5 Ways To Cope With Academic Setbacks

Everyone experiences setbacks—even the highest achievers. Whether you didn’t get the grade you hoped for, didn’t get into your first choice of university, or missed out on an opportunity you thought you were sure to get, it’s natural to feel pretty deflated when bad news arrives.

Many of us have also found ourselves facing quite a few more disappointments this past year - so it's worth bearing in mind that things have not been normal, and even more than usual we can face failure through no fault of our own.

Even so, not achieving the outcomes you want still hurts. However, we can all be more successful when we learn not to let failures define us. It's possible, however devastated you feel, to overcome academic setbacks —here’s how.

Step 1: Feel your emotions

Although you might just want to push down the sadness, anger, or guilt that you feel, and carry on like nothing happened, this is actually the unhealthiest way to deal with your setback.

Take 24 hours to wallow, and if your parents or friends say that this isn’t good for you, you can tell them it actually is! Research shows that repressing emotion leads to profound negative effects, including mental health issues such as stress and anxiety, and the resulting lack of commitment, motivation, and productivity.

Taking a day or so to feel your emotions and process them helps you move on from the event; after all, we all find we have a clearer head the morning after.

Step 2: Remember that failure is fleeting

You might feel like a failure right now, but it’s important to remember that everyone fails, and setbacks are just that—a temporary moment that you can recover from.

People are prone to viewing themselves as academic successes or failures, and this mindset can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. The psychological theory of ‘Success and Failure Identities’ proposes that if you adopt a failure identity, you are less likely to try positive things, as you just expect more failure. If you have a success identity, you see the world as a friendly place with challenges to be solved.

It’s important to try and see your failure as an opportunity for learning, rather than getting stuck in a failure mindset.

Step 3: Analyse your setback

Most failures are multifaceted, meaning there is no one reason for them. It’s important to see the setback holistically to be able to analyse it and move forward.

Maybe you feel like you didn’t study enough for that exam, and so didn’t earn the grade you wanted. But why didn’t you study enough? Were you feeling anxious or stressed, and procrastinated? Were you lacking in motivation? Did you just not have time?

By identifying the core reasons, you can dissect the problem, make changes, and avoid the chance of it happening again.

In many cases, analysing your setback will actually show you that a particular 'failure' has nothing to do with you - sometimes, you can just be unlucky. Of course, we shouldn't always blame something else, but it helps to recognise that some setbacks shouldn't be taken personally.

Step 4: Balance your life

Several studies have shown that the top reasons for academic failure are due to students feeling overwhelmed. For example, ‘too much going on’ in life, ‘health or stress’, and ‘emotional distress’ were all identified as primary causes for academic failure.

Make sure that you have a good work-life balance, and that you have free time every day for self-care. If you do a lot of extracurricular activities, it's worth acknowledging your own limits and ensuring you have set yourself some time off, particularly around exam season.

Although university applications do like to see extracurriculars, concentrate on those that are valuable to you, whether that’s related to your academics or (most importantly) something that you’re passionate about.

Remember that it’s always okay to say no to additional stresses—no matter what they are—and you don’t need to make excuses for that!

Step 5: Plan to move forward

Depending on what your setback looked like, there are multiple avenues you can take going forward.

If you believe your setback was due to issues studying, try to hone your study habits, motivate yourself, and make sure your study environment is conducive to productivity. If you’re struggling with a particular topic, remember you can always ask your teachers or lecturers for help, and there is also the option of a tutor if you would like one-to-one coaching.

Sometimes there is little to do about academic failures, and it’s up to chance rather than the work you’ve put in. The most important thing is to accept it and move on, taking practical steps forward to reach your goal. Good luck!

StudyStream Team x

StudyStream is an online community connecting students around the world, and helping them be more productive. You can also find more info about StudyStream, and hear about other student experiences, on this blog!