What to Do If You Failed a Class in College

Failing a class in college is a strange taboo, although it happens to all students. If you found this post, you are probably facing the possibility of failing a lesson. It’s hard to know what to do after this. Like, what… is happening to you? Actually the answer is nothing unless you failed a few of them. What matters is what you do next. If you just failed your first lesson, here’s what you need to do.

Don’t worry when you get the grade

I’ll be honest: I went back to school for my final year of graduate school thinking that since I had a full decade of adult experience under my belt and had always been a good student, it would be easier than ever for me to succeed academically. Class, especially now that I’ve taken certain courses that I already know I’m interested in. What I didn’t consider was that there would be math involved at this level. Math is something I really struggle with; I could barely pass the entry-level statistics course I had to take in undergrad. As someone who can’t do math, doesn’t do it in everyday life, and doesn’t plan to do it in her post-grad future, it didn’t occur to me that there was a chance it would come back. When I signed up for epidemiology, I thought I would study diseases—and I did! But mostly it was math. It was a ton of math. And I soon learned that all my other classes were based on the fundamental things I learned in my secret math class. Despite my best efforts, I failed to pass it the first time. Even at my advanced age, this “failure” hit me hard. Will I really have problems? Will I be kicked out of my institution? Was I an idiot for thinking I could even go back to school? No, no and no, it turned out. What happened was that I had to have a slightly awkward conversation with the advisor and retake the course since it was a required course.

When you find out your grade at the end of the semester, don’t panic if you didn’t pass the exam. It won’t help; what is done is done. As Dr. Kim Crowley, assistant professor of English at Bismarck State College, says, “Don’t overthink.” First, remind yourself that this does happen to people. For example, Crowley, who has a doctorate, had to take his college algebra exam several times to pass. You’re in good company if there’s a class you’re having trouble with. Next, consider a very simple question: is this class required or not?

What to do if you fail a required class

If you fail an exam required for your major or program, you have no choice but to take it again. However, you have a choice in how you perceive it. Crowley says you should consider whether you want to take it next semester “while the material is still fresh in your mind” or “wait until the emotion of it all wears off” and try again after a short break. When I re-sit Epidemiology, I decided to do it straight away, but that was because it was a requirement for all the other classes I had to take. I learned this by talking to an advisor about what you should do as soon as you find out you didn’t pass the exam. Their job is to help you determine your next steps; mine worked quickly to help me get into the second semester. While I didn’t have a choice about whether to retake it, I could choose whether to take it online or in person, which is something Crowley says you should think about too. My first attempt at epidemiology took place in one of the large bowl-shaped halls with hundreds of seats; I had no chance of saving anything, and I usually sat in a chair at the stadium, feeling vaguely unwell. When I had to go at my own pace, sit in my unintimidating apartment, and read (and re-read and re-read) material online, I achieved so much more. (I got a B!) If you took a failed class in the morning, consider taking an afternoon class. If you did it online, try it in person for extra accountability. If you really hated your professor, you already know who you can’t retake.

There are several questions you will need to ask your advisor when you discuss failing a required course. The supervisor I spoke with (who will remain anonymous because she forgot to check her employer’s media policy before agreeing to the interview) offered the following:

• When can/should I retake the lesson?

• Does this affect my financial aid?

• Will I be able to stay in my specialty?

• What other required classes can I not take until this is done?

• What will be the consequences if I continue to do bad things?

You will likely find yourself on academic probation, which means you will need to contact your advisor periodically. At some universities you will receive a humiliating email explaining this. In other cases, you may have to contact the financial aid office and your advisor directly to find out what consequences you will face. The good news is that in most schools, when you retake a failed class, the new grade replaces the old one, raising your GPA.

What to do if you fail a lesson that is not required

This is where it gets tricky. If this class was not required, you may not want to retake it at all. Crowley suggests calculating your overall GPA to see how much success a single B will bring you. If the decrease is significant, if possible, retake the same course to replace the grade on your transcript. However, if this is not the case, you may want to skip this. For example, if you need three credits in an art class and you hate theater and end up failing, there might be some wiggle room in your GPA to just sign up for art or something like that and accept the loss.

Again, discuss all of this with your advisor before proceeding, but consider whether retaking something that was difficult and unnecessary for you is actually a way to maintain morale during your probation period. Keep in mind also that required classes are usually taught in large numbers at different times, with different professors, and using different structures, but electives are less common. It may not be possible for your school to retake the same lesson, so please discuss this directly with your advisor. The worst thing you can do is worry about it and let it slow down your progress next semester. One B won’t ruin a GPA full of other good grades, but weeks of pain will ruin your productivity.

What to do with a failed lesson in the future

Honesty is the best policy here. If you continue to apply for a job, transfer to another school, or try to enroll in a higher degree program, the failed class will likely appear on some version of your transcript, even if you retook it and your GPA high. . Not all jobs will require transcripts, but most schools generally will. Don’t shy away from discussing this. In a job interview, this will be a great story when asked about how you overcame challenges or adversity (assuming you got a better grade the second time around). Failure is not necessarily a bad thing and will not ruin your reputation. If you can detail how you refocused and were more successful after this, you’ll look good.

Crowley says that when she applied to graduate school, in her admissions essay, she clearly described the problems she faced in undergraduate school that led to her poorer grades. I know another student who was recently accepted into the school’s “second chance” program after he detailed in a letter to administrators why he had failed so many classes in his previous attempt to earn a degree—and how, after years of being out of class, he was in much better position to succeed.

“Even if you have nothing to write other than, ‘I was a stupid 18-year-old who couldn’t make it to class,’ sometimes just ‘admitting it’ at least shows someone in the future that you take responsibility for it.” , and you’re less likely to do it again,” says Crowley.

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