Need exam help! What shall I do? (details inside)

You’re not going to flunk now and there’s no reason you should forget the A.

Haters gonna hate ;-)

Don’t panic! Doing very well on your exams is still very much possible. I did it my junior year. I think I missed at least 50 days of school, right before exam time, during my junior year, and I still did great. Most reviewing for exams is done on your own outside of school anyway! For the new material/concepts that you still have to learn, is it possible at all to meet with your teachers after school, or are you completely homebound for now? Does your school send out home tutors at all?

I see your exams are in May – are the AP exams by any chance? The review books that they sell for those can be extremely helpful. I like the brand The Princeton Review.

It doesn’t matter who they are, you should never let anyone bring you down, you need to tell your dad exactly what you said above^ things may seem hard but once you start believing in yourself, it will get easier. Block everything negative out of your mind while you focus on study. Once you get that done you will feel good about yourself and that’s important.

Thank you : )

Okay, practical solutions – have you spoken to your teachers about a. the course content you are missing and b. the revision sessions? Can you get them to record the sessions? Even an audio file will help, you can sit and listen to them. Or they can perhaps provide you with notes.

If your teachers can’t provide notes, recordings, ask one of your fellow students if you can get a copy of their notes.

Ask for guidance from your teachers in terms of what you should be revising at home. They should be able to give you broad topics so you can at least make sure you are reading the right material.

When are your exams? Break your revision into 30 minute chunks. Then take a break. Don’t just focus on the stuff you like :-) (I tend to do that!!!). It is the stuff you are weak on that you need to work on. What about asking some of your friends over for study sessions? You can’t go to school but they can come to you and you can revise together.

As has been said here, don’t let other people’s negativity convince you that you can pass your exams. You can. You just have to not let panic take over and you need to take some steps to ensure you a. have a plan and b. get some support from the teachers. You have your own cheerleading crew here so, keep talking to us.

Just give it your best shot. You can only do what you can do.

Worrying won’t make you do any better, so there’s no point to that.

Another way to look at it is: What’s the worst that could happen?

Maybe you will flunk out. That wouldn’t be a great result, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world, either, would it? What would you do in that case? I presume you wouldn’t jump from a bridge or take poison, would you? (That would not be optimal, and you seem smarter and more practical than that, or I wouldn’t even suggest it, even as a joke.) If you should happen to flunk out, then you’d have to do some makeup work, and that would cost you more time and money, presumably. No fun, but certainly manageable.

But seriously, if you flunk out, what then? Remember this: They can kill you, but they can’t eat you!

I expect that you’ll do very well. Maybe you won’t get the A – but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to hope to, and I think you should continue your schoolwork as if it’s a realistic option. I’ll bet that it is.

Like everyone else has said, don’t let your dad psych you out. Set out to prove him wrong.

Since you’re pressed for time, you should apply the 80/20 rule ruthlessly. If you haven’t realized it yet, we are taught a lot more than is actually tested on the exam. Spend some time figuring out what’s likely going to be on the exam, and concentrate solely on that. It’s also helpful to consider what type of questions you will likely receive so you can plan your studying accordingly.

Also, try to balance your preparation. If you’re probably going to get an A- in English, you might as well not try for the A, but instead use that time and energy to get your History from a B- to a B+.

If they are the APs (I don’t think they are b/c you sound like you’re British [“revision,” “mum”), use the prep books. Forget the textbooks, except for use as reference materials. You still have plenty of time; I began preparing for the APs at about this time (and I considered that early!), and I had like six of them (and I still did absolutely fine with all high 5s). I know you missed some classes, but honestly, this is less damaging as you might think. Most classes, particularly at the high school level, are enormously inefficient.

The only thing to do is to talk to your teachers. They can help you figure things out where we can’t.

well honestly if you are a clever student you would know how to study effectively and wouldn’t panic.. But if you are clever because you study hard and do not miss classes at all then.. it would be a problem..

Just try to revise and study whatever you can study, but don’t force yourself.

Anyway it’s just missing an A once, doesn’t really matter that much right? You could get better scores next time..

And another lesson in life : Sh*t happens sometimes :)