7 Ways To Recover From Your First "F" This Semester

It's the beginning of the semester and you appear to be on top of all of your assignments and classes. You start turning in your papers and feeling good about your progress..when...SURPRISE! - you get a paper back with an "F" on it.

What happened?

Don't start planning your departure from school just yet. It's still early and you can bounce back from this. While you may have been a bit shocked at the fact you got an "F" - it's not the end of the world (or the semester!).

Here are some ways you can take this failure and make it work in your favor:

1. Ask WHY? but don't ask WHY ME?
There could be a lot of reasons why you failed this assignment. In order to best learn from it, you need to figure out what those factors were. If you feel sorry for yourself (why me?) then you aren't doing anything to intentionally overcome this. You are looking at it like the world (or your professor) is against you. That's probably not true. If you are at all surprised by this "F" (most of the time, you probably won't be), then you need to figure out what happened.

2. Go back and correct what was wrong.
Are you asking me to do the assignment over? Yes...that's exactly what I'm saying. If there are errors, you need to work at correcting those errors. It's not for the grade anymore, but rather, for your own learning. The things you missed will probably come back up later in the semester. The time you spend going back through and correcting your work will probably pay off on the day you take your Final Exam.

3. Be honest with yourself.
As I mentioned earlier, most "F's" won't surprise you. You need to be honest with yourself and take responsibility for the work YOU did. Perhaps you didn't give the assignment the proper time it needed. Maybe you waited until the last minute. Reexamine the process you took in completing the assignment. Identify the areas where you can improve even in small, incremental ways.

4. Ask for help.
If you start stringing bad grades together it could be a sign (a BIG FLASHING YELLOW SIGN) that you are in need of assistance. Don't worry. Everyone needs help. You're in school to learn and you probably just need some time with someone who can better explain things for you. So ask for help. Get a tutor. Ask the teacher or professor for guidance. Each teacher grades differently. It may take an assignment or two for you to fully understand what a teacher is looking for. Take your learning seriously and take responsibility for it.

5. Seek out extra credit work.
While most professors don't build in extra credit work, they may make an exception for you if you're serious about bringing your grades back up. One "F" probably won't devastate your overall grade. But you can definitely buffer it's effects with some extra credit. Offer to do some outside reading or write an extra paper. Some professors might even allow you to turn your corrected work back in for a few extra points. Remember, professors want you to succeed. You just have to show that you're willing to work at your learning. Don't look for loopholes...look for ways to demonstrate that you're serious about your studies. They'll appreciate that.

6. Pin that "F" on the wall.
Use your failure to inspire you to not see it happen again. A lot of people will post their "A" work in prominent places. How many people do you see with an "F" project hanging on their mirror? Not many. So let that piece of paper serve as motivation that you'll work to do better. Work so that will be the last "F" you get.

7. Move on.
Don't dwell on the fact that you got an "F." That doesn't make you an "F" person. It doesn't mean that you are an "F" in life. Acknowledge it for what it is and move forward with a better plan for the next assignment. Don't view your learning as an event, but more like a process. So you hit a snag in your learning - it's not like you've fallen and you can't get back up. As with any failure you experience in life, make it work in your favor: learn from it, grow from it, improve from it. Just don't let it define you. Even though "F" is written on your paper, it doesn't mean it's written on your forehead.

Do you have an experience with how you bounced back from a failing grade? Please share your insight with us in the comments below.

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Comments

[Julia]

Got here from Orange Crate! This blog is looking good so far. I didn't bounce - I dragged myself bleeding back into the classroom in second year after my F in Physics in first year, and struggled again, with no help from the professor or anyone else. I passed the second time I took the same course but just barely. I should have hired a tutor but back then, I didn't even know that was an option. It's a shame too because I love science and physics can be fascinating but it isn't (or wasn't) taught very well.

[tim]

Julia. Thank you for visiting this site. I am glad to hear that you got through your classes. Thanks for reinforcing the message that it's okay and often beneficial to ask for help. Your grades will reflect that extra effort.