How to deal with exam results

So as most of you know, even at university you can’t escape exams all the time. Luckily Geography as a course seems to be quite evenly weighted between coursework and exams whereas other courses can be heavier either way. In January I had 3 exams worth 50%, 75% and 100% of their respective modules either 1.5 hours or 2 hours long. I spent almost all of the Christmas break revising, I even took revision to Edinburgh with me over New Year’s Eve.

Well yesterday I got my exam results back, almost 8 weeks after sitting them. Overall I think I’m satisfied with my results, I was over the moon with one exam, indifferent about one and really disappointed with one which averages out as very middle ground result. Luckily I did great in my coursework and got a pretty decent overall first semester grade.

But what I really wanted to talk about was how to deal with getting your results, especially when you might not have done as well as you wanted too (we have all been there).

1. Accept it and close the door on it.
   • By the time you have got your exam result back there isn’t much you can do to change it so you really need to hold your head high and accept that maybe you made a few mistakes but there isn’t anything you can do now.
2. Be upset and disappointed.
   • There is nothing worse than holding in negative emotions, if you feel like you need to have a cry then let it out. Talk to someone about it and let out your disappointment.
3. Go and see your personal tutor.
   • The best way to deal with exam results is to talk it through with your personal tutor. You may feel like you tried your very best and there was nothing else you could do. Your personal tutor may be able to help you revise smarter to make revision time more efficient.
4. Think of everything else you’re succeeding at.
   • Exams might not be your strong point, they have never been mine. But remind yourself of all the other aspects in your life where you are doing really well. It could be within a society, at the gym, at work, in volunteering or just have a really satisfying social life at the moment.

I think the main thing I want to get across is that exams are not the end of the world and that sometimes you might be doing much better than you think are overall.

‘If you just a fish by its ability to climb a tree then it will live it’s whole life believing that is is stupid’ Albert Einstein.