Getting exam results is a scary and stressful time, especially when they are the deciding factor for getting into university for many people. The immense pressure faced by students can lead to anxiety and other mental health issues. There are various mental health charities that provide guidance and support for individuals who are struggling. There is so much added stress when parents and family members have high expectations and you may be hoping to attend the same university as your friends.
One of the things that students need to remember is that there are other options if exam results do not go as planned. This is not, by any means, the end of the road for students.
University is Not the Only Route to Success
There are plenty of successful people who have not attended university. To name a few, Sir Richard Branson, Steve Jobs and Deborah Meaden all left school without attending college or university. It just shows that there is not one singular route to success.
There are plenty of other ways you can learn new skills and do what you love. Doing online courses can be one of them. There are a variety of courses out there and as the learning is done in spare time and in the comfort of your own home, it takes the learning pressure off. There are no perfect people, and everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. This includes whether someone excels at exams or not.
A Variety of Assessment Methods
Exam results are stressful to receive, they leave you thinking about all the things you may have done wrong and all the things you could have done better. Waiting for results is in a lot of ways, more stressful than it has to be. Sometimes people work better with coursework or other methods of assessment like performance monitoring. However, for some disciplines, exams are their standard for assessment. This means it is particularly unfair for those who are just as intelligent in the area, yet the exam environment makes them fall behind.
Luckily, there are other methods to study and show your skills. As an example, home study courses that are delivered online require you to demonstrate your knowledge with written assignments. There is no time pressure, no big room where hundreds of students must sit and no pressure of being fit and well enough on the day to do your best. Learning online usually means that your work will be assessed via coursework.
Remember That You Did Your Best
The important thing to remember when awaiting exam results is that you did your best. They are not a measure of your overall intelligence or your worth and there are so many other options if they do not go in the way you would wish.
Exam result grading can be problematic too, recently, A level and GCSE results were given first via an algorithm and then changed to being teacher assessed. Due to COVID, exams could not take place and therefore they had to figure out a way of giving students grades which would reflect their overall abilities. This highlights the problem with work being assessed primarily by exams. If they cannot happen or someone is ill on the day, it can potentially be the deciding factor on the whole of your school life.
Remember that exam results do not define your skills and intelligence and that there are many entrepreneurs and extraordinarily successful people who did not like school so did not continue. Its important to find out what your individual abilities are and make the most of them.
