How to deal with failing your first year at varsity

With statistics estimating that more than 40 per cent of students quit their studies after their first year, education expert Peter Kriel of the Independent Institute of Education cautions students not to throw in the towel should they have failed or performed badly in their first year.

Kriel said, “First-year dropout rates are sky-high in South Africa, but students who don’t successfully make the transition from school to university on their first attempt shouldn’t be discouraged. Instead, they should re-assess their situation and continue on their higher learning path with a new strategy.”

Kriel provided the following tips for students: 

• Work harder: The volume and complexity of the workload increase exponentially between school and higher education. If it is simply a case of you having misjudged what is required of you, undertake to start afresh next year and put in the effort consistently, from day one.
• Work smarter: Sometimes too much time and attention are given to one or two areas of work, while others are neglected. Sometimes the way you approach certain tasks is not as efficient as it could be. Here is it helpful to ask your institution’s career centre or student advisors (a good institution must offer these services), for help and guidance with your study strategy.
• Find what works for you: If a student isn’t pursuing a field that makes them excited about their learning and ultimately their future career, they are bound to lose momentum and interest in completing their studies. If it is clear at this stage that a first year’s chosen qualification isn’t working out, it is better to pursue a new path, rather than spending time and money trying to make the wrong one work. But very importantly, when considering a different qualification, students must ensure they properly research all available offerings. There are many new and exciting fields with work-focused qualifications that students may not even have been aware of in the past.
• Select the right institution for you: Higher education is no walk in the park, and making the transition from being assisted by teachers who know your name at school, to being a number sitting in front of a lecturer who needs to get hundreds of students through the year’s curriculum, can be daunting. That is why it makes sense to find a higher education institution which is able to offer smaller class sizes and individual attention, which makes a marked difference to individual student outcomes.

“Our message to discouraged first years is to not give up. Don’t view your past year as a wasted one – no education is ever wasted. Take the lesson and make the corrections where needed, and build on what you’ve achieved thus far,” Kriel concluded.

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