Failing a course can be an overwhelming, difficult, and humbling experience, but you’re not alone. You can learn from the experience and achieve academic success.
Maybe you were overwhelmed with too many challenging courses. Perhaps you got behind and need to work on your time management. Maybe the major isn’t for you. Whatever the reason, failing a class in college is not the end of your college career.
Wondering what to do if you fail a class in college? All you can do is move forward with a plan in place to set yourself up for success. Here’s how.
1. Don’t Give Up
It’s easy to beat yourself up over a failing grade, especially if you’re used to having good grades in the past. But you aren’t a failure just because of a failed class.
Your failed grade is an opportunity to learn from the experience and commit to better habits in the future.
2. Determine What Went Wrong
Though it isn’t easy, evaluating what went wrong is a great way to ensure you succeed with your subsequent courses. Be honest with yourself – did you procrastinate studying and assignments? Did you overload your schedule? Did you truly try your best and just not understand the course concepts?
Speaking with your advisor or professor can help you understand why you failed, and more importantly, how you can do better when you make up the class.
3. Get a Degree Audit
If you fail a course, work with your advisor to determine your next steps. Your college likely has a degree audit tool that can check your progress toward your major. If the course you failed is essential to your degree, then you know you need to retake it for your requirements.
However, if the course you failed isn’t required for your degree, you may be able to fulfill the requirement with a course that’s a better fit for you. For example, if you failed economics as a humanities requirement, you may prefer satisfying that gen ed with a different humanities course.
4. Develop a Game Plan to Retake the Course
If the course you failed is essential to your major, you’ll need to make a plan to retake it. It’s important to speak with your advisor to find out when the course is available and decide when it best fits into your schedule to set yourself up for success.
For example, you may be able to retake the course alongside a lighter course load to ensure you have more time to devote to studying and practicing the coursework. This also can give you time to prepare by cutting back on extracurricular activities or scheduling time off of work to manage your course load.
5. Ask for Help
Your advisor and professor are here to help you succeed. Make sure you take advantage of all the resources available. Your advisor may even let you know about resources you didn’t know existed.
Many schools have tutoring services or learning centers that offer guidance in specific subjects or general college readiness. For example, there may be a writing center to help you with term papers.
You may want to schedule time with your professor during office hours to ask questions and get one-on-one help with the material. This individual attention can help you focus on the specific challenges you may be facing and get personalized help.
6. Look Into Alternative Course Types
If you struggle with a certain subject, such as math, retaking the course with alternative course types may be just what you need. There’s a lot more available outside of a traditional in-class environment.
For example, self-paced online courses give you the freedom and flexibility to work on the course in the comfort of your own home at the time that works best for you. You can take as much time as you need to read the materials and complete practice assignments without the pressure of a deadline or classmates, but you still have your professor or instructor if you need individualized help along the way.
7. Lighten Your Workload
It’s common for students to take a full courseload and find themselves overwhelmed. When you have to prioritize courses because you’re overloaded, one course may fall on the backburner, leading to a failing grade.
If you think that was the cause of your failed course, plan ahead to ensure you have a manageable courseload for your retake. You may even want to consider taking the course by itself over the summer break to ensure you can focus entirely and prioritize your work.
However, keep in mind that summer can come with its own distractions and time management challenges. Consider how your vacation plans, events, or jobs may impact your schoolwork to decide if a summer session is the right choice for you.
Don’t Let a Failed Course Bring You Down
One failed course can be disheartening, but it’s not the end of your college career. In fact, a failed course can be an opportunity to develop better habits and show resilience, or in some cases, discover that your career passion may lie elsewhere.
Ready to dust yourself off and try again? Sophia offers self-paced online gen ed courses that are designed to transfer to many colleges and universities for credit. Check with your advisor to determine whether your school accepts Sophia courses for transfer credit and start your free trial!
