Remember: You are awesome. Don't stress.

[juillet]

<p>Hi all,</p>

<p>I'm a grad student who works with undergrads right now. I know at a lot of universities it's midterm season for undergrads! And many of you are probably feeling really stressed out, perhaps helpless, maybe a bit out of your element for the first time ever in your lives.</p>

<p>I just want to say you are awesome. Don't stress. Your self-worth isn't determined by your classes or your professors. Your worth as a human being doesn't boil down to your grades or what you get in your class. And many a successful business person/graduate student has failed a midterm, failed a class, even gotten a sub-3.0 GPA in undergrad. Trust me, it is definitely not the end of the world. I am not saying this to trivialize the experience - it can be traumatizing! - but to assure you that you will be okay, and that your success does not hinge solely upon your performance on this class or even in this whole semester. If you weren't smart and accomplished you wouldn't be where you are now - in college - so take a moment to reflect on your positives.</p>

<p>I also want to encourage you to recognize that your professors are humans, too. They know stress and frustration and struggle with concepts. If you are feeling overwhelmed, please talk to them, or to your TA. If you are feeling so overwhelmed and you can't cope, please go to the counseling center at your institution. They are typically friendly and awesome and waiting to help you, and there's nothing wrong with it - probably 30-50% of your peers are going, too.</p>

<p>Good luck on your exams, and enjoy your spring breaks!</p>

[romanigypsyeyes]

<p>I wish this could be stickied! </p>

[CalDud]

<p>I actually have finals next week. It's stressful because they're all 50% of my grade. I also need to pass all of these classes to be able to take the next quarter's classes, which are needed to make sure I graduate in June. The positives: spring break. If I pass all these classes, I'm set. Next quarter is going to be cake.</p>

<p>There are plenty of dumb people in college. I doubt on this website, though.</p>

[MaineLonghorn]

<p>romani, great idea, so I did it.</p>

<p>juillet is so right when she suggests talking to your prof(s) if you're struggling. My dad is a professor, so I grew up knowing quite a few faculty members. They ALL cared about their students. My dad is always willing to work with a student if something serious is going on in his/her life, or just needs extra help with the course material. Professors want their students to succeed! I wish I could get that message out to everybody.</p>

[jmowen]

<p>I was supposed to have mid-terms this past week but I ended up fracturing my knee. Because of this, I had to miss class the entire week because of painkillers and not being able to get around. Thankfully, my professors were very understanding and allowed me to take the tests post-Spring Break. I feel bad that I get 'extra time' to study and stuff but at the same time thankful that my professors are very understanding about the situation. </p>

<p>Best of luck to everyone who has their midterms coming up and hope those who already did them did well. And thanks TC for the advice. :)</p>

[leftymii323]

<p>Excellent post! I'm a sophomore and I screwed up a couple of times with my grades and used to beat myself up about it and compare my grades to other people's and blah blah blah. In the end I realized there's no point in dwelling on the past and if my degree isn't over, I still have a shot at showing those grad schools what I'm really made of.</p>

[LindaFromNY]

<p>Love this! Need more of it on CC</p>

[mrbrucewayne]

<p>Great encouragement! keep it up!</p>

[watsonkatherine]

<p>How to boost confidence is important during college life, as per my concern i always prefer to talk with my self, when get stressed, a good point and it helps to solve any kind of problem.</p>

[Allegories]

<p>Blah, why didn’t I read this earlier? I really needed to see this. Bookmarking. Thank you!</p>

[CatSurfing]

<p>It’s easy to forget, so this is a great reminder!</p>