Didn't Ace the Exam? Here's Your Recovery Plan

What to Do When Exam Doesn't Go Well?: Students studying abroad may encounter stressful situations and may not perform well in their exams. There may be a situation where either the student fails an exam or scores low on the exam given. Exams didn't go well? Don't panic! Here's your recovery plan. Read the article to understand how to stay positive and bounce back stronger than before. 

If an exam doesn’t go well, it can only result in two outcomes. One, failing an exam and the second, scoring poorly. If the student studying abroad fails the exam, it results in a backlog. The student has to re-appear for the exam in later semesters with an additional fee too. Clearing backlogs can be a big pile on and consequently makes students have an extra exam to clear along with the regular ones. Well, all the student can do is learn and grow after failing an exam. 

Probable Reasons for Failing an Exam

Students studying abroad face numerous challenges and they may be overwhelmed by being in a foreign setting. Apart from this, there are other reasons which may hamper their performance in the university exams. Let’s check them out:

• Poor preparation for exams due to lack of resources and understanding.
• Lack of time management and missing out on important tasks.
• Due to adjustments and shifting in a new country, there was a lack of focus could be one of the reasons.
• Overconfidence to be able to nail the exam with or without preparation.
• Class notes not taken properly and due to this exam didn’t go well.
• Knowledge gaps and inefficient study schedule.

Apart from the above-given reasons for failing an exam, there may be also reasons like procrastination, lack of concentration, wrong friend circle, bad study habits, etc. 

10 Tips to Not Get Demotivated by Failed Exams

What to do if your exam goes bad? It is ok to fail an exam, it is always a learning experience in some way or the other. Here are top 10 tips for students to not get demotivated by failed exams:

1. Maintain your calm and composure and do not overreact.
2. Accept your mistakes and look to counter them in the next exam.
3. Be aware of what went wrong and discuss how things can be improved.
4. Make a plan and stick to it.
5. Be positive and affirm that no matter what, you’ll nail the exam next time.
6. Don’t get boggled by the struggles, remember, no failure no success.
7. Rediscover your strength and get inspiration to strive for better in life. 
8. Keep your goals clear and do not go off track. 
9. Keep a check on your progress from time to time.
10. Do not cut yourself off from the world, rather be a part of it. Remember, running away is no solution.

These tips can benefit students only if they follow them properly and be positive about their journey. This way it'll be easy for them to conquer the lost battle.

What to Do When Exam Doesn’t Go Well?

When the exam doesn’t go well and ultimately results in failure, the applicants should maintain a positive outlook and follow the given tips to bounce back and succeed.

1. Accept and Understand the Mistakes

The first and foremost step towards learning and growing is by understanding what went wrong. Was it the preparation, or was it time management or was overconfidence or was there another reason altogether? Whatever it may be students should identify them and jot them down to avoid repeating them.

2. Now Make a Plan and Strategize for the Exam Preparation

After accepting the reality, begin your work on the exam preparation again with a solid plan! Identify where did you lack, make time for it from your busy schedule, revise regularly and make your preparation efficient. Strategizing for the failed exam will only help if the mistakes are not repeated and a proper plan is followed.

3. Discuss with Fellow Classmates for More Inputs

Healthy discussions with classmates always help, because different perspectives come into play. With this, new strategies can be followed and a better plan can be made. Understand how they went about that exam, prepared for it, and what their go-to resource was. Once you get these answers, you can incorporate them in your preparation.

4. Request Teachers for Help if Required

Try contacting your teachers and professors wherever you get stuck on a particular topic or section. Concept clearing is also an essential part of clearing a failed exam. Thus, don’t hesitate and talk to your professors for their guidance and tips on acing the exam with better scores. 

5. Maintain a Positive Outlook

Though things can get overwhelming for international students studying abroad, which can result in exam failures or scoring lower than usual. But in the end, it is all about understanding that it can happen with anyone and some things like these are just lessons from which something valuable can be learnt. Thus, don’t drag it too much and get negative about it, rather be positive about it without much ado, and prepare for the exam with double force.

6. Harder the Exam, More Lenient the Marking

Always remember, it is not always the worst that one should assume. Sometimes, having a hard exam can lead to lenient marking. It is not always necessary to mark hard exams strictly. Testing students based on conceptual clarity and asking hard questions is one way of testing. Remember answering HOTS (high order thinking skills) questions? The high-order thinking skills as it was commonly referred to. These questions were always tricky but were never marked strictly. Thus, don’t assume the worst-case scenario in the first place. 

7. Move Towards Growth From Failure

Students must realise that moving from failure towards growth is the key to success. Learning from one’s mistakes, making a plan, sticking to it, and accepting that it can happen to anyone can never lower the student’s morale and confidence. Thus, always look ahead and find solutions to problems rather than dwelling on them for a longer period. 

Hopefully, these tips will help students accept their mistakes in the exam and not let failure define them. Follow them and do not get bogged down with small failures like these.

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Finally, always remember this quote:

“The one who falls and gets up is stronger than the one who never tried. Do not fear failure but rather fear not trying.” - Roy T. Bennett

So if you stumbled on an exam, bounce back and conquer the next one! There is nothing that can stop you.