• Follow us on Twitter
  • Join our Facebook Group

University Survival

  • Student Success Skills
    • Picking a College
    • Financing Your Education
    • Choosing a Major
    • Preparing for College
    • Managing the Personal Side of the Transition to College
    • Developing Discipline to Do Well
    • Managing the Social Side of College
    • Being an Efficient Learner
    • Taking Tests
    • Ensuring You Receive The Grade You Want
    • Managing Group Projects
    • Becoming a Campus Leader
    • Student Athletes
    • Navigating College Practices
    • Succeeding on Internships and Co-ops
    • Making Critical Decisions
    • Overcoming Challenges for Specific Types of Students
    • Setting Goals
    • Being an International Student In The United States
    • Using Resources
    • Communication Skills for College Graduates
    • Building a Professional Network
    • Using LinkedIn to Develop Your Network
    • Preparing for a Career
    • Understanding Job Protocols
    • Developing Essential Career Skills
    • Becoming a Leader
    • Overcoming Career Challenges
    • Planning for your Financial Future
  • Parent Connections
    • Parent Topics
      • Being a Supportive Parent
      • Making Critical Decisions
      • Financing Your Student’s Education
    • Parent Emails
  • Teacher Resources
  • Resources
  • Community
  • About
You are here: Student Success Skills » Managing the Personal Side of the Transition to College » Overcoming a Feeling of Panic

Student Success Skills

Overcoming a Feeling of Panic

by jennifer
July 13, 2012

If you are like many students, you never had to really work in high school. When you got to college you knew it would be different. You studied more for your first round of tests than you ever studied in high school. But the results were disappointing. You began to panic.

Often students who panic will do the wrong thing. Some of the responses to panic include:

  • Focusing almost totally on the class where you got the bad grade. As a result, grades in other classes start to suffer and the panic deepens.
  • Dropping the class where you got the bad grade. There is always a chance for recovery. If you approach the recovery in the right way, you can bring up your grades.
  • Getting in a funk. You start doubting yourself. This leads to missing classes, not doing your work, and the first thing you know, you are hopelessly behind in every class.

There are some proven strategies for dealing with panic situations.

  • Put the bad grade in perspective. Let’s suppose that you had a 45/100 points on your first math test. Suppose the math class has 4 tests worth 100 points and a final worth 200 points. Also suppose the math class counts homework as 10% of your final grade. If you get the full credit for the homework, you can still get a B in the math course by averaging a 75% on the remaining tests.
  • Talk with your teacher about what you can do to improve your grades. Your teacher might be able to show you what to focus on for the next test.
  • Do your own analysis of what went wrong. See the topic Learning From Your Mistakes to see how you can do an analysis of what went wrong.
  • See your academic advisor or a mentor to see what he/she recommends. Often you can bring your grades up by just doing some simple things to build discipline.
  • If your test anxiety is really bad and no other strategy seems to help, you can sometimes get prescribed anxiety medication. This will help, but should only be taken as a last resort.

It’s easy to say” “Don’t Panic”, but when you are experiencing your first bad grades ever, it’s hard not to panic. Even panicking is a better response than denying that there is a problem..

← Finding Waldo
Getting a Good Night’s Sleep →

Suggest a Topic

Looking for a topic and can't find it? Why not submit one...

Suggest a Topic

Share This

Rate This Topic

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (No Ratings Yet)
Loading...

Testimonials

  • I have learned what a schedule should be and what to do when balancing work and school.  This semester I set up my schedule to be as productive as possible.  However, productive does not necessarily mean busier.  Last semester my schedule ran for about 13 hours a day most days.  I shot myself in the foot, and most often I felt too drained after work and school to get homework or studying done.  Now I undertand what I should expect of myself and how to create an effective schedule.  On top of that, there will be a balance between work and school the rest of my college career.  I have learned that the best way to handle homework and assignments is to get them done between classes or during spare time at work.  This prevents me from having to deal with the lack of motivation or energy when I get home and avoid the numerous distractions that are much more appealing after the day..

Sign Up For Student Emails

Enter your email below to get weekly student emails.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Suggest a Topic

Looking for a topic and can't find it? Why not submit one...

Suggest a Topic

Share This

Sign Up For Parent Emails

Enter your email below to get weekly parent emails.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Suggest a Topic

Looking for a topic and can't find it? Why not submit one...

Suggest a Topic
© Copyright - University Survival