Were Midterms a Major FAIL? Turn it Around

By Brianna

So midterms have come and gone. Whether your calling home boasting to mom and dad about how well you’re doing on their $40,000 a year, or crying your eyes out at the thought of failing out of freshman math, everyone is glad to be out of those couple weeks of hell.

For those of us who haven’t aced all of our tests, we have no calm after the storm. We are just hit by another what-if-I-fail-out-of-school-what-will-everyone-think whirlwind.

Our friends at CollegeNews gave some suggestions on what to do to overcome a midterm crisis, which includes talking to your professor and your advisor and re-evaluating your study habits. But what if that’s not enough? What if striking up a convo with your prof during office hours doesn’t change anything? And what does it mean to re-evaluate your study habits?!

Your GPA is the most important thing you’ll take with you when you leave college (well, that and a box full of free t-shirts), so it’s imperative you pick that up and pick it up fast. We’ve compiled a comprehensive list of important things you can (and need to) do now to turn double up that 2.0 and turn it into something worth boasting about.

You know, so your family doesn’t disown you come Christmas.

Cut Thirsty Thursday Out of Your Schedule

Let’s make that any weeknight partying. You’ve had your fun, but some people just don’t have the ability to balance partying and studying, and if you bombed your midterms you’re probably one of those. As hard as it may be you’re going to have to decline party offers and send your roommate in a panicked search for a new pong partner. You can always make yourself a virgin daiquiri while you study to ease the pain.

Add in Study Spurts

Just because you cut out the weeknight partying doesn’t mean you are going to have any more time on your hands. We know your schedule is packed full and that isn’t very conducive to studying. That’s why you’re going to have to get creative. Review notes on the elliptical at the gym. Make flashcards that you can read through on your walk between classes.  You’ll retain more information from these study spurts than you think, which will make the process much easier when you sit down at the end of the day to do last minute cramming.

Make Friends With Scribble Hands

You know that person that never puts their pencil down? They’re going nuts on that notebook and you chuckle at them every once in a while. Well, now the jokes on you because I’m pretty sure Nancy Notetaker aced her midterm. Perhaps you didn’t do so well because your notes are sub par. If you just aren’t capable of taking notes extensive enough to fill their own textbook, your next move is making friends with this note freak. Believe me, no topic will go uncovered, her notebook is a student goldmine…and you need a little gold right now. (Note: no one is gonna give you their notes if you don’t show up to class. The key is to show them how hard you work so they’ll help you…not just give you all the answers.)

Show A Little Love

Yes the majority of us tend to go under the radar. We don’t want to be singled out in class, we don’t want to be best friends with the professor; we just want to get our attendance check and leave. If you bombed your midterm, this is no more. Chances are your professor now knows you anyway (as the girl who got the giveaway question wrong), so you might as well turn it around and have him know you for being the girl who cares about her grade and is trying to make an effort. Show up early to class to clarify any questions you had from the last lecture. And actually participate. Professors have been known to boost a student’s grade when they know they have been working hard and participating in the course, and that 10 percent could keep you from retaking economics next semester.

What other suggestion do you guys have for making the second half of the semester end better than the first?