Have you ever failed a class?
Have you ever come close to failing a class?
You are not alone. Lots of people fail classes in college. They just end up retaking the class. Sure it might end up being more money that you spend on taking the class again but in the end what matters is that you pass the class, and not the amount of money you spend retaking it or the number of times it takes you to pass the class. Things happen in your life and it is ok. People die, you have a bad roommate that always causes problems and stresses you out the night before an exam, or you do not realize how much extra work you have to put into college classes.
I failed my first class last fall, my first semester in college because of two reasons. One of them being that awful roommate that I wrote about earlier this month, and the other reason being that I did not put enough time into the class. I figured "oh, this is algebra and it is algebra that I took in high school I just have to go to class and do my homework and exams." I couldn’t have been more wrong in thinking that.
As a college student, I have a job and go to school full time. This was just as true last year as it is now. Sometimes I had to work the night before an exam and could not get someone to cover my shift so that I could have the time to study for it. So I would go to work and end up not getting enough sleep before the exam because I would stay up after I got out of work to study for the exam.
Yes, failing a class is not the most ideal thing in the world, but it happens. What I have learned from this is to not wait until it is to late to try and get help in the class. I have learned that if it is a subject that you already are not good at and have a history of struggling with to start going to office hours on day one. The subject for me that I have to do this with is math. For you, it might be English or Chemistry or any of the other subjects that you could be taking at any point in time during any semester. It does not make you a loser to go to tutoring for help in a subject. It just means that you care about your grade in that class or that you know later on you are going to want one on one help with the class from someone that is not your professor.
Maybe you struggle with a class because the professor does not teach the way that is best for you and for the way that you learn. The best way to get help with that I have learned is to go to tutoring. You are only human. Do not beat yourself up for failing a class. A failed class does not make you a failure. You should not drop out of school just because you failed one class. Instead, evaluate the situation and try and figure out what went wrong and how you can fix it the next time you take it.
Retaking the class often times will allow the school to replace the grade you got in it the first time with the passing grade that you got the next time you took it. Take advantage of it if this something that your school does because it will not hurt your grade point average if you retake it at a school that does this. Do not retake the course equivalent at a community college and transfer the credits in. Sure, that will give you the credits for the class but it will not help your GPA. If you failed the class because of the teaching style, try taking it with a different instructor. Do not skip class unless you are sick. Ask lots of questions. It is ok to be the kid that sits up front and asks a question every two minutes and goes to office hours every day. That shows you care and that you want to pass. If you care about your grade your professor will care about your grade. At the end of the semester, if you have been this student and you are really close to the passing grade maybe a percent or two off they might round it up to that passing grade for you because they know how hard you worked and how badly you wanted to pass.
It is okay to cry when you find out that you failed the class. I know I did but after a good cry I sat down and reflected on what went wrong in the class and came up with what was talked about above to help me pass the class the second time that I took it. The things above personally worked for me after failing the class and retaking it. I passed the class the second time I took it. Had I been thinking about it, I probably would have dropped the class on day one when I was told half the students that take the class fail it the first time they take it. If you are told this on day one drop it or switch instructors.
You are not a failure just because you failed a class!
You should not drop out of school if you fail a class!
You should retake it!
You should seek out help the second time!
You should breathe and remember that you are smart!
You got into the school for a reason, so stick with it!
