Dealing with low study scores

[stirfrynoodles]

Yesterday was an amazing day for some but for some it was a horrible day.

I had a horrible day. After crying a taking a long shower I realised that failing this subject really has been a blessing. Though failing I learned some really valuable lessons about who I am and what I want in life. I received a 32 in Biology and within two hours I was at the doorstep of my pathways co-ordinator ready to repeat the subject.

At lot of you reading this are probably disappointed as well - but there is one thing you need to realise. In life all people are bound to make mistakes, it is what you take from them that matters. Don't sit there complaining or comparing marks - learn from them and set goals for next year. You may have not hit the bullseye but you still have your whole life ahead of you, don't dwell on something you can't change.

There are many things that I did wrong and some of the things I realised;
1. I often refused to study.
2. I did not focus on Biology enough (I often opted to work on Japanese over Biology).
3. I prepared for exams way too late.
4. I winged 5 out of the possible 10 SACs for Biology.
5. 10 hours a week on Sims and other gaming sites is too much.
6. 10 hours on top of that watching movies and T.V shows is way tooooo much.
7. I didn't keep a diary and often forgot what was due.
8. I didn't properly study for exams when the time came. (I focused too much on getting a better score than I did trying to understand basic concepts)
9. I often refuse to ask for help when I needed.
10. I stress out too much.
11. Not doing any work on the holidays is a bad idea.

Although I didn't do so well I learned a lot and I know this lesson is one that will help me improve next year when I redo Biology as well as take on Chemistry, Math Methods, English Language, Japanese and Psychology. It seems like a lot but I know that I need to help me get though the year. I will work on improving on my mistakes and talking to people when I need to. For all those reading this and nodding at some of the points - just remember that you are a master of your destiny. No one can give you the study score or ATAR you want. YOU HAVE TO GO AND ACHIEVE IT YOURSELF. I will be starting my journey towards my goal tomorrow and I hope you will too.

If you ever need any motivation, join my Facebook page - 'Motivation To Study'

[nerdmmb]

I was feeling really down before I read your post and I didn't do so well in my 3&4s either so I considered taking a fifth subject. But I wholeheartedly agree with everything you said.
And it's good that you know where you went wrong.
I guess that helps the most. And just like to add "Failure is success if we learn from it

[aqple]

I can relate. Last year I got 33 in psych and I was really disappointed given how hard I studied for the exam. I only had myself to blame because I too made the same mistakes you listed.

You still have another year to work towards what you desire. I came out achieving my goals and exceeding my expectations and I'm sure you will too. Good luck next year! And remember:

Incredible change happens in your life when you decide to take control of what you do have power over instead of craving control over what you don’t. — Steve Maraboli

[keltingmeith]

Honestly, a few things - firstly, good job on not letting a score you don't like get you down. Good job on wanting to improve, and being able to identify where you went wrong throughout the year. It takes a big person to say, "I fucked up", and even bigger person to try and fix that. But one of your paragraphs, although I'm sure you didn't mean it this way, could be taken so badly by others:

I had a horrible day. After crying a taking a long shower I realised that failing this subject really has been a blessing. Though failing I learned some really valuable lessons about who I am and what I want in life. I received a 32 in Biology and within two hours I was at the doorstep of my pathways co-ordinator ready to repeat the subject.

A 32 is in no way a fail. If you got a 32, this literally means you had a higher score than over 50% of the people who did biology this year (more specifically, better than 61% of all year 12 bio students this year). There is NOTHING wrong with this score, and while I'm sure you were aiming for higher, I wanted to put this proviso here for anybody who was happy with their 30:

BEING AVERAGE DOES NOT MEAN YOU ARE A FAILURE. Hell, getting an average score (and really, 30 is THE average score - it puts you right in the middle) should be commended - you beat 50% of the students in the unit. That could be anywhere in the thousands, particularly with subjects like bio which sees a high intake.

Honestly, good job in seeing how you can use this experience to get better scores - but just remember that you could really upset people by saying things like "I failed" when you have a (quite literally) above average score.