate the situation by yourself, going straight to the source of your problem is yet another best thing to do. After you are done assessing everything, make time to talk to your instructor(s) and listen to what they have to say. However, be warned against leaving all your problems to your instructor expecting them to handle everything for you.
The pure truth is that it proves difficult helping a person who is not interested in getting helped, or who does not give you something to work on. Instead, make sure to ask for specific feedback. Is this overwhelming?
Well, make a list of items you would want to discuss with your tutor. At least it’s much easier to go through specifics. For example, if you failed a mathematics test paper, go through the whole paper and locate where you went wrong. Maybe a concept you missed might have thrown you off a complete section of the paper. Based on your assessment, ask your instructor about how to go about that particular section of the test and wee whether he or she feels you can improve.
After that…
Take and Implement the Feedback
Can we get a bit real? Right, we all have that friend who is fond of asking for advice but never takes it. It sucks when a person asks for advice but goes ahead to do the opposite. So, when someone takes their time to go through your problem with you, make sure to implement their advice. In real terms, this tip is useful in helping you to better understand how to excel in academics. Take advice. Implement. Improve. And she will definitely notice.
Instructors are no super-humans- they understand that some students have to put in extra effort to excel. Plus, they will certainly bump you a bit when they realize that your honest efforts are paying off.
Create an Action Plan
After talking to your instructor(s), you should proceed to come up with an action plan to guide you in the subsequent weeks. In the action plan, you should clearly create a reasonable amount of time for different activities.
- How much time do you need to allocate each unit?
- Which assignments are next, and what do you need to do in order to pass the whole course with good grades.
- When will continue the conversation you had with your instructor?
In case you realize that your current scores are jeopardizing your chances of getting good grades, you may want to prioritize your meetings with the instructor. If, however, there are no chances to recover, then you can accept a temporary defeat and drop the entire class and making another shot next semester. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that as long as you learn how to put together an effective strategy to guarantee you success next time.
Find Help from Outside
There are times when we don’t grasp knowledge from certain tutors as we may want. Not even investigating beforehand can really let you whether or not you’ll learn well from this or the other instructor. Fortunately, you can utilize the tons of resources available at your disposal if you want outside help.
You can seek tips from those who took the class before you, join study groups, or find online and offline resources. You see, if you can’t learn well from your instructor, someone else can make you understand something. So don’t shy away from seeking outside help.
Remember to Keep Updating Your Action Plan
It’s easier for students to forget to check in on their action plans, especially if they notice some improvement on their grades. But making constant quick updates is helpful even after you’ve shown improvement. Did you attain your targeted grades? Were you able to prepare well for examinations? What do you study baits look like now? Is there an improvement in the instructor’s feedback?
Asking yourself such questions will help you to evaluate the effectiveness of you action plan so that you’re able to come back from your bad grades.
In Conclusion
Bad grades freshman year of college must not be the end of the world. In fact, it is easier to bounce back stronger, but only if you adjust your schedule, seek help, and maintain focus. And when an examination room, know that you’re not alone in that, because you have your friends, instructors, family, and other support systems right behind you.
The tips you’ve read through will go a long way to help you come back from your poor college grades. You only need to find ways to help you focus more on studies, make memories and get the most out of college. Simple!
Read our guide to getting super organised at college here!