Assessing Their Situation Honestly
Students should first take a look at where they stand, including an honest look at their current grades, test scores, and class performance.
On the syllabus, they should take note of how each assignment and assessment counts. They should focus their recovery on those remaining assessments with the most weight. This will help them prioritize where their effort will have the greatest impact. Also, students should look to see what they need to score on upcoming assignments to raise their grades.
They also should speak with their professors and teaching assistants about how they can raise their grades. They may be able to provide feedback on where they’ve been going wrong. Their performance may result from a few key concepts they don’t understand fully. Correcting that may increase their performance.
At the same time, if their professor recommends that your student drop their course, don’t dismiss that out of hand. Many students find a tough start to the semester isn’t confined to a single course. They may find their recovery in four courses helped by dropping the course that’s causing the most trouble.
Revise How They Study
Studying in college differs from the way many of us studied in high school. And if your student is going to recover from a rough start, they need to develop the proper academic skills. Here’s where consulting with their professors, teaching assistants, and successful students can help them.
To help them recover, encourage your student to:
Adopt active learning techniques: Instead of passively reading or highlighting, engage with the material by summarizing key concepts in their own words, teaching the content to a peer, or creating flashcards.
Use targeted review sessions: Rather than trying to relearn everything, have them focus on the material most likely to appear on final exams or major projects. They should prioritize content where they lost the most points previously.
Encourage them to use campus resources: Students should take advantage of tutoring centers, academic support programs, and faculty office hours. Even one or two targeted sessions can clarify concepts and improve their understanding.
Work on Time Management
It’s no secret that time management and setting priorities is tough for new students. Time management is critical during the latter part of the semester when projects, papers, and exams pile up. They can best recover during the semester by mastering these skills.
Some of the techniques students should use include creating a student schedule. Mapping out upcoming deadlines, exams, due dates, etc., can help students avoid a bottleneck. An ideal study schedule organizes reading and other tasks into manageable chunks, and adds periodic breaks to keep them refreshed. The stereotypical four to six hour study session with no breaks isn’t really productive.
There are many experts who suggest that to recover academically, students should minimize all distractions. That may be true, but I’d suggest students find the kind of background noise or sounds that facilitates their learning. Low volume jazz always worked well for me, often while using headphones. Encourage your student to find what’s best for them
And it should go without saying that students can find a wealth of resources at their university’s student success center or similar office.
Extra Credit and Bonus Opportunities
Some professors offer extra credit assignments or participation points, especially toward the end of the semester. These can provide a much-needed grade boost for your student. I don’t typically offer extra credit opportunities, because I believe students have plenty of opportunities in my courses to raise their grades, and I’m not the only professor who believes that. Having said that, if my entire class is struggling, I may offer these opportunities to help them recover. If your student hasn’t already, they should ask whether your professors offer any extra credit opportunities. Even small bonus points can make a difference in their final grade.
Many courses also count participation as part of their grade. Since many first-year students don’t speak in class much, changing that—by asking and answering questions—may go a long way toward helping your student raise their grades.
Recover Through Self Care
Yes, sometimes we think of self-care as an excuse for students to slack off. But taking care of themselves mentally and physically is part of any student’s academic success. Encourage your students to get enough sleep (spoiler alert: few of them do), and to exercise regularly. Academic recovery requires both mental and physical stamina.
Students should also find ways—often taught by universities—to practice methods of stress management. Relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, short walks, or brief meditation sessions can reduce stress and clear their minds. Also, encourage them to stay hydrated and eat well. Skipping meals won’t help in their recovery.
Develop a Plan B
As I mentioned before, sometimes the way to recover from a rough start is to drop a course or two and focus on those remaining. Your student can speak with their academic advisor to find out how they can stay on track for graduation if they drop a course. And while this may require a summer course along the way, that’s better than a semester with sub-par grades.
The road through college is seldom a simple, straight line: for many students, it’s a process of small successes and mini-failures that eventually smooths out as they progress. Yes, it does get better.
Helping your student recover from a rough academic start is challenging but entirely achievable. By helping them evaluate their situation honestly, refine their study strategies, and make the most of the remaining time, they can significantly improve your grades. Help them remember that finishing strong isn’t just about boosting their GPA—it’s about demonstrating resilience, adaptability, and the ability to overcome obstacles, skills that will serve them well beyond the classroom.