VOX POP FROM EXPECTATIONS TO REALITY: 100 Level Students React to Their First Results

By Rose Asukwo

Following the release of the first semester results, I decided to interview some 100 Level students about their feelings and state of mind on receiving their results for the first time in university.

INTERVIEWER: Thank you all for joining me. Let's start immediately. How did you feel when you saw your results?

SHALOM ODELADE:I felt happy and relieved because I got A's and B's. At the same time, I felt like I could have done better.

JOY HILIGHT: I felt relieved because I had been anticipating the result for a while now.

VIKKIE B: For the ones I have seen, I am actually grateful to God. My aim was an A, but I got a B, which I am still grateful for, but I know the rest, God will take control.

FERANMI: I felt so happy.

INTERVIEWER: Were your results what you expected? Why or why not?

SHALOM ODELADE: They were partly what I expected. I knew I had tried my best, but there were many things that affected me during the semester.

JOY: It was what I expected because I knew I tried my best last semester.

VIKKIE B: It was kind of, yes, it was actually not what I expected because I was aiming for an A in my course, but it doesn't mean much since it is not really far from an A.

FERANMI: Honestly, most of them were not what I was expecting, particularly POS 105 (Constitutional Development in Nigeria). I was an art student in secondary school, so I already had the background, but I give glory to God Almighty, my A was secured.

INTERVIEWER: What was the first thing that came to your mind after checking your results?

SHALOM ODELADE: I was grateful that all my hard work was not wasted. I also thought about how much I struggled during the semester.

JOY HILIGHT: I am grateful to God because the result was good.

VIKKIE B: The first thing that came to my mind was what I had drafted, the anticipated result I drafted in the fourth week of last semester. That was when I realised it was not corresponding with what I expected, though I did well.

FERANMI: I was so tense whenever I wanted to check it, because I was scared of not securing an A or mostly B's. A C is a big no, so I was not expecting it.

INTERVIEWER:What lesson did your first university results teach you?

SHALOM ODELADE: It taught me that preparation and consistency are very important. I also learnt that it is okay to have difficult days, but I should keep going.

JOY HILIGHT: It taught me never to procrastinate on any reading that needs to be done.

VIKKIE B: The lesson it taught me was to be careful when using AI for assignments and past questions. For the test I had, I was so confident I would get 17 or 20 over 20, but I ended up getting lower, which I did not expect, and I was pained because of the effort I put into reading for it. I used AI on a past question, and though it came out in the test, the answer AI gave me was different from what the lecturer gave as the correction. So I learnt to be careful, because what my lecturer wants might be different from what AI gives.

FERANMI: Read early and make friends who have the same vision as you. That matters a lot, and it helped me in my first semester.

INTERVIEWER: If you could go back to the beginning of the semester, what would you do differently?

SHALOM ODELADE: I wish I had started preparing earlier. I would also manage my time better and try not to leave too much work until the last minute.

JOY HILIGHT: I will read on time.

VIKKIE B: I wish I had been more serious, read early, and stopped procrastinating.

FERANMI: I would try as much as possible to pay more attention to courses I took lightly, like the one which traumatized me, PSY 105 (Ethics in Psychology).

INTERVIEWER: What is your goal for the next examination?

SHALOM ODELADE: My goal is to get more A's, improve my B's, and perform better overall.

JOY HILIGHT: My goal is to study harder and smarter to attain a first class.

VIKKIE B: Like the saying goes, aim for the sky and you get to land on the mountain. If you couldn't reach the sky and aim for the mountain top, and you can't reach it, you will land back on the ground. So my goal is to aim high, start reading early, and pay attention in class.

FERANMI: By God's special grace and with my hard work, I'm working towards securing A's all through the present semester.

INTERVIEWER: What advice would you give another 100 Level student about preparing for exams?

SHALOM ODELADE: Start reading early and stay consistent. Don't wait until exams are close. Also, don't be too hard on yourself on days when things feel overwhelming. Take a break, then try again.

JOY HILIGHT: I will advise that you start early, because early to bed means early to rise.

VIKKIE B: Firstly, make sure you put God first in everything you do. Read early, especially the necessary materials, eat well, and prioritize your sleep by sleeping early. Don't skip any topic or material, and even if you don't have enough time, try to brush through it to get an insight into what it is talking about, because this helped me in my last exams.

FERANMI: Pay close attention to the little details the lecturer says, and have a study group.

INTERVIEWER: On a scale of 1 to 10, how satisfied are you with your results?

SHALOM ODELADE: I would say 7 out of 10. I am grateful for the results, but I don't feel completely satisfied because I know there were many factors that affected me. There were even days I felt so overwhelmed that I cried while reading, so seeing these results still means a lot to me.

JOY HILIGHT:I would say 7 out of 10.

VIKKIE B:I would say 7 out of 10, because my expectations did not align with what I got, so I will use this semester to do better.

FERANMI:I would say 8.5 out of 10.

INTERVIEWER:Thank you so much for joining us. What great lessons to learn from this.