<p>I just received my final grades for the semester and received a C in Biology Lab and C- in Biology Lecture. I studied a whole week before tests. I went to get extra credit, I asked the teacher questions, I studied her powerpoint slides, read the book. I was studying in between classes all the time for Lecture and looked at my notes before class every night. I don't know what I did wrong. I feel like I deserved an A but my effort, time, and dedication didn't reflect the grades I received. I don't know what to do now. I feel like I am at a loss. My freshman GPA now is 2.82. I don't know what to do. </p>
<p>It’s not always about how long you study, but it’s often about what you study or how well you study. Have you thought about why you did worse than you expected on your exams? Did you study the wrong material? Was it that the problems were new and you didn’t know how to apply the information you learned to them? It’s hard to know why you’re doing poorly on the exams without seeing the test ourselves. From my experience, a lot of students do poorly on exams because they just memorize facts without understanding what they mean or without being able to really think about it logically, so when they’re asked a question in a different way or are expected to apply what they know to a different situation, then they are at a complete loss.</p>
<p>First thing that comes to mind is that, you should first determine if you are retaining the information from what your studying, as in, if you studied a chapter on the circulatory system, and took notes on it, could you remember most of what was in the chapter? Could you do well on a practice test that isn’t timed? If you aren’t remembering what you learned, you might have a learning disability, and should be evaluated by your school’s student disability office. This is actually something most people don’t suspect at first, but it can happen to anyone.</p>
<p>Next, consider if your having test anxiety. If you do well on practice tests, but suddenly during the exam go totally blank, you might have exam anxiety.</p>
<p>If neither of the first two things are valid for you, consider how your studying, as baktrax suggested.</p>
<p>Perhaps you are using the wrong approach to study biology. At college level, you are required not only to memorize the subject matter from the books, but also to fully understand the application or implication of the subject matter. It is common to understand subject X but when the test asks X+1 the student is at a loss. These techniques are necessary for research and graduate level works.</p>