Oh, Bouy. You failed your exam! What now? 😬
By: Fred (but mainly Emma)
Okay. Now you’ve gone & done it –– you stuffed up my statistics. You are now dead to me!
But in all seriousness,… it breaks my heart to see you fail. I know what it means to you & how tough this exam can be.
Reality check
Failing… I don’t even like saying the word, but unfortunately, it happens sometimes, and yes, it bloody sucks!
I get it!
You've been studying for months, written millions of flashcards, your highlighters are dry, there’s no more space left on your wall for any more notes or mind maps, and you have become a social recluse. You’ve tested yourself endlessly and you’ve cried through Fred's weekly webinars, and you are starting to ask yourself, did I have a shower today? 🤔
BUT you came out the other side, and… despite ALL this hard work, the exam went really badly.
WHAT THE F*CK?!
So, what now?
Well, like everything else we teach around here, I have a system. I won’t just forget you, take your money, and run... as others might.
I’m still here to help you - you are not alone.
So let's see where it all went wrong, fix it, make a plan, and move on.
So… (yeah, you guessed it)… let's do this! AGAIN.
6 steps to get you back on your feet
❶ Take time to process it.
Failure hurts, ––at least in the first instance. You will also be exhausted, so take a bit of time off and go through these normal emotions. Go for a walk, have a good cry, go to the pub, yell at a complete stranger, call your Mum, binge on Netflix, take a few days off, etc - but don’t do those things forever.
After you’ve given yourself some time to process the disappointment & exhaustion, pick yourself back up & move forward again.
❷ Put things in perspective.
Look, it's a really hard exam. Don’t be too hard on yourself!
Remember, no one has died as a result of this failure. It literally could be worse.
Do you really think you are the only one who has failed at things in life? It's how we learn from those failures that’s most important. That’s the most important thing you have to take away from those experiences.
Although saying that, it took me a long time to get over failing my driving license, - twice! We’ve all been there.
❸ Apply for another NOE ASAP & get back on that horse!
Although you’re probably still in a bit of shock and feeling a bit negative, you will thank me later for pushing you to do this. If you need more time to feel sorry for yourself, you can do it while you wait for your 2nd NOE to be processed.
How do I do this? The MCA states: “Candidates who fail their online oral examination and wish to apply for a resit should submit a copy of their email confirming their result and any required supporting documentation to the appropriate team via email to deck@mcga.gov.uk. These candidates will be required to pay an additional fee (£159) via GOV.UK Pay or BACS before applying for a new NOE”.
You will receive an email that looks like this:
❹ Learn from your mistakes/reflect/analyze/learn.
Look at your NOE/email and see what the examiner failed you on.
Those are your weaknesses, and what you should focus on, work on, and improve. Plus there is a very high chance you will be asked similar questions on these topics again.
Next:
Write a debrief of what was in your exam.
This process can really help you see where you may have gone wrong (even if you thought you had a good exam). I see this often, or perhaps even a few weeks later - the ahh moment comes in. Or it could be when having a debrief with me, and I see something that you didn’t.Learn & move forward
You may have just had a bad day, stress got to you, bad internet connection, f*ck up on rule 13, or the examiner scared you ….there are lots of reasons….the main thing is you learn from it and keep moving forward.
❺ Book another exam; the sooner the better.
I know it's hard, but we want to make sure you take the exam again while all the information is still fresh in your head!
❻ Got your new exam date? Time to study again.
Again, I know it's tough. But on the positive, you now know what to expect this time… You also know your strengths and weaknesses straight from the opinion of an actual examiner, and what you need to work on this time around. I know it might not feel like it, but this actually can make things a bit easier.
If you haven’t done so already, make sure you read this post How We Learn - What the Experts Say too.
One-month Free access (Terms & Conditions apply!)
Look, I am not just giving these away - but if I genuinely know you were committed and came to my weekly webinars, I will give you one-month free access to our online Prep Course again.
A word from a past student
And lastly, hear some words of advice from one of my past students that failed, - but then got back on the horse again.
“If you land up missing your PASS the first time, or even the second, you can’t let it break you. Either you own this, or it owns you, and you’re here already, so just push for a new date, and do it again, stronger! Good luck to everyone reading this. Go get that PASS!”
