Claire
Almost everyone has or will fail an exam at some point in their college experience. Whether you’re taking a class outside your comfort zone or you had an off day in a subject you’re usually good at, it’s ok. The first thing to do is go over your exam and make sure you agree with all the corrections; graders and professors make mistakes when going through stacks of the same exam. If you find any grading mistakes that you want to challenge, you should go to your professor or TA’s office hours with a copy of your test and talk to them about getting some points back. Sometimes, no matter what you do, professors won’t give back points. In that case, you can ask for extra credit and most professors will give suggestions on how to better prepare for future exams.
At the end of the day, the best thing to do after failing an exam is to forgive yourself and move on. You still have other assignments and opportunities ahead of you and you’ll help yourself more by focusing on the work to come rather than dwelling on something that you can’t change. Next time an exam rolls around that you feel less than prepared for, you can try reaching out to your classmates to plan a study session or try to start studying an extra day early. Either way, don’t get too stressed out. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by a bad grade but you’ll be okay.
Ethan
Well champ, welcome to the big leagues, as midterm season approaches you will begin to take your first round of real college-level exams. More likely than not, you are going to receive some grades that make you a little upset. Long gone are the days of free A’s in Ms. Smith’s U.S. History class. This is a collegiate institution created for the sole purpose of breaking your spirit. When you don’t get the grades that you’re hoping for, there are two ways to deal with your problem. The best course of action after failing an exam is to go to your professor’s office hours and beg for undeserved points. The difference between a good Stevens Engineer and a great Stevens Engineer is the amount of boot-licking that is involved in their curriculum. By working through problems with your professor you may find that the TA that graded your work did not give you any partial credit which gives you a chance to bounce up a letter grade. Or if you’re really lucky your professor will feel bad for you over your first failing grade and sprinkle on some sympathy points. After being humbled by your professor and not being granted any extra points there is only one way to deal with your problem… drop out. Dropping a class is not the end of the world and if you are in a class that has three exams worth 25% of your grade each, it is probably in your best interest to not waste your time. If you failed the first exam, you’re probably going to fail the second.
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