What to Do When an Exam Doesn't Go Well

I think that no single exam is important enough to mean you've completely failed your degree. So, if one exam went badly, research your options. You may be able to resit the paper, or the module. Maybe the module won't count overall, or it means that your other modules need to be better. This research can be reassuring and could help you to calm down.

If you did the best you could then there was nothing more you could do. Results are not everything. It's important that if you truly feel that you did your best, that you know that it is enough.

I can't think of a single friend of mine that can say they think every exam they've ever done went well. So don't worry; you're not alone!

Try to separate the failure from who you are.  Just because one exam went badly, doesn't mean you’re now a failure. Think of other things you’re good at and what you’ve achieved lately to avoid letting a bad exam knock your self-confidence.

Being hard on yourself is not helpful, but using the experience as a way of improving for the future is beneficial. Think about where you think you went wrong; what could you have done differently? Was there a particular topic you should go over more in your revision next time? While you probably won’t be able to get your exam paper back to review it, you could also take past papers of future exams, so you know what to expect for each one.

There’s nothing you can do once the exam is over. While thinking about where can you can improve for next time is a good idea, try to resist the urge to overthink, and let it be. You can't control the outcome and you also won't know the results for a month or two regardless, so dwelling on it will just lead to anxiety, and you don't want that for your summer.

Taking a break from the negative thinking will help you reset and focus on what’s really important. Talk to your friends, go to the cinema, just do whatever makes you happy and helps you unwind.