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I recently received a email from a
student that I found terribly depressing. If I had a glass of water I
would have splashed him in the face with it. Heck, if I was in his
general region I'd go out of my way to slap him for thinking this
way. “SNAP OUT OF IT!” I'd scream.
This student spent his email talking
about how terrible he thought he did on his finals. He was absolutely
convinced that he bombed. He found the idea of waiting for the test
scores dreadful. Now... I sympathize with worrying about a test score
but in this case, I could make an exception...
Why couldn't I sympathize with him?
Because this student is someone I've talked to a boatload of times
already. I know him to be an A student. Really... he didn't bomb.
So... if you're suffering as you wait
for your finals scores to be announced. Keep these five things in
mind:
1. Good Students Have A Buffer
If you're the kind of student that's
worried about your finals score then you're probably the kind of
student with a buffer. If you're a B or higher student then you
probably could completely fail your finals and still get a passing
grade. If you're a C student then you probably would still need to
fail pretty bad on the finals for a fail in the course.
If you're a D student... Yea...
Sorry... Can't help you there. This is one of the reasons you need to
treat the rest of the school year so well. It makes the end of the
school year a whole lot easier to manage.
But seriously, the vast majority of
students stressing out about their finals scores are the same
students that have nothing to worry about. A few points are not the
end of the world. Worrying is just going to do more harm than good.
If you absolutely need to then just
look at your class information and try to figure out what you'll
score if you completely bombed it. Usually, you'll find that the
worst case scenario isn't the end of the world. (If you find out
otherwise then make sure to kiss the ones you love goodbye. Oh... and
take out tons of loans.)
2. It's All Over
Despite that knot hanging around in
your stomach, there is absolutely nothing you can do about your
finals scores after you take your finals. (Short of bribery.) You've
taken the test. The moment is over.
Stress is meant to help you prepare for
things in the future. When the test has been taken, the stress is not
telling you to worry about that test score. It's telling you that you
need to learn one of two lessons. Either, you need to prepare better
for your finals in the future. Or... You need to learn to relax a
little bit after the moments over.
Learn your lesson and move on with the
more important things in your life.
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3. The Pleasantly Surprised Principle
The vast majority of students worry, at
least a little, about their final's scores. I've worked with tons of
students and just about everyone of them holds some kind of inking of
doubt after a major test. That's completely natural. Students like to
prepare for the worst. That could even be a good thing. There is one
thing that I learned from all this though. I call it “The
Pleasantly Surprised Principle.”
The students that worry about their
test scores usually end up pleasantly surprised. The students that
don't worry about their test scores can go either way.
Worrying is a sign that you value your
test scores. The fact that you value your test scores suggests you
are the kind of student that prepares appropriately for your tests.
That means, you're probably going to end up pleasantly surprised
after all this.
4. Lessons To Learn
If you're actually completely convinced
you failed the test then you have a more important reason to relax a
little. By this, I'm not just talking about a little worried. I'm
talking about, if you took the test and had to guess completely on
most of the questions. In this case, you have very good reason to be
concerned.
When you bomb a test completely, it
probably means you were terribly prepared for the test. That even
goes for those of you saying you're just a terrible test taker.
Terrible test taking can cause major problems but it's not the sole
cause of bombing any test.
You're worrying because you have a
problem that you need to solve. You need to figure out why you bombed
the test (not just excuses) and solve that problem. If you don't
you're going to be stuck with this same nasty feeling in your stomach
every year for the rest of school.
(This blog may be able to help. Check
out the articles.)
5. IT'S SUMMER!
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Seriously... Don't you dare waste the
beautiful weather. You'll have plenty of time to worry about your
finals later. School means absolutely nothing compared to the time
you have. This summer you're being offered one of the greatest gifts
in life. (When you get a full time job you'd kill for a summer off.)
Enjoy it.
School will still be there in a few
months. Good news or bad news, you're still going to be able to get
those grades recovered from. What you can't ever do, is get the time
you waste back.
Does that mean you should drop the
books and learning and hang outside until your skin burns to a crisp?
No, but make sure you save at least a little time for doing the
things that you love. Don't let the stress of the school year ruin
all of your summer.
So... Relax a little. You're worrying
now is not going to change anything about your finals scores
(assuming they're over!) Be sure to check out this blog regularly and
maybe even get one of my books on studying faster.
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