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Student Editorial Contest Winner

Lessons From Failure

This essay, by Sophie S. Ding, is one of the top 9 winners in the high school category of our Seventh Annual Student Editorial Contest for which we received 6,076 entries.

By The Learning Network

This week, we are publishing the work of all the winners and runners-up in the high school and middle school categories of our Seventh Annual Student Editorial Contest . You can find them all in this column .

“Lessons From Failure” by Sophie S. Ding, age 16, River Dell High School, Oradell, N.J.

There it is. Among the countless 100s, I see it: a 37. A hideous, black mark in the grade book. I had to nearly restrain my mother from pouncing on the phone to call my teacher. “Let me handle it,” I said. Uneasily and reluctantly, she did. She, thankfully, is not a snowplow parent.

According to an article in The New York Times, snowplow parents clear the road for their children to chug ahead on their perfect path to success. It’s why some students turn in homework handwritten by middle-aged adults, why a sophomore girl’s dad picks her up the period before every math test, why lunches flood the main office, delivered by parents of forgetful students. Perhaps students are all too happy to have parents control their lives. Or maybe parents don’t listen and need to run the show. Both need to rethink their positions.

Stellar grades and fancy admission letters seem like “proof” that parents’ meticulous managing and manipulating produces results. On paper, today’s seniors look successful: lists of APs, high test scores, varsity letters, unique community service projects, ability to play fifteen instruments while simultaneously winning chess competitions.

The reality? Dean Julie Lythcott-Haims of Stanford University observes these same students, now at prestigious universities, constantly calling home for advice, special packages, and help with basic tasks like registering for classes or contacting professors.

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How to Write the “Overcoming Challenges” Essay + Examples

What’s covered:.

• What is the Overcoming Challenges Essay?
• Real Overcoming Challenges Essay Prompts
• How to Choose a Topic
• Writing Tips

Overcoming Challenges Essay Examples

• Where to Get Your Essay Edited

While any college essay can be intimidating, the Overcoming Challenges prompt often worries students the most. Those students who’ve been lucky enough not to experience trauma tend to assume they have nothing worth saying. On the other hand, students who’ve overcome larger obstacles may be hesitant to talk about them.

Regardless of your particular circumstances, there are steps you can take to make the essay writing process simpler. Here are our top tips for writing the overcoming challenges essay successfully.

What is the “Overcoming Challenges” Essay?

The overcoming challenges prompt shows up frequently in both main application essays (like the Common App) and supplemental essays. Because supplemental essays allow students to provide schools with additional information, applicants should be sure that the subject matter they choose to write about differs from what’s in their main essay.

Students often assume the overcoming challenges essay requires them to detail past traumas. While you can certainly write about an experience that’s had a profound effect on your life, it’s important to remember that colleges aren’t evaluating students based on the seriousness of the obstacle they overcame.

On the contrary, the goal of this essay is to show admissions officers that you have the intelligence and fortitude to handle any challenges that come your way. After all, college serves as an introduction to adult life, and schools want to know that the students they admit are up to the task. 

Real “Overcoming Challenges” Essay Prompts

To help you understand what the “Overcoming Challenges” essay looks like, here are a couple sample prompts.

Currently, the Common Application asks students to answer the following prompt in 650 words or less:

“The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?”

For the past several years, MIT has prompted students to write 200 to 250 words on the following:

“Tell us about the most significant challenge you’ve faced or something important that didn’t go according to plan. How did you manage the situation?”

In both cases, the prompts explicitly ask for your response to the challenge. The event itself isn’t as important as how it pushed you to grow.

How to Choose a Topic for an Essay on Overcoming Challenges

When it comes to finding the best topic for your overcoming challenges essays, there’s no right answer. The word “challenge” is ambiguous and could be used to reference a wide range of situations from prevailing over a bully to getting over your lifelong stage fright to appear in a school musical. Here are some suggestions to keep in mind when selecting an essay subject.

1. Avoid trivial or common topics

While there aren’t many hard-and-fast rules for choosing an essay topic, students should avoid overdone topics.

These include:

• Working hard in a challenging class
• Overcoming a sports injury
• Moving schools or immigrating to the US
• Tragedy (divorce, death, abuse)

Admissions officers have read numerous essays on the subject, so it’s harder for you to stand out (see our full list of cliché college essay topics to avoid ). If events like these were truly formative to you, you can still choose to write about them, but you’ll need to be as personal as possible. 

It’s also ideal if you have a less traditional storyline for a cliché topic; for example, if your sports injury led you to discover a new passion, that would be a more unique story than detailing how you overcame your injury and got back in the game.

Similarly, students may not want to write about an obstacle that admissions committees could perceive as low stakes, such as getting a B on a test, or getting into a small fight with a friend. The goal of this essay is to illustrate how you respond to adversity, so the topic you pick should’ve been at least impactful on your personal growth.

2. Pick challenges that demonstrate qualities you want to highlight

Students often mistakenly assume they need to have experienced exceptional circumstances like poverty, an abusive parent, or cancer to write a good essay. The truth is that the best topics will allow you to highlight specific personal qualities and share more about who you are. The essay should be less about the challenge itself, and more about how you responded to it.

Ask yourself what personality traits you want to emphasize, and see what’s missing in your application. Maybe you want to highlight your adaptability, for example, but that isn’t clearly expressed in your application. In this case, you might write about a challenge that put your adaptability to the test, or shaped you to become more adaptable.

Here are some examples of good topics we’ve seen over the years:

• Not having a coach for a sports team and becoming one yourself
• Helping a parent through a serious health issue
• Trying to get the school track dedicated to a coach
• Having to switch your Model UN position last-minute

Tips for Writing an Essay About Overcoming Challenges

Once you’ve selected a topic for your essays, it’s time to sit down and write. For best results, make sure your essay focuses on your efforts to tackle an obstacle rather than the problem itself. Additionally, you could avoid essay writing pitfalls by doing the following:

1. Choose an original essay structure

If you want your overcoming challenges essay to attract attention, aim to break away from more traditional structures. Most of these essays start by describing an unsuccessful attempt at a goal and then explain the steps the writer took to master the challenge. 

You can stand out by choosing a challenge you’re still working on overcoming, or focus on a mental or emotional challenge that spans multiple activities or events. For example, you might discuss your fear of public speaking and how that impacted your ability to coach your brother’s Little League team and run for Student Council. 

You can also choose a challenge that can be narrated in the moment, such as being put on the spot to teach a yoga class. These challenges can make particularly engaging essays, as you get to experience the writer’s thoughts and emotions as they unfold.

Keep in mind that you don’t necessarily need to have succeeded in your goal for this essay. Maybe you ran for an election and lost, or maybe you proposed a measure to the school board that wasn’t passed. It’s still possible to write a strong essay about topics like these as long as you focus on your personal growth. In fact, these may make for even stronger essays since they are more unconventional topics.

2. Focus on the internal

When writing about past experiences, you may be tempted to spend too much time describing specific people and events. With an Overcoming Challenges essay though, the goal is to focus on your thoughts and feelings.

For example, rather than detail all the steps you took to become a better public speaker, use the majority of your essay to describe your mental state as you embarked on the journey to achieving your goals. Were you excited, scared, anxious, or hopeful? Don’t be afraid to let the reader in on your innermost emotions and thoughts during this process.

3. Share what you learned 

An Overcoming Challenges essay should leave the reader with a clear understanding of what you learned on your journey, be it physical, mental, or emotional. There’s no need to explicitly say “this experience taught me X,” but your essay should at least implicitly share any lessons you learned. This can be done through your actions and in-the-moment reflections. Remember that the goal is to show admissions committees why your experiences make you a great candidate for admission. 

Was I no longer the beloved daughter of nature, whisperer of trees? Knee-high rubber boots, camouflage, bug spray—I wore the g arb and perfume of a proud wild woman, yet there I was, hunched over the pathetic pile of stubborn sticks, utterly stumped, on the verge of tears. As a child, I had considered myself a kind of rustic princess, a cradler of spiders and centipedes, who was serenaded by mourning doves and chickadees, who could glide through tick-infested meadows and emerge Lyme-free. I knew the cracks of the earth like the scars on my own rough palms. Yet here I was, ten years later, incapable of performing the most fundamental outdoor task: I could not, for the life of me, start a fire. 

Furiously I rubbed the twigs together—rubbed and rubbed until shreds of skin flaked from my fingers. No smoke. The twigs were too young, too sticky-green; I tossed them away with a shower of curses, and began tearing through the underbrush in search of a more flammable collection. My efforts were fruitless. Livid, I bit a rejected twig, determined to prove that the forest had spurned me, offering only young, wet bones that would never burn. But the wood cracked like carrots between my teeth—old, brittle, and bitter. Roaring and nursing my aching palms, I retreated to the tent, where I sulked and awaited the jeers of my family. 

Rattling their empty worm cans and reeking of fat fish, my brother and cousins swaggered into the campsite. Immediately, they noticed the minor stick massacre by the fire pit and called to me, their deep voices already sharp with contempt. 

“Where’s the fire, Princess Clara?” they taunted. “Having some trouble?” They prodded me with the ends of the chewed branches and, with a few effortless scrapes of wood on rock, sparked a red and roaring flame. My face burned long after I left the fire pit. The camp stank of salmon and shame. 

In the tent, I pondered my failure. Was I so dainty? Was I that incapable? I thought of my hands, how calloused and capable they had been, how tender and smooth they had become. It had been years since I’d kneaded mud between my fingers; instead of scaling a white pine, I’d practiced scales on my piano, my hands softening into those of a musician—fleshy and sensitive. And I’d gotten glasses, having grown horrifically nearsighted; long nights of dim lighting and thick books had done this. I couldn’t remember the last time I had lain down on a hill, barefaced, and seen the stars without having to squint. Crawling along the edge of the tent, a spider confirmed my transformation—he disgusted me, and I felt an overwhelming urge to squash him. 

Yet, I realized I hadn’t really changed—I had only shifted perspective. I still eagerly explored new worlds, but through poems and prose rather than pastures and puddles. I’d grown to prefer the boom of a bass over that of a bullfrog, learned to coax a different kind of fire from wood, having developed a burn for writing rhymes and scrawling hypotheses. 

That night, I stayed up late with my journal and wrote about the spider I had decided not to kill. I had tolerated him just barely, only shrieking when he jumped—it helped to watch him decorate the corners of the tent with his delicate webs, knowing that he couldn’t start fires, either. When the night grew cold and the embers died, my words still smoked—my hands burned from all that scrawling—and even when I fell asleep, the ideas kept sparking—I was on fire, always on fire.

This essay is an excellent example because the writer turns an everyday challenge—starting a fire—into an exploration of her identity. The writer was once “a kind of rustic princess, a cradler of spiders and centipedes,” but has since traded her love of the outdoors for a love of music, writing, and reading. 

The story begins in media res , or in the middle of the action, allowing readers to feel as if we’re there with the writer. One of the essay’s biggest strengths is its use of imagery. We can easily visualize the writer’s childhood and the present day. For instance, she states that she “rubbed and rubbed [the twigs] until shreds of skin flaked from my fingers.”

The writing has an extremely literary quality, particularly with its wordplay. The writer reappropriates words and meanings, and even appeals to the senses: “My face burned long after I left the fire pit. The camp stank of salmon and shame.” She later uses a parallelism to cleverly juxtapose her changed interests: “instead of scaling a white pine, I’d practiced scales on my piano.”

One of the essay’s main areas of improvement is its overemphasis on the “story” and lack of emphasis on the reflection. The second to last paragraph about changing perspective is crucial to the essay, as it ties the anecdote to larger lessons in the writer’s life. She states that she hasn’t changed, but has only shifted perspective. Yet, we don’t get a good sense of where this realization comes from and how it impacts her life going forward. 

The end of the essay offers a satisfying return to the fire imagery, and highlights the writer’s passion—the one thing that has remained constant in her life.

“Getting beat is one thing – it’s part of competing – but I want no part in losing.” Coach Rob Stark’s motto never fails to remind me of his encouragement on early-morning bus rides to track meets around the state. I’ve always appreciated the phrase, but an experience last June helped me understand its more profound, universal meaning.

Stark, as we affectionately call him, has coached track at my high school for 25 years. His care, dedication, and emphasis on developing good character has left an enduring impact on me and hundreds of other students. Not only did he help me discover my talent and love for running, but he also taught me the importance of commitment and discipline and to approach every endeavor with the passion and intensity that I bring to running. When I learned a neighboring high school had dedicated their track to a longtime coach, I felt that Stark deserved similar honors.

Our school district’s board of education indicated they would only dedicate our track to Stark if I could demonstrate that he was extraordinary. I took charge and mobilized my teammates to distribute petitions, reach out to alumni, and compile statistics on the many team and individual champions Stark had coached over the years. We received astounding support, collecting almost 3,000 signatures and pages of endorsements from across the community. With help from my teammates, I presented this evidence to the board.

They didn’t bite. 

Most members argued that dedicating the track was a low priority. Knowing that we had to act quickly to convince them of its importance, I called a team meeting where we drafted a rebuttal for the next board meeting. To my surprise, they chose me to deliver it. I was far from the best public speaker in the group, and I felt nervous about going before the unsympathetic board again. However, at that second meeting, I discovered that I enjoy articulating and arguing for something that I’m passionate about.

Public speaking resembles a cross country race. Walking to the starting line, you have to trust your training and quell your last minute doubts. When the gun fires, you can’t think too hard about anything; your performance has to be instinctual, natural, even relaxed. At the next board meeting, the podium was my starting line. As I walked up to it, familiar butterflies fluttered in my stomach. Instead of the track stretching out in front of me, I faced the vast audience of teachers, board members, and my teammates. I felt my adrenaline build, and reassured myself: I’ve put in the work, my argument is powerful and sound. As the board president told me to introduce myself, I heard, “runners set” in the back of my mind. She finished speaking, and Bang! The brief silence was the gunshot for me to begin. 

The next few minutes blurred together, but when the dust settled, I knew from the board members’ expressions and the audience’s thunderous approval that I had run quite a race. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough; the board voted down our proposal. I was disappointed, but proud of myself, my team, and our collaboration off the track. We stood up for a cause we believed in, and I overcame my worries about being a leader. Although I discovered that changing the status quo through an elected body can be a painstakingly difficult process and requires perseverance, I learned that I enjoy the challenges this effort offers. Last month, one of the school board members joked that I had become a “regular” – I now often show up to meetings to advocate for a variety of causes, including better environmental practices in cafeterias and safer equipment for athletes.

Just as Stark taught me, I worked passionately to achieve my goal. I may have been beaten when I appealed to the board, but I certainly didn’t lose, and that would have made Stark proud.

While the writer didn’t succeed in getting the track dedicated to Coach Stark, their essay is certainly successful in showing their willingness to push themselves and take initiative.

The essay opens with a quote from Coach Stark that later comes full circle at the end of the essay. We learn about Stark’s impact and the motivation for trying to get the track dedicated to him.

One of the biggest areas of improvement in the intro, however, is how the essay tells us Stark’s impact rather than showing us: His care, dedication, and emphasis on developing good character has left an enduring impact on me and hundreds of other students. Not only did he help me discover my talent and love for running, but he also taught me the importance of commitment and discipline and to approach every endeavor with the passion and intensity that I bring to running.

The writer could’ve helped us feel a stronger emotional connection to Stark if they had included examples of Stark’s qualities, rather than explicitly stating them. For example, they could’ve written something like: Stark was the kind of person who would give you gas money if you told him your parents couldn’t afford to pick you up from practice. And he actually did that—several times. At track meets, alumni regularly would come talk to him and tell him how he’d changed their lives. Before Stark, I was ambivalent about running and was on the JV team, but his encouragement motivated me to run longer and harder and eventually make varsity. Because of him, I approach every endeavor with the passion and intensity that I bring to running.

The essay goes on to explain how the writer overcame their apprehension of public speaking, and likens the process of submitting an appeal to the school board to running a race. This metaphor makes the writing more engaging and allows us to feel the student’s emotions.

While the student didn’t ultimately succeed in getting the track dedicated, we learn about their resilience and initiative: I now often show up to meetings to advocate for a variety of causes, including better environmental practices in cafeterias and safer equipment for athletes.

Overall, this essay is well-done. It demonstrates growth despite failing to meet a goal, which is a unique essay structure. The running metaphor and full-circle intro/ending also elevate the writing in this essay.

Where to Get Your Overcoming Challenges Essay Edited

The Overcoming Challenges essay is one of the trickier supplemental prompts, so it’s important to get feedback on your drafts. That’s why we created our free Peer Essay Review tool , where you can get a free review of your essay from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays. 

If you want a college admissions expert to review your essay, advisors on CollegeVine have helped students refine their writing and submit successful applications to top schools. Find the right advisor for you to improve your chances of getting into your dream school!

Related CollegeVine Blog Posts

How Do Students Perceive Academic Failure?

Failure is commonly associated with attrition, or “dropping out.” As a shared experience among undergraduate students, many studies have identified factors that contribute to attrition. However, there has been a gap in the literature on students’ perceptions of failure. In order to understand failure from the students’ standpoint, Ajjawi et al. (2020) aimed to answer the following three research questions:

• What proportion of students fail and how does academic failure influence their likelihood to persist or drop out?
• What are persisting students’ perceptions of precipitating factors for academic failure?
• What are persisting students’ emotional responses to academic failure? (p. 188)

For the study, Ajjawi et al. (2020) collected institutional data about enrollment status and course completion from over 9,000 students in an Australian college. To answer these questions, the researchers focused on the data of approximately 200 students, who had failed at least one course during their 2016 academic year, but persisted (or continued) with their studies.

Findings indicated the following about the first research question: 23% to 52% of students experienced failure. Students who failed were 4.19 times more likely to drop out than students who did not fail. However, that did not mean students who failed decided to drop out. Instead, data indicated that approximately 70% of students who failed one or more courses still persisted with their studies.

In response to the second research question, data showed that failure was multifaceted. It incorporated dispositional (students' character-related), situational (life circumstances), and institutional (procedures, policies, and structure of students' institutions) factors. Dispositional factors were defined as the students’ characteristics, such as their skills, abilities, beliefs, and self-confidence. Situational factors referred to the students’ life circumstances, including health concerns, employment status, and responsibilities outside of school. Lastly, institutional factors were operationalized as procedures, policies, and structures of the institution that the student was enrolled at.

The most common dispositional factors that contributed to failure were poor time management, lack of interest in the course, difficulty understanding the material, and personal lifestyle. Some prevalent situational factors included mental or physical health, financial responsibilities, and family responsibilities. Lastly, the most prevalent institutional factors were that there was too much memorization, the material was unengaging, and there was a lack of support from the staff and university. Though the three factors seemed independent of each other, they actually worked in conjunction, thus indicating the complexity of students’ decisions to persist or not. Students’ identities, both inside and outside of school, as well as the support they received from their institutions of education influenced students’ decisions about continuing their education.

Furthermore, student responses revealed that they had negative emotional responses to and conceptualization of academic failure. Many students correlated failure with disappointment towards the self. As a result, failure led to the loss of confidence and self-efficacy. 

Overall, the study debunked the notion that most students who fail will drop out of college. It also served to inform institutions of higher education to support students who are failing, so that they can recover from the academic failure, and persist with their education.

The study’s findings and the research questions also highlighted the current work being done at EPIC. Similar to the third research question, EPIC tries to understand students’ perception of failure by asking high school students to describe failure and to understand students’ stories of failure in school. Our data revealed that disappointment is a common theme associated with failure corresponding to the findings of Ajjawi et al. (2020).

To learn more about the study, visit the following link for the article: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07294360.2019.1664999 .

Ajjawi, R., et al. (2020). Persisting students’ explanations of and emotional responses to academic failure. Higher Education Research & Development, 39 (2), 185-199.

Published Wednesday, Dec 1, 2021

Striking Out: Sample Common Application Essay

Richard's Essay on His Losing Baseball Game and a Full Critique

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• Ph.D., English, University of Pennsylvania
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• B.S., Materials Science & Engineering and Literature, MIT

The following sample essay responds to the 2019-20 Common Application Prompt #2: "The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?" Read a critique of this essay to learn strategies and tips for writing your own .

Richard's Common Application Essay on Failure

Striking Out

I've played baseball ever since I could remember, but somehow, at fourteen, I still wasn't very good at it. You'd think that ten years of summer leagues and two older brothers who'd been the stars of their teams would have rubbed off on me, but you'd be wrong. I mean, I wasn't completely hopeless. I was pretty fast, and I could hit my oldest brother's fastball maybe three or four times out of ten, but I wasn't about to be scouted for college teams.

My team that summer, the Bengals, wasn't anything special, either. We had one or two pretty talented guys, but most, like me, were just barely what you could call decent. But somehow we'd almost scraped through the first round of playoffs, with only one game standing between us and semifinals. Predictably, the game had come down to the last inning, the Bengals had two outs and players on second and third base, and it was my turn at bat. It was like one of those moments you see in movies. The scrawny kid who no one really believed in hits a miraculous home run, winning the big game for his underdog team and becoming a local legend. Except my life wasn't The Sandlot , and any hopes my teammates or coach might've had for a last-minute rally to victory were crushed with my third swing-and-miss when the umpire sent me back to the dugout with a "strike three - you're out!"

I was inconsolably angry with myself. I spent the entire car ride home tuning out my parents' words of consolation, replaying my strike-out over and over in my head. For the next few days I was miserable thinking about how, if it hadn't been for me, the Bengals might have been on their way to a league victory, and nothing anyone said could convince me that the loss wasn't on my shoulders.

About a week later, some of my friends from the team got together at the park to hang out. When I arrived, I was a little surprised that no one seemed to be mad at me - after all, I'd lost us the game, and they had to be disappointed about not making it to the semifinals. It wasn't until we split into teams for an impromptu pickup game that I started to realize why no one was upset. Maybe it was the excitement of reaching the playoffs or the pressure of living up to my brothers' examples, but sometime during that game, I'd lost sight of why most of us played summer league baseball. It wasn't to win the championship, as cool as that would have been. It was because we all loved to play. I didn't need a trophy or a Hollywood come-from-behind win to have fun playing baseball with my friends, but maybe I needed to strike out to remember that.

A Critique of Richard's Essay

A lot can be learned from Richard's writing by looking at all of its pieces. By thinking objectively about another person's essay, you will be better off when it comes time to write your own because you will understand what admissions officers are looking for.

"Striking Out" isn't an overly clever title, but it gets the job done. It tells you that you are about to read an essay about failure and baseball. A good title  summarizes an essay and intrigues its readers but focus more on an appropriate title than on an interesting one.

Language and Tone

Richard leans into informal language such as "I mean" and "you'd think" to make his essay conversational and friendly. He introduces himself as an unimpressive athlete who doesn't quite measure up to his brothers, this humility making him more relatable to his readers. While this level of informality is not preferred by all colleges, most are looking to learn as much about your personality as possible. Richard's easy tone accomplishes this.

The language of the essay is also tight and engaging. Each sentence gets a point across and Richard is economical with his use of words to clearly convey the setting and situation. College admissions officers are likely to appreciate the overall clarity and meticulousness of Richard's essay.

Richard establishes and maintains a self-deprecating and humble voice throughout his writing His willingness to be honest about his shortcomings shows that he is sure of himself and also tells colleges that he has a healthy self-concept and isn't afraid of failing. By not boasting about athletic prowess, Richard demonstrates a valuable quality of self-assuredness that colleges admire.

College admissions officers read many essays about sports, especially from applicants that are more interested in playing sports at college than getting an education. In fact, one of the top 10 bad essay topics  is the hero essay in which an applicant brags about making a goal that won their team the championship. Self-congratulatory essays have the effect of distancing you from the authentic qualities of successful college students and are therefore never a good idea.

Richard's essay has nothing to do with heroism. He is not claiming to be a star or over-inflating his abilities and his honesty is refreshing. His essay perfectly satisfies every aspect of the prompt by presenting a clear moment of failure and a significant lesson learned without blowing his accomplishments out of proportion. He managed to take the cliché topic of sports and turn it on its head, which admissions officers are much more likely to respect.

Richard's essay would be appropriate in most but not all situations. If he were hoping to play a sport competitively for a college, this would be the wrong essay. It would not impress NCAA scouts or make him likely to be recruited. This essay would be best for universities more interested in his personality than his baseball skills. Any college looking for mature, self-aware applicants with affable personalities would be drawn to Richard's story of failure.

A Final Word

Always keep in mind that the purpose of the Common Application essay is for colleges to learn who you are. While grades  and test scores will be considered, admissions offices will also be using more subjective and  holistic  information about what you are like as a person. Richard succeeds in making a good impression by being a strong and engaging writer with a positive sense of self. Most would agree that he seems like the type of student who would be a useful addition to the campus community.

While the essay is successful, keep in mind that your own essay needs to have nothing in common with this sample and you should not use it as a model. There are innumerable ways to approach the idea of a challenge, setback, or failure and your essay needs to be true to your own experiences and personality.

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Essay on Failure In School

Students are often asked to write an essay on Failure In School in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Failure In School

Understanding failure.

Failure in school is when you do not reach the set goals in your studies. It can be getting a low grade on a test or not understanding a subject. This is often seen as a bad thing. But, it’s not always like that.

The Reasons for Failure

The impact of failure.

Failure can make you feel bad. You might think that you are not smart enough. This can make you lose interest in school. But remember, everyone fails at some point. It is a part of learning.

Learning from Failure

The good thing about failure is that it can help you learn. When you fail, you can find out what you did wrong. Then, you can try to do better next time. So, failure can actually help you grow.

Overcoming Failure

250 words essay on failure in school, what is failure in school.

Failure in school is when a student does not meet the expected standards or goals in their studies. This can happen in tests, assignments, or overall grades. It can make a student feel bad or lose confidence.

Reasons for Failure

There are many reasons why students fail in school. Some students find it hard to understand what is being taught. Others may not have enough time to study because they are busy with other things. Sometimes, a student may not have the right tools, like books or a quiet place to study.

Failure can make a student feel sad or upset. It can also make them feel like they are not good enough. This can lead to less interest in learning and lower grades in the future.

Turning Failure into Success

Even though failure can feel bad, it can also be a chance to learn and grow. When a student fails, it shows them where they need to improve. They can then work on these areas to get better. It is important to remember that everyone makes mistakes and it is okay to fail sometimes.

Support from Others

Teachers, parents, and friends can help a student who is struggling. They can give advice, help with studying, or just be there to listen. With the right support, a student can turn their failure into success.

500 Words Essay on Failure In School

Understanding failure in school.

Failure in school is a topic that we often avoid talking about. Yet, it is something that most of us have faced at one point or another. It could be a low grade on a test, not making the team, or not getting the role in the school play. It’s important to remember that it’s okay to fail and that we can learn a lot from these experiences.

The Meaning of Failure

When we talk about failure in school, we usually think about getting bad grades. But failure can mean different things to different people. For some, it might be not doing as well as they wanted in a sports event. For others, it might be not being able to understand a tough subject. It’s not just about grades, but about not meeting our own or others’ expectations.

Why Do We Fail?

Dealing with failure.

Dealing with failure can be hard. It can make us feel sad, upset, or even angry. But it’s important to remember that it’s okay to feel these things. What’s not okay is to let these feelings stop us from trying again. We need to pick ourselves up, learn from our mistakes, and keep going. We should also remember to ask for help when we need it. Teachers, parents, and friends can provide support and advice.

The Bright Side of Failure

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Causes of Students’ Failure and Success

Introduction, failure of students.

Every year thousands of graduates look for jobs with degrees and diplomas that they do not deserve. On getting the jobs employers realize that their employees are not competent enough to do the job efficiently, this is because most graduates cheated their way through the education system. Some of the employees who would be lucky will go back to school to gain the required knowledge to do their job. According to Sherry, 1991 many students wish they had someone to point them in the right direction when they were doing drugs and partying a lot without any studies.

One of the major factors influencing the success of a person is his education system. Learning institutions are made of different teachers with different teaching methods. A teacher may decide to make a student look good by giving him/her good grades not because the student deserves the grades but because the student is highly disciplined and does not cause any trouble (Sherry, 1991). By doing so the teacher is not helping the student’s future cause eventually he/she will be on his/her own and would not be able to reproduce what his/her certificates contain. Similarly when a student causes trouble the same instructor would threaten him/her with a flank hoping to change their character and should the student not change they will fail them intentionally just to show them that they run the show in school. That is to show the trump card of failure.

The whole debate brings us to the question: what causes students’ failure and who is to blame?

A student’s future whether he will succeed in life mainly depends on his education system. If he had a good education system then his probability of having a better life is high and if the system was poor, the opposite is true. An education system comprises of the student and his environment, where his environment includes: the school, his teachers, parents and the whole family as a whole.

Failure in a student’s future can be influenced by many factors. For instance, a student could be well-mannered, obedient but not bright enough. During examinations and assessments the teacher decides to pass him even though he does not deserve the pass. The teacher does this just to save him the embarrassment of being called a flank. The scholar goes through the system passing all levels and eventually graduates. Due to his good ‘grades’ he is employed in his field of study. Employers expect much from them but in the long run they end up disappointed, this is because the students were cheated by their education systems. Sooner or later they are fired from their place of work reason being they could not perform according to their standards. In this case their teachers are to blame for their failure. This is because they chose to spare their scholars the short-term embarrassment and thus causing them a lifetime embarrassment. It would have been better if the intellectual was given whatever grade he/she deserved. In that way they would know how good they were and probably look for a way of improving their grades or even better look for something they are good in (Sherry, 1991).

Parents too have influence on their children’s future. They tend to be overconfident in their children’s performance. For example a parent who is a doctor and would wish his/her to be doctor will influence their children making them believe they could be doctors when actually they can’t. They will dictate how their children should perform to drive their point of making their children believe they can be doctors. If evaluated from a different perspective they are right in believing in their sons and daughters, but what they forget is that whatever dreams they are fighting for are theirs and not their children’s. Finally, an intellectual ends up doing what he cannot; hence, they are not able to realize their dreams. In so doing the parents contribute a great deal in ruining their children’s future. If they can let children find what they can do best and help them achieve their dreams they would have done their children more good than making them pass hoping to make them what to be brighter in future.

Parents and teachers become selfish when they make themselves look good by intentionally passing their students just to build a good name for themselves, but instead they are destroying their children’s future, they should let them endure the embarrassment then and enjoy later on.

Generally, a child’s success entirely depends on his environment. His teachers and parents have a great influence in determining their future. They can either build it or destroy it. If they both can realize a student’s potential they can easily help him/her out instead of lying to them that they are better than what they are. A scholar’s attitude has great influence in determining his future. If he/she too can realize their potential they can influence their life through the education system by demanding what they deserve and not accepting what is given to them on a silver platter. It can be concluded that all parties (parents, teachers and students themselves) are responsible for a child’s future and should all take the blame in case of a failure.

Gracia, Louise. An exploration of student failure on undergraduate accounting programme of study, 2002. Web.

Sherry, Mary In praise of the “F” word, 1991.2010 Web.

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To build resilience, we need to embrace failure in the classroom and beyond

Let’s redefine failure by changing the way we teach, assess and support students and staff. Ibham Veza, Mhadi A. Ismael and Taib Iskandar Mohamad outline how

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Learning to handle and grow from failure is essential for personal and professional development. Students are frequently required to tackle high-stakes assessments and expectations in higher education, and as a result, the prospect of failure can feel overwhelming. By incorporating room for failure in university systems and practices, teachers, lecturers and educators can create a more resilient and adaptable learning environment, one that fosters development and innovation.

• How to work smarter, not harder in higher education
• Preparing students to succeed in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world
• Questions beyond majors: developing mental maturity in students  

Rethink achievement and failure

Redefining what success and failure mean in the context of higher education is the first step in embracing failure. To do this, switch from a concentration on grades and performance metrics in favour of an emphasis on the development of adaptability and critical thinking, as well as problem-solving. 

• Encourage students to set personal objectives and monitor their progress, instead of comparing themselves with others. For instance, in the first semester, students are asked to set specific goals like mastering a piece of software, a language or a teamwork skill. We were surprised by the diverse and personal nature of these goals, which boosted students’ ownership of learning. This shows the power of personalised goal-setting in enhancing students’ educational experience.
• Develop evaluation criteria in the rubric that emphasise growth, development, effort and positive reaction to failure in addition to outcomes. 
• Promote a growth mindset by emphasising the significance of effort, perseverance and error-based learning. We can do this by allowing students to revise and improve their work based on feedback, highlighting that learning from mistakes is a valuable part of the process. Additionally, discussing “failures” as learning opportunities in class can help students see that effort and perseverance are key to growth and success.

Design flexible assessment methods

Give your students multiple opportunities to demonstrate their comprehension and let them learn from their errors, by incorporating flexible assessment procedures.

• Provide a variety of assessment formats, including essays, presentations, group projects and exams, so that students can demonstrate their strengths and resolve their weaknesses. 
• Permit students to revise and resubmit their work after receiving feedback, emphasising the significance of development and improvement. In a thermodynamics course, for example, we allowed students to revise and resubmit their problem sets after receiving feedback on their initial attempts, which helped them grasp complex concepts better and significantly improve their understanding and application of thermodynamic principles in subsequent submissions.
• Use low-stakes assessments, including quizzes and in-class activities, which provide direct feedback and opportunities for students to learn from their mistakes. We implemented weekly low-stakes quizzes that provided immediate feedback, allowing students to identify and correct their misconceptions early on, leading to a noticeable improvement in their performance and confidence on major exams.
• Provide opportunity for students to explain their perceived errors in assessment submissions as an alternative assessment.

Promote a reflection and feedback culture

Developing a culture of reflection and feedback can assist students and lecturers in identifying areas for development and improvement.

• Conduct periodic feedback sessions in which students can discuss their progress and what obstacles they face — and strategies for overcoming them.
• Encourage students to engage in self-evaluation and reflection, identifying areas for development and setting objectives for the future. Hold dedicated feedback sessions where they can assess their progress, identify strengths and weaknesses, and set personal goals for improvement.
• Provide constructive feedback on assignments and examinations, highlighting specific enhancement areas and offering actionable advice.

Provide assistance to students who are failing

With the right support, students experiencing hardship can develop resilience and learn from their experiences.

• Provide academic support services, such as tutoring, writing centres and study skills seminars, to assist students in acquiring the skills necessary for success. 
• Offer mental health (as well as wellness) resources to help students in handling anxiety, tension and feelings of failure. 

Foster a collaborative culture and peer-to-peer learning

Creating an environment in which students feel secure discussing their failures and able to ask for assistance from their peers can promote a healthier perspective.

• Encourage students to work together and share their knowledge to improve their problem-solving abilities. By teaching others, they can enhance their own learning environment.
• Establish peer mentoring programmes in which students can share their experiences, provide advice and offer support. 
• Plan seminars and events that discuss overcoming failure, resiliency and personal development.

Integrate failure into faculty evaluation and development

To establish a culture that embraces failure, faculty participation is essential.

• Encourage faculty members to reflect and share their failures and what they have learned from their difficult situations in their research and teaching. 
• Offer opportunities for professional development that emphasise embracing failure, cultivating resilience and implementing innovative teaching strategies.

Promote creativity and risk-taking

By encouraging students and faculty to take risks and investigate new ideas, a university culture that embraces failure can foster innovation and creativity.

• Promote interdisciplinary research collaborations, allowing students and faculty to experiment with new methods and gain exposure to a variety of perspectives. 
• Provide students and faculty with opportunities to engage in innovative projects and research, even if they bear a greater risk of failure. The Shell Eco-marathon, for example, challenges teams to design, build and test energy-efficient vehicles, encouraging creativity, problem-solving and resilience in the face of technical and operational challenges.
• Recognise and celebrate innovation, risk-taking and perseverance in both academic and extracurricular accomplishments.

By taking a new approach to success and failure, universities have the opportunity to create a learning environment that recognises failure as an integral part of growth and development, helping both students and lecturers become more resilient and adaptable.

Ibham Veza, Mhadi A. Ismael and Taib Iskandar Mohamad are faculty members in the mechanical engineering department at Universiti Teknologi Petronas.

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Failure Is Essential to Learning

One of my favorite things to say when doing strategic planning with teachers is that the plan has a 50 percent chance of success and a 100 percent chance of teaching us how to get "smarter" about delivering on our mission.

I love saying this because it conveys an essential truth: Failure is not a bad thing. It is a guaranteed and inevitable part of learning. In any and all endeavors, and especially as a learning organization, we will experience failure, as surely as a toddler will fall while learning to walk.

Unfortunately, in education, particularly in this high-stakes accountability era, failure has become the term attached to our persistent challenges. Wholesale problems, such as the achievement gap and the high school dropout rate, are labeled as "education failures." We argue over how to "prevent" more failure. Increasingly, failure has come to mean something terrible, something to be avoided, and shunned.

Why Failure Is Important

Early educational reformer John Dewey said it best: "Failure is instructive. The person who really thinks learns quite as much from his failures as from his successes." At Envision Education , we embrace Dewey's notion of failure, believing it to be essential to learning. I'm not talking about dead-end failure, the kind that results in loss of opportunity, regression, or stagnation.

Instead, we see failure as an opportunity for students to receive feedback on their strengths as well as their areas of improvement -- all for the purpose of getting better. When reframed as a good, constructive, and essential part of learning, failure is a master teacher.

In Envision Schools, failure is an intentional part of our school design and, consequently, our culture. It has to be. The majority of our students enter ninth grade with a strong personal -- and negative -- understanding of failure, based on a chronic lack of school success.

To help these kids make the kind of gains they need to master the Common Core State Standards as well as Envision's competencies and leadership skills, students must learn to receive feedback and also how to use it to improve. As such, "failure" -- not achieving as highly as they are capable of -- becomes a close friend on each student's journey through high school and college.

How do you make failure students' friend? Set a high standard and don't be afraid to tell students that they haven't met it. But in the next breath, give detailed suggestions on what they can do to improve. And, most important -- though so often given short shrift -- allow students the time, space, and support to make the revisions. In such a culture, failure does not mean, "You lose." It means, "You can do better. We believe in you. Here is some feedback: revise, and try again."

One Student's Story

Meet one student whose story illustrates the power of seeing failure as a friend. Tiana is not only the first in her family to go to college, but also the first in her family to graduate from high school. Although she came to Envision at eleventh grade, a lack of credits required her to repeat tenth grade.

Tragically, at the beginning of her first year at our school, her mother passed way. Her teachers and advisor visited her at home to see how she was doing and offer support to her and her family. She came back to school determined to work hard to succeed. She persisted, and reached her senior year with enough credits and a grade point average that qualified her for California State University.

To graduate from Envision, she still needed to pass her senior year portfolio defense. And here, she failed her first attempt. She delivered a defense presentation that fell short of the high standards her teachers expected of her. But with targeted feedback, support, and coaching from the same teachers who visited her at her home, she was well equipped to do better.

She revised, prepared again, and eventually delivered a high-quality portfolio defense that demonstrated her readiness for college. Today, she is attending Sonoma State University and majoring in education so that she can become a teacher.

In this video, learn how Envision students work with their teachers to prepare for their portfolio defenses:

Over time, Envision teachers have come to see that the students such as Tiana who don't pass on their first attempt are, in fact, the fortunate ones; what they learn by persisting and maturing through failure pays off down the line.

And because this reframing of failure is modeled so publicly and systemically by the portfolio defenses, our teachers, convinced of its power, tend to recreate similar cycles of failure and redemption in their day-to-day classroom instruction, where school culture lives.

Educators need to be intentional about designing and building schools where students are friends with failure. Such environments truly prepare students for transformative success, in college and beyond.

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Failures are the Pillars of Success Essay

As the old saying goes, one must not give up; keep fighting till the end. Likewise, only when somebody pursues victory tirelessly, they stand to win at some point in their lives. Everybody does not achieve success for the simple fact that they give up quickly. Just when victory was lying in wait, they stopped moving.

The road to success is a narrow path that is not often taken by many. One must take challenges head-on to achieve the desired result. Long Essays on Failures Are the Pillars of SuccessFailures teach us the best lessons in life. One cannot deny the fact that life is indeed a slow struggle. At times, one wonders if they can make it until the next day or not. In this essay on failure is the pillar of success; one learns that life gives a taste of both failures and success.

A man cannot always be successful in life, and none have achieved it so far. That is because failures tend to attack when nobody expects it in different forms. It can be in the form of financial or medical issues. Even successful men tend to fail after succeeding immensely in life. One must understand that failures highlight the drawbacks in the preparation. It is like a student appearing for an exam and scoring bad marks. Perhaps, his preparation was not adequate. 

There is no crime in making mistakes, but not learning from them, it certainly is. Even if one has failed several times, there is no harm in giving it another try. The story of KFC is often heard about. The true story is about the constant failures and struggles of Colonel Harland Sanders. But in the end, he is determined after failing more than 1000 times. He finally succeeds at the age of 65, which is considered retirement for many people. He did not feel bad when more than 1000 people rejected his recipe. Instead, he believed in his recipe and himself.

Faith and belief in oneself also help one to succeed. It just goes to show what determination, dedication, and ambition can do. Failures give another opportunity to come back with more vigor, energy, and preparation. In the paragraph on failures are the pillars of success, one can read about the likes of Abraham Lincoln and Steve Jobs. They carved their niche in the world. Abraham Lincoln lost several elections disastrously. Even his people gave up on him. He never let failure get the better of him and kept coming back strongly and fighting courageously. Steve Jobs, on the other hand, was removed from the company he founded.

Why do People Fail in the Journey of Success

As soon as you realize failure will always be part of life, the faster you will be able to learn from your mistakes. When you fail, there are two things you can do:

 (1)  Reason for failure and  try to make it work. Or 

 (2) To Realize it is never going to work, and then move on to the next idea.

Hence failures are part of life

Reasons for failure:

People don’t believe they can be successful in their lives.

Lack of perseverance and consistent efforts.

 Lack of humbleness.

If they are unable  to connect and build strong relationships.

If they are Easily distracted by the others 

Lack of vision.

Forgetting  of Past Mistakes. Should be done to make firm decisions for the future as they can't be changed.

Lack of self Discipline and self confidence at believing in themselves.

Failures are Essential to Unlock the Door  for Success.

Failure is inevitable in life but it gives us the chance to jump back, to learn from our mistakes, and helps us to enjoy success. Failure can be disturbing, however, as Winston Churchill reminded us, "success is all about going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm”.

Failure Is the biggest and greatest Life’s Teacher in everyone's life.

Failure Will help You to reach  new heights and reveal new   potential for you.

Failure builds  Character and makes you humble.

Failure builds and molds you into a strong person. 

Three Ways To Grow From Failure

HumblenessAlways be humble in every situation. Confession of your mistakes will make you relieve yourself and let go of your ego so that you can concentrate on your future ventures.

Compassion. Acknowledging mistakes is upsetting, and almost unbearable but try to come out to start with a ray of hope and light.

Openness to learning.Always believe in the learning process .We fail because lack of proper learning.Upskilling yourself is the biggest investment you can make for yourself.

Steps to Get Success 

There are various  simple rules that you can follow to become truly successful.It entirely depends on a person as he might have his own way to get success.

Always be Passionate about doing things which you really love to do. 

Always work really hard for things which you really want to achieve.Good things are attained only through consistent efforts.

Always be good and try to be humble in any situation though it is really tough. 

Focusing on yourself is more important than focusing on what others are doing.

Always try to Push your Limits. 

Help and try to encourage others who are needed. 

Create new Ideas and don't be afraid to explore them because the world has so many opportunities where sky is the only limit.

FAQs on Failures are the Pillars of Success Essay

1. Why do people Crave for success?

We crave for Success just for gaining appreciation, fame, acceptance, and respect. These are the inspirations which make us think that we are happy when we achieve all of them. We feel we're loved, respected, contented, and happy. But even after this are we fully happy and content with what we have achieved?People love to be noticed in society at office and hence they really work hard to become successful.

2. Reasons why people don't succeed in life?

The  Reasons Why Some People Never Succeed in life 

• People  don't understand the value of time. They take everything for granted.
• They don't  have goals and they procrastinate.
• They never put efforts to do something .
• hey set their own limitations and don't try to take new efforts or take new decisions in their life.
• They make excuses and push them for the future.
• They don't keep up to their words.
• They always waste time and never concentrate on self growth or development.

3. What kind of problems can people face if they don't get success?

People feel depressed when they don't get success and they become distracted and sometimes develop suicidal tendencies.

There's no  proven  single cause of depression. It can occur for a variety of reasons and it has many different triggers. For some people, depression occurs because of stressful life events, loss of love,  loss of beloved ones , divorce, illness,  and job or money issues. Different causes can often lead  to depression.

4. Should success and failures be taught to children?

Yes, we have to teach success and failures to our children right from childhood. We should also teach them that success and failures are part of our life journey. We should accept our failures in the same way as we accept our success. We should also teach children that failure  is part of life. We should teach them how to overcome failures by embracing them. Here are the following steps to be taught to children how to embrace once failure:

7 Ways to Teach Kids Failure Is a Great Thing.  

• Always Focus on a Growth of self, tit can be done by always thinking positive Mindset.

Failures occur only when you do something and always teach children that failing by doing things is always good rather than not trying at all.

• Embrace (and Celebrate) Failure. 
• Make them look at the positive side of things by encouraging them to work for things which they really love to do.

5. Can reading books help us to come out of failures?

Yes, reading books definitely helps us to come out of our failures. We get motivated by studying some good books if you are a book lover. No person in the world has attained success very easily. A  lot of patience and hard work goes into effort to attain success. Books are written by some people who have experienced this success in real life. Books inculcate a mind full of positivity and determination. Some books which really helpful are as follow:

Learning how to fly by APJ Abdul Kalam

 The power of subconscious mind 

Atomic habits

 Life is what you make it.

6. What Can One Learn from the Failures That Are the Pillars of a Successful Essay?

It is not a mistake to fall but to learn from the experience. Success does not come overnight but is a result of determination, hard work and perseverance. Failures help one learn from their mistakes and teach important lessons.

A true champion is the one who has fallen, broken, tolled and defeated But she comes back to win what she desperately wants. They know the real value of victory One can shape their destiny using this kind of attitude in life.

7. Does the Essay on Failure is the Pillar of Success and Talks Only About Successful People?

It talks about the attitude and mindset of how successful people embraced failures. They did not let losses in their helds affect them. Instead, they worked harder, bolder, and came back enthusiastically to finish their goals emphatically.

When one is tempted to run away from failures, they must remember that cowards walk away Heroes do not walk away, Rome was not built overnight. Likewise, a child did not get up and walk instantly. It took several falls and tears for that first step.

Fear of failure and academic satisfaction: the mediating role of emotion regulation difficulties and procrastination

• Open access
• Published: 24 June 2024

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You have full access to this open access article

• Erdinç Duru   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7027-4937 1 ,
• Murat Balkis 1 &
• Sibel Duru 1  

This study investigates the mediating mechanisms that play a crucial role in the relationship between fear of failure and academic satisfaction and between fear of failure and procrastination. The study sample consists of 292 undergraduate students enrolled in different departments of the university. Within the scope of this study, emotion regulation difficulties may be one of the mediating mechanisms in this reciprocal relationship, the findings provide evidence that procrastination functions as a mediating variable in the relationship between fear of failure, difficulty in emotion regulation, and academic satisfaction while difficulty in emotion regulation acts as a mediator in the relationship between fear of failure and procrastination. Therefore, the findings of this study suggest that interventions aimed at improving the individual's emotion regulation skills may play an important role in overcoming the negative effects associate with the fear of failure on procrastination and academic satisfaction.

Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.

Procrastination is the intentional postponement or delay of a planned action, even if one assumes that this delay will lead to negative results or make things worse in the future (Steel, 2007 ). Recently, the prevalence of academic procrastination has increased in the student population. For example, the current rate for the year 2022 is reported to be 74% (Zhang et al., 2022 ), whereas this rate for the university student population was 46 in 1984 (Solomon & Rothblum, 1984 ) and 52% in 2009 (Özer et al., 2009 ). Existing data suggest that procrastination affects academic performance (Kim & Seo, 2015 ), academic (Balkis, 2013 ; Balkis & Duru, 2016 ), and overall life satisfaction (Balkis & Duru, 2021 ; Beutel et al., 2016 ).

The cost and high prevalence of academic procrastination have raised the question of why students engage in such harmful behavior. In the existing literature, fear of failure has long been recognized as a primary reason for procrastination (Berry, 1975 ; Burka & Yuen, 2008 ; Covington, 1993 ; Ellis & Knaus, 1977 ; Ferrari et al., 1995 ; Haghbin et al., 2012 ). Fear of failure is a concept related to students’ academic performance and success. This concept encompasses avoidance behaviors in the area of achievement. Specifically, fear of failure can be seen as a tendency to avoid failure in situations where the probability of success is low and the probability of being hurt by failure is high (Elliot & Thrash, 2004 ). From a different scientific perspective, Martin and Marsh ( 2003 ) emphasize the fact that fear of failure and the avoidance of failure are closely linked, but are based on different behavioral constructs. According to them, fear of failure is a cognitive construct and avoidance of failure is a behavioral construct. On the other hand, these two conceptual structures can also be seen as complementary processes. Fear of failure as a cognitive construct can facilitate subsequent avoidance behavior to protect the self from being hurt. Therefore, it can be assumed that students with a high fear of failure are more likely to postpone their academic duties and responsibilities. To illustrate, procrastination behavior can serve a defense function against the fear of failure, as emphasized by Berry ( 1975 ). Similarly, Covington ( 1993 ) states that students use many defense mechanisms to avoid the fear of failure, and procrastination is indeed one of them. Failure-avoidant students are driven by fear of failure and self-doubt. They are anxious and uncertain about their ability to avoid failure or to achieve success. Although these students work hard, they are negatively affected when they encounter setbacks and their resilience is low. Because of their fear of failure, they sometimes deliberately sabotage their chances of success, thus creating an excuse for their poor performance (Martin & Marsh, 2003 ). These students may actively sabotage their chances of success by procrastinating by leaving tasks to the last minute, or by putting in little effort (Elliot & Church, 2003 ). Thus, they find excuses for their failures. This excuse serves to protect their 'self' from being hurt since they can attribute their poor performance to their procrastination rather than a possible indication for their lack of talent (Covington, 1992 ; Covington & Omelich, 1991 ; Martin & Marsh, 2003 ). Based on their clinical observations, Burka and Yuen ( 2008 ) also suggest that people who put off their work and wait until the last minute are afraid of being judged by others. These people fear that their work will be perceived as inadequate by others and that even their best efforts will not be enough (Burka & Yuen, 2008 ). In parallel, earlier evidence suggests that students cite fear of failure as the main reason for procrastination (Özer et al., 2009 ; Solomon & Rothblum, 1984 ). Several studies attempt to test this assumption to determine whether fear of failure is one of the main causes of procrastination (Ackerman & Gross, 2005 ; Balkis & Duru, 2019 ; Eckert et al., 2016 ; Fatimah et al., 2011 ; Haghbin et al., 2012 ; Krause & Freund, 2016 ; Mih & Mih, 2016 ; Schouwenburg, 1992 , 1995 ; Steel, 2007 ; Zhang et al., 2022 ).

The available cross-sectional studies provide mixed evidence for the effects of fear of failure on procrastination behavior. While some studies report that fear of failure is not significantly associated with procrastination (e.g., Ackerman & Gross, 2005 ; Schouwenburg, 1992 , 1995 ), other studies report that procrastination is significantly associated with fear of failure (e.g., Balkis & Duru, 2019 ; Haghbin et al., 2012 ; Krause & Freund, 2016 ; Steel, 2007 ; Zhang et al., 2022 ). The inconsistency of research findings on the relationship between fear of failure and procrastination points to the existence of some mechanisms that moderate or mediate the relationship between the two variables (Haghbin et al., 2012 ). A study was conducted by Haghbin et al. ( 2012 ) to test the aforementioned assumptions. The results indicated that competence moderates the relationship between fear of failure and procrastination, while satisfaction with the need for autonomy mediates this relationship. The findings also suggested that the direction of the relationship between fear of failure and procrastination is positive and significant in students with low levels of competence (Haghbin et al., 2012 ). A recent study has demonstrated that rational beliefs moderate the direct effect of fear of failure on procrastination. The relationship between these two variables is stronger in students with low rational beliefs (Balkis & Duru, 2019 ). Another variable that could play a role as a mediator in the relationship between fear of failure and procrastination is the difficulties in emotion regulation.

Emotion regulation is conceptualized as a process by which people regulate and change their emotional experiences and expressions to respond appropriately to the ever-changing demands of the environment(Gratz and Roemer ( 2004 ). The process of emotion regulation involves the awareness and understanding of the emotions experienced and the acceptance of the emotion in which the person finds themselves. In addition, emotion regulation requires the ability to control one's impulsive behavior, the development of the ability to act according to one's goals, the regulation of one's emotional reactions depending on the situation and individual goals, and the ability to apply these strategies (Gratz & Roemer, 2004 ). Inadequacies, difficulties, or hardships at any stage of the process can be conceptualized as emotion regulation difficulties, as mentioned earlier (Gratz & Roemer, 2004 ). In other words, emotion regulation difficulties occur when emotions are not properly regulated. In these situations in which difficulties in emotion regulation occur, it is possible that emotions are not understood and accepted by the person, that strategies for emotion regulation cannot be used, that impulses cannot be controlled when experiencing negative emotions, and that goal-oriented behaviors cannot be carried out (Gratz & Roemer, 2004 ).

If we consider procrastination in the context of emotion regulation, Pychyl and Sirois ( 2016 ) suggest that individuals who exhibit greater impulsivity or weaker self-discipline may be more prone to procrastination as a means of satisfying their desire for short-term mood elevation. In this case, procrastination acts as a kind of emotion regulation strategy. Baumeister and Heatherton ( 1996 ) suggest that procrastination functions as short-term emotion regulation when a person tends to delay starting a task that causes anxiety. Following this definition, Tice et al. ( 2001 ) state that people are more likely to procrastinate when they are working on a task that triggers an unpleasant feeling and believe that alternative activities can change this emotional state. People who fear failure become anxious when asked to perform their duties and try to reduce their anxiety by postponing work as much as possible (Milgram & Toubiana, 1999 ). More recent studies have emphasized that having difficulty in effectively regulating unpleasant emotions promotes procrastination behavior (Mohammadi Bytamar et al., 2020 ). In other words, individuals who are afraid of failure often try to get rid of or distract themselves from unpleasant feelings by avoiding dealing with the problem because they are unable to effectively control and regulate these fears. Therefore, difficulties in emotion regulation may mediate the relationship between fear of failure and procrastination.

Although procrastination can provide temporary relief, it often leads to long-term negative emotions such as stress (Sirois, 2014 ), anxiety (Gadosey et al., 2021 ), guilt (Oflazian & Borders, 2023 ), and regret (Ferrari et al., 2009 ). In addition, students with high levels of procrastination do not complete their assignments on time, resulting in poorer academic performance (Kim & Seo, 2015 ), which further reduces their academic satisfaction. The level of procrastination can have a significant impact on students' satisfaction with their academic life, which refers to students’ subjective evaluation of whether their goals and expectations are met by educational activities at school (Li et al., 2013 ). Previous studies have consistently demonstrated the negative effects of procrastination on academic life satisfaction. For example, Studies have found that students who procrastinate tend to report lower levels of academic satisfaction (Scheunemann et al., 2022 ), greater dissatisfaction with their school experience (Chow, 2011 ), and lower overall satisfaction with their studies (Grunschel et al., 2013 ). These findings suggest that procrastination can lead to a stressful and unsatisfying academic life.

The current study

The present study focuses on the relationships between fear of failure, procrastination, difficulties in emotion regulation, and academic life satisfaction. Although the relationships between these variables are well documented in the existing literature, the mechanisms involved in the interrelationship between these variables are not well understood. Therefore, this study aims to investigate emotion regulation difficulties as a possible mediating mechanism in the relationship between fear of failure and procrastination, as well as the role of emotion regulation difficulties and procrastination behavior as potential mediating mechanisms in the relationship between fear of failure and academic satisfaction. As mentioned earlier, people often procrastinate when confronted with unpleasant feelings and use it as a coping mechanism to put off tasks (Mohammadi Bytamar et al., 2020 ). While procrastination can temporarily alleviate discomfort, the closer the deadline approaches, the more difficult it becomes to successfully complete tasks, further complicating the problem (Baumeister & Heatherton, 1996 ). This can lead to negative emotions and unsatisfactory academic performance. Even more clearly, students who fear failure engage in avoidance or procrastination behaviors when they have difficulty regulating this emotion, and their procrastination tendencies may subsequently decrease their academic satisfaction. Based on these explanations, the following hypotheses can be tested:

H1: Emotion regulation difficulties would mediate the relationship between fear of failure and procrastination.

H2: Procrastination would mediate the relationship between fear of failure, emotion regulation difficulties, and academic satisfaction (Fig. 1 ). 

The proposed hypothetic model

Participants

Participants aged 18 years and older were recruited for this study. The current sample consists of 292 students from different academic departments of Pamukkale University. The majority of the sample is female ( N  = 242, 82.9%), with the remainder being male ( N  = 50, 17.1%). The age of the participants ranged from 18 to 37 years (mean age = 20.71 years, SD  = 2.23 years). Participants in this study were informed that participation in the study was completely voluntary and that they could withdraw from the study at any time. Participants who signed the informed consent form were informed that their data would be treated confidentially at all times. The students received no additional compensation for their participation.

Instruments

Tuckman procrastination scale-turkish version (tps-tv).

The TPS-TV is a 14-item self-report measure of procrastination (Özer et al., 2013 ; Tuckman, 1991 ). The participants indicated the extent to which they agreed with statements such as "When I have a deadline, I wait until the last minute." The statements are rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly agree, 5 = strongly disagree). The TPS-TV has shown a high internal consistency with a Cronbach alpha of 0.90 (Özer et al., 2013 ). In the current study, Cronbach's α is 0.88.

The performance failure appraisal ınventory (PFAI-Short-Form)

Turkish version of the PFAI-Short Form (Balkis & Duru, 2019 ; Conroy et al., 2002 ) is used to determine participants' fear of failure levels. The PFAI-Short Form contains 5- items. The statements are scored from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). In the current study, Cronbach's α is 0.78.

Difficulties in emotion regulation scale-short form (DERS-16)

The Turkish Version Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale-Short Form (TV-DERS-16; Bjureberg et al., 2016 ; Gratz & Roemer, 2004 ; Yiğit & Guzey Yiğit, 2019 ) is used to determine participants' emotion regulation difficulties. TV-DERS-16 contains 16 items with a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (almost never) to 5 (almost always). For the current study, the internal consistency coefficients α are respectively 0.95, 0.90, 0.86, 0.88, 0.90, and 0.84 for overall TV-DERS-16, Clarity, Goals, Impulse, Strategies, and Non-acceptance.

Turkish version academic satisfaction scale (TV-ASS)

The TV-ASS is used to determine the participants' level of academic satisfaction (Balkis, 2013 ; Schmitt et al., 2008 ). The TV-ASS includes 5- items. The statements on the scale are scored from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). For the current study, the internal consistency coefficient α is 0.90.

Data analysis

Data analyses are conducted using SPSS 22.0 and AMOS 22.0 within the three steps. First, descriptive analyses to determine the descriptive properties of variables (mean, standard deviation, skewness, and kurtosis) are performed. Second, zero-order correlation analyses to examine bivariate associations among fear of failure, difficulties in emotion regulation, procrastination, and academic satisfaction are conducted. Finally, structural equational model (SEM) analyses to examine direct and indirect relationships between fear of failure, difficulties in emotion regulation, procrastination, and academic satisfaction are performed.

In the next step, the most recommended model-data fit statistics and decision rules to test model-data fit are utilized. These are the Chi-square test (p > 0.05 = good model fit, X 2 / df  = 5 ≥  = acceptable), Comparative fit index ( CFI ), Tucker-Lewis index ( TLI ) ≥ 0.90 = acceptable, and ≥ 0.95 = good model fit; Root mean square error ( RMSEA ) and Standardized root mean square ( SRMR ) 0.08 ≤  = acceptable and 0.05 ≤  = good model fit (Kline, 2015 ).

The bivariate correlations between fear of failure, difficulties in emotion regulation, procrastination and academic satisfaction, mean, standard deviation, skewness, and kurtosis are shown in Table  1 . The results of the correlation analyses indicated that fear of failure was positively correlated with difficulties in emotion regulation and procrastination. Procrastination was also positively correlated with difficulties in emotion regulation and then negatively correlated with academic satisfaction.

Testing the mediating role of difficulties in emotion regulation

A two-step SEM analysis was conducted to examine the mediating role of emotion regulation difficulties in the relationship between fear of failure, procrastination, and academic satisfaction. Initially, the relationship between latent variables was tested via the measurement model. Then the structural model was tested (Table  2 , Fig.  2 ).

The mediating role of difficulties in emotion regulation and procrastination

The items and the total score were used to determine the latent variables. The fear of failure and academic satisfaction latent variables were identified by using their items. The emotion regulation difficulties latent variable was determined using its subscales. Two parcels were created procrastination latent variable. A measurement model with 4 latent and 17 observed variables was performed.

Testing the measurement model

The measurement model analysis demonstrated that the model provided an acceptable data-model fit: X 2 (112, N  = 292) = 214.696, p < 0.001 ( X 2 /df  = 1.917). RMSEA  = 0.06 (0.05-0.07), SRMR  = 0.05, CFI  = 0.96, TLI  = 0.96, IFI  = 0.96.

Testing the structural model

The findings from SEM analysis indicated that the model was accepted as adequate: X 2 (114, N  = 292) = 218.180, p < 0.001 ( X 2 /df  = 1.914). RMSEA  = 0.06 (0.05-0.07), SRMR  = 0.05, CFI  = 0.96, TLI  = 0.96, IFI  = 0.96.

The parameter estimated noticed that (a) fear of failure was positively associated with difficulties in emotion regulation ( p  < 0.001) but not procrastination ( p  = 0.79), (b) difficulties in emotion regulation were positively related to procrastination ( p  < 0.001), (c) procrastination was negatively related to academic satisfaction ( p  < 0.001), (d) fear of failure was indirectly related to procrastination via difficulties in emotion regulation ( β  = 0.35, 95% CI  = 0.24, 0.51, p  < 0.001), and (e) fear of failure ( β  = -0.09, 95% CI  = -0.15, -0.04, p  < 0.001) and difficulties in emotion regulation ( β  = -0.14, 95% CI  = -0.23, -0.06, p  < 0.001) were then indirectly associated with academic satisfaction via procrastination. Finally, the fear of failure accounted for 47% of the variance in emotion regulation difficulties. Fear of failure and emotion regulation difficulties accounted for 25% of the variance in procrastination. Together, they accounted for 7% of the variance in academic satisfaction.

This study aims to shed light on the dynamic relationship between fear of failure, procrastination, emotional regulation difficulties, and academic satisfaction. The current findings support the mediating role of emotion regulation difficulties in the relationship between fear of failure and procrastination, and the mediating role of procrastination in the relationship between fear of failure, emotion regulation difficulties, and academic satisfaction.

Given the link between fear of failure and procrastination, this study hypothesizes that emotion regulation difficulties will act as a mediating mechanism in this relationship. The results of the correlation analysis demonstrate that procrastination is positively associated with both fear of failure and difficulties in emotion regulation. According to the results of SEM analysis, when emotion regulation difficulties are included in the equation, the direct relationship between fear of failure and procrastination becomes insignificant. In other words, the current results suggest that fear of failure predicts procrastination indirectly through difficulties in emotion regulation and that difficulties in emotion regulation act as a mediating mechanism within this relationship. These results support the assumption that students, who are afraid of failure, do not exhibit procrastination behaviors directly, but they exhibit procrastination behaviors because they cannot regulate their fear. This finding is also consistent with previous evidence in the literature that the inconsistency of research findings on the relationship between fear of failure and procrastination points to the existence of mechanisms that moderate or mediate the relationship between the two variables (Haghbin et al., 2012 ). Therefore, it is worth noting that the relationship between fear of failure and procrastination is significant for students, who have difficulty regulating their emotions. Gratz and Roemer ( 2004 ) state that emotion regulation emphasizes the ability to prevent inappropriate or impulsive behaviors while experiencing negative emotions, and that the absence of these skills indicates the presence of difficulties in emotion regulation to act in accordance with desired goals and outcomes. The results of this study indicate that fear of failure is positively associated with the lack of ability to control impulses and act in accordance with desired goals. Some cross-sectional studies suggest a relationship between fear of failure, performance, mastery-avoidant (Elliot & Sheldon, 1997 ), and avoidant goal orientation (Conroy et al., 2003 ). Similarly, previous findings suggest that students with impulsivity (Steel, 2007 ) and goal avoidance orientation (Corkin et al., 2011 ; Howell & Buro, 2009 ; Howell & Watson, 2007 ; Seo, 2009 ) are more likely to procrastinate on their tasks and assignments. Current findings on the relationship between fear of failure, difficulties with emotion regulation, and procrastination also support the idea that procrastination functions as a short-term emotion regulation strategy (Pychyl & Sirois, 2016 ; Sirois & Pychyl, 2013 ; Tice et al., 2001 ). Recent evidence suggests that difficulties in regulating unpleasant emotions effectively promote procrastination behavior (Mohammadi Bytamar et al., 2020 ). As mentioned earlier, research has highlighted that people who are afraid of failure become anxious when asked to perform their duties and try to reduce their anxiety by postponing work as much as possible (Milgram & Toubiana, 1999 ). In other words, students who cannot cope with the anxiety and tension caused by fear of failure may try to get rid of these negative emotions by postponing their tasks and responsibilities when they have difficulty regulating these negative emotions. Procrastination behavior may be linked to an individual's sense of competence. Similarly, for some individuals with high levels of procrastination, it may serve as an ineffective coping and avoidance strategy in challenging situations. Individuals with a high tendency to procrastinate may exhibit these behaviors to avoid facing feelings of inadequacy and to protect themselves from getting hurt. Although procrastination eliminates the risk of facing these negative emotions and being hurt in the short term, it paves the way for later negative consequences such as low academic achievement, low academic performance, and low academic satisfaction. In fact, the results of this study indicate that fear of failure is not directly related to academic satisfaction, but is indirectly related to academic satisfaction via procrastination. This result is consistent with other research findings in the literature (Balkis, 2013 ; Balkis & Duru, 2016 , 2017 ). In other words, when students who are afraid of failure are unable to regulate their fear, they are more prone to procrastinating behavior, which can reduce their academic satisfaction through procrastination.

The present study contributes to the literature by demonstrating the role of procrastination and emotion regulation difficulties in the relationship between fear of failure and academic satisfaction. The present findings indicate that there are both direct and indirect relationships between these variables. The results demonstrate the mediating role of emotion regulation difficulties in the relationship between fear of failure and procrastination and of procrastination in the relationship between fear of failure and emotion regulation difficulties and academic satisfaction. These results contribute to the literature by showing that mediating mechanisms and indirect relationships are important rather than showing a direct relationship between fear of failure and academic satisfaction. Psychological counselors can help students with a fear of failure to procrastinate less on academic tasks and achieve higher academic success and satisfaction by providing awareness and skill training in emotion regulation. Similarly, academic satisfaction is not directly impacted by fear of failure. Students may experience lower satisfaction with their academic lives due to procrastination on tasks and assignments when they are unable to regulate their fears. The study by Eckert et al. ( 2016 ) revealed that training emotion regulation skills tolerates and changes unpleasant emotions and reduces procrastination. For this reason, it is likely that individual or group studies on emotion regulation reduce procrastination and increase academic satisfaction. Future studies could investigate potential mediating or moderating mechanisms in the relationship between fear of failure and academic satisfaction to gain a comprehensive understanding of the issue. Similarly, this study focuses on general difficulties in emotion regulation. Future studies may focus more specifically on the possible roles of adaptive and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies in the relationship between fear of failure and procrastination, fear of failure, and academic satisfaction.

Finally, the results of this study should be evaluated within its limitations. First, the relationships between the variables should not be viewed as cause-effect relationships, as this study is cross-sectional. Therefore, longitudinal and experimental studies are needed for further clarification. This study was conducted on university students, so the results of this study can be generalized to similar samples. Second, we treated procrastination as a trait in this study because the scales we used capture general traits rather than domain-specific measures of procrastination. We conceptualized procrastination as an individual differences variable (Lay & Schouwenburg, 1993 ) and a tendency to delay (Tuckman, 1991 ). There is also some evidence in the literature that procrastination, like personality traits, has sufficient intertemporal and situational stability (Steel, 2007 ). Because personality traits are a consistent and relatively stable psychological structure, it provides a conceptual framework for understanding, interpreting, and predicting individual behavior. Considering procrastination as a state may be more appropriate in certain contexts (e.g., task-specific dilatory). This approach helps us better understand the dynamics of procrastination and how momentary emotional states (e.g., state anxiety) affect procrastination. In particular, the relationship between procrastination, fear of failure, and emotional regulation difficulties could be examined in more detail. Future research should consider assessing procrastination on a situational basis. This may increase the generalizability and applicability of the results. Including both trait and state measures provides a more comprehensive understanding of procrastination behavior and its underlying mechanisms. Another limitation relates to the gender of the participants. The larger group of participants in this study is females. This point should be considered when commenting on gender-specific results. As a last word, future studies can overcome this limitation through stratified sampling and contribute to the verification of the results.

Data availability

The data supporting this study's findings are available from the first author, Erdinç Duru, upon reasonable request.

Code availability

Not applicable.

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All authors contributed to the study's conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by E. Duru, M. Balkis, S. Duru. The first draft of the manuscript was written by E. Duru, M. Balkis, and S. Duru, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Dr. Erdinç Duru. Faculty of Education, Pamukkale University, Denizli, Turkey. E-mail: [email protected].

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His current research themes are academic procrastination, school belongingness, academic achievement, and self-regulation.

Dr. Murat Balkis . Faculty of Education, Pamukkale University, Denizli, Turkey. E-mail: [email protected].

His current research themes are academic procrastination, academic satisfaction, academic achievement, and dropping out of School.

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Duru, E., Balkis, M. & Duru, S. Fear of failure and academic satisfaction: the mediating role of emotion regulation difficulties and procrastination. Eur J Psychol Educ (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-024-00868-9

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Failure is nothing but an effort went missed to hit the target to bring success. Failure is somehow the process the tests the mettle and strength of every struggler in way of achieving something in life. The success is always preceded by multiple failures. There has never been a great success without lots of failures in the way. The following Essay on Failure talks about the Meaning, Importance of Failure & Why Failure is the Stepping Stones towards Success.

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Failure can be defined as not achieving something that was set out to be achieved. It is the lack of success, which could be in academics, personal life or professional life. There are many factors that contribute to failure such as not having a clear goal, not being motivated enough, not taking action, inadequate preparation etc.

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One of the most important lessons of failure is that it can happen to anyone. There is no one who is immune to it and this is a hard truth to accept. However, it is also a very important lesson because it teaches us not to take things for granted and to always work hard. No one is perfect and everyone makes mistakes. However, what separates the successful from the unsuccessful is the ability to learn from these mistakes and to use them as a stepping stone to success.

Another important lesson of failure is that it teaches us persistence. Life is full of hardships and setbacks but the key is to never give up. We must always pick ourselves up and continue moving forward. Failure is a part of life and it is what makes us stronger. If we give up every time we face difficulties, we will never achieve our goals.

Lastly, failure teaches us to be humble. No one likes to fail but it is important to remember that we are not perfect and that we all make mistakes. We must learn to accept our failures and to learn from them. By being humble, we can open ourselves up to new opportunities and learnings that we would not have otherwise.

Overcoming Failure:

There are many ways in which students can overcome failure. Firstly, it is important to have a positive attitude and to never give up. Secondly, students must learn from their mistakes and use them as a learning experience. Thirdly, they should stay motivated and focused on their goals. Fourthly, they should prepare adequately for all tasks and challenges. Lastly, they should be humble and accept their failures.

The failure is a painful but important experience. It teaches us valuable lessons that we can use to improve our lives. It shows us that we are not perfect and that life is full of hardships. It also teaches us persistence, humility and the importance of learning from our mistakes. These lessons are essential for students as they embark on their journey to becoming successful adults.

Personal Failure Example Essay:

Everyone has experienced failure at some point in their life. Whether it is a small mistake or a major setback, failure can be a difficult and humbling experience. It can also be a valuable opportunity for growth and self-reflection. In this essay, I will share my personal experience with failure and how it has helped shape me into the person I am today.

A Missed Opportunity

During my senior year of high school, I applied to several prestigious universities. I had worked hard throughout my academic career and felt confident in my abilities. However, despite my efforts, I was rejected from all of the universities that I had set my heart on attending.

At first, I was devastated. The thought of not being able to attend my dream school was overwhelming. I couldn’t understand how I had failed when I had put in so much effort and dedication. I felt like a complete failure, and it took me a long time to come to terms with the rejection.

Reflecting on Failure

As time passed, I started to reflect on my failure and what it meant for me. I realized that although I had worked hard academically, there were other areas of my life where I had neglected. My social life, extracurricular activities, and personal growth were all lacking because of my intense focus on academics.

I also came to understand that my failure was not solely based on external factors such as competition or luck. There were certain aspects of my application and personal character that I could have improved upon. This realization was difficult to accept, but it ultimately helped me grow as a person.

Learning from Failure

Through this experience, I learned the importance of balance in life. It is crucial to not only excel academically but also invest time and effort into other areas such as relationships, hobbies, and self-care. Additionally, I learned the value of self-reflection and taking responsibility for my actions. Instead of blaming external factors, I took ownership of my mistakes and used them as motivation to improve.

Furthermore, this failure taught me resilience and determination. Despite being rejected from my dream schools, I did not give up on my aspirations. I worked hard at a different university and eventually transferred to my desired institution. This experience showed me that failure does not define you, but it can be a powerful driving force towards success.

Final Thoughts

In the end, I am grateful for this experience of personal failure. It was a humbling and challenging time, but it ultimately helped shape me into a more well-rounded individual. Failure is inevitable in life, but what truly matters is how we respond to it. Embracing failure as an opportunity for growth and learning can lead to great personal development and success. So next time you face failure, don’t let it defeat you – embrace it and use it as a stepping stone towards your goals.

Short Essay on Failure:

Failure is a part of life. It is inevitable and something that everyone experiences at some point in their lives. From a young age, we are conditioned to believe that failure is unacceptable and should be avoided at all costs. However, the truth is that failure is not only necessary but also essential for personal growth and success.

One of the main reasons people fear failure is because society has glorified success to an unhealthy extent. We constantly see successful individuals being celebrated and praised, while those who have failed are often ridiculed or overlooked. This creates immense pressure on individuals to succeed in everything they do, resulting in a fear of failure.

But the reality is, success rarely comes without failures along the way. Most successful people have experienced multiple failures before achieving their goals. This is because failures teach us valuable lessons that we would not have learned otherwise. It forces us to reflect on our mistakes, make necessary changes and try again with a new approach.

Moreover, failure allows us to develop resilience and perseverance. When we fail, we are forced to face setbacks and challenges, which ultimately builds our character and strengthens our determination. Without failure, we would never truly know the extent of our capabilities or be able to appreciate success when it does come.

It is also important to note that failure is subjective and often misunderstood. What one person may perceive as a failure can be seen as a valuable learning experience by another. It all depends on perspective and how one chooses to handle the situation.

In fact, some of the most successful and influential individuals in history have faced numerous failures before achieving greatness. Thomas Edison, the inventor of the light bulb, famously said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” This mindset is crucial when it comes to dealing with failure – seeing it as a stepping stone rather than an obstacle.

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In conclusion, failure should not be feared or avoided. It is a natural part of life that allows us to learn, grow and ultimately succeed. So instead of viewing failure as a negative outcome, we should embrace it and use it as motivation to keep moving forward towards our goals.

What is failure in an essay?

In an essay, failure is a topic or theme that explores personal experiences, setbacks, or challenges and their impact on learning, growth, or resilience.

What is failure in life?

In life, failure refers to instances where one falls short of achieving a desired goal or faces setbacks, disappointments, or adversity. It is a natural part of the human experience.

How do you start a failure essay?

You can start a failure essay with an engaging introduction that might involve a personal anecdote, a relevant quote, or a thought-provoking question to draw the reader’s attention and set the tone for your exploration of the topic.

Why is failure important in life?

Failure is important in life because it provides valuable lessons, fosters personal growth, and builds resilience. It can lead to self-discovery, adaptation, and ultimately, success in future endeavors.

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I'd change #2 slightly and you'd have a good answer. The failure is not successfully creating institutional change. I'd change it so that the failure is that of looking at the issue from different angles. Don't be trapped by your own convictions. So here, you expand on the fact that you learned that as activist and a future doctor, you must look at problems from multiple angles. And you put that learning into action with the community seminars.  

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How not to write your college essay.

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If you are looking for the “secret formula” for writing a “winning” college essay, you have come to the wrong place. The reality is there is no silver bullet or strategy to write your way to an acceptance. There is not one topic or approach that will guarantee a favorable outcome.

At the end of the day, every admission office just wants to know more about you, what you value, and what excites you. They want to hear about your experiences through your own words and in your own voice. As you set out to write your essay, you will no doubt get input (both sought-after and unsolicited) on what to write. But how about what NOT to write? There are avoidable blunders that applicants frequently make in drafting their essays. I asked college admission leaders, who have read thousands of submissions, to share their thoughts.

Don’t Go In There

There is wide consensus on this first one, so before you call on your Jedi mind tricks or predictive analytics, listen to the voices of a diverse range of admission deans. Peter Hagan, executive director of admissions at Syracuse University, sums it up best, saying, “I would recommend that students try not to get inside of our heads. He adds, “Too often the focus is on what they think we want.”

Andy Strickler, dean of admission and financial aid at Connecticut College agrees, warning, “Do NOT get caught in the trap of trying to figure out what is going to impress the admission committee. You have NO idea who is going to read your essay and what is going to connect with them. So, don't try to guess that.” Victoria Romero, vice president for enrollment, at Scripps College adds, “Do not write about something you don’t care about.” She says, “I think students try to figure out what an admission officer wants to read, and the reality is the reader begins every next essay with no expectations about the content THEY want to read.” Chrystal Russell, dean of admission at Hampden-Sydney College, agrees, saying, “If you're not interested in writing it, we will not be interested when reading it.” Jay Jacobs, vice provost for enrollment management at the University of Vermont elaborates, advising. “Don’t try to make yourself sound any different than you are.” He says, “The number one goal for admission officers is to better understand the applicant, what they like to do, what they want to do, where they spend the majority of their time, and what makes them tick. If a student stays genuine to that, it will shine through and make an engaging and successful essay.”

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Don’t Be Artificial

The headlines about college admission are dominated by stories about artificial intelligence and the college essay. Let’s set some ground rules–to allow ChatGPT or some other tool to do your work is not only unethical, it is also unintelligent. The only worse mistake you could make is to let another human write your essay for you. Instead of preoccupying yourself with whether or not colleges are using AI detection software (most are not), spend your time focused on how best to express yourself authentically. Rick Clark is the executive director of strategic student success at Georgia Institute of Technology, one of the first institutions to clearly outline their AI policy for applicants. He says, “Much of a college application is devoted to lines, boxes, and numbers. Essays and supplements are the one place to establish connection, personality, and distinction. AI, in its current state, is terrible at all three.” He adds, “My hope is that students will use ChatGPT or other tools for brainstorming and to get started, but then move quickly into crafting an essay that will provide insight and value.”

Don’t Overdo It

Michael Stefanowicz, vice president for enrollment management at Landmark College says, “You can only cover so much detail about yourself in an admission essay, and a lot of students feel pressure to tell their life story or choose their most defining experience to date as an essay topic. Admission professionals know that you’re sharing just one part of your lived experience in the essay.” He adds, “Some of the favorite essays I’ve read have been episodic, reflecting on the way you’ve found meaning in a seemingly ordinary experience, advice you’ve lived out, a mistake you’ve learned from, or a special tradition in your life.” Gary Ross, vice president for admission and financial aid at Colgate University adds, “More than a few applicants each year craft essays that talk about the frustration and struggles they have experienced in identifying a topic for their college application essay. Presenting your college application essay as a smorgasbord of topics that ultimately landed on the cutting room floor does not give us much insight into an applicant.”

Don’t Believe In Magic

Jason Nevinger, senior director of admission at the University of Rochester warns, “Be skeptical of anyone or any company telling you, ‘This is the essay that got me into _____.’ There is no magic topic, approach, sentence structure, or prose that got any student into any institution ever.” Social media is littered with advertisements promising strategic essay help. Don’t waste your time, energy, or money trying to emulate a certain style, topic, or tone. Liz Cheron is chief executive officer for the Coalition for College and former assistant vice president of enrollment & dean of admissions at Northeastern University. She agrees with Nevinger, saying “Don't put pressure on yourself to find the perfect, slam dunk topic. The vast majority of college essays do exactly what they're supposed to do–they are well-written and tell the admission officer more about the student in that student's voice–and that can take many different forms.”

Don’t Over Recycle

Beatrice Atkinson-Myers, associate director of global recruitment at the University of California at Santa Cruz tells students, “Do not use the same response for each university; research and craft your essay to match the program at the university you are interested in studying. Don't waste time telling me things I can read elsewhere in your application. Use your essay to give the admissions officer insights into your motivations, interests, and thinking. Don't make your essay the kitchen sink, focus on one or two examples which demonstrate your depth and creativity.” Her UC colleague, Jim Rawlins, associate vice chancellor of enrollment management at the University of California at San Diego agrees, saying “Answer the question. Not doing so is the surest way we can tell you are simply giving us a snippet of something you actually wrote for a different purpose.”

Don’t Overedit

Emily Roper-Doten, vice president for undergraduate admissions and financial assistance at Clark University warns against “Too many editors!” She says, “Pick a couple of trusted folks to be your sounding board when considering topics and as readers once you have drafts. You don’t want too many voices in your essay to drown you out!” Scripps’ Romero agrees, suggesting, “Ask a good friend, someone you trust and knows you well, to read your essays.” She adds, “The goal is for the admission committee to get to know a little about you and who better to help you create that framework, than a good friend. This may not work for all students because of content but helps them understand it’s important to be themselves.” Whitney Soule, vice provost and dean of admissions at The University of Pennsylvania adds, “Avoid well-meaning editorial interference that might seem to polish your writing but actually takes your own personal ‘shine’ right out of the message.” She says, “As readers, we connect to applicants through their genuine tone and style. Considering editorial advice for flow and message is OK but hold on to the 'you' for what you want to say and how you want to say it.”

Don’t Get Showy

Palmer Muntz, senior regional admissions counselor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks cautions applicants, “Don’t be fancier than you are. You don’t need to put on airs.” He adds, “Yes, proofread your work for grammar and spelling, but be natural. Craft something you’d want to read yourself, which probably means keeping your paragraphs short, using familiar words, and writing in an active voice.” Connecticut College’s Strickler agrees, warning, “Don't try to be someone you are not. If you are not funny, don't try to write a funny essay. If you are not an intellectual, trying to write an intellectual essay is a bad idea.”

Anthony Jones, the vice president of enrollment management at Loyola University New Orleans offers a unique metaphor for thinking about the essay. He says, “In the new world of the hyper-fast college admission process, it's become easy to overlook the essential meaning of the college application. It's meant to reveal Y...O...U, the real you, not some phony digital avatar. Think of the essay as the essence of that voice but in analog. Like the completeness and authenticity captured in a vinyl record, the few lines you're given to explain your view should be a slow walk through unrestrained expression chock full of unapologetic nuances, crevices of emotion, and exactness about how you feel in the moment. Then, and only then, can you give the admissions officer an experience that makes them want to tune in and listen for more.”

Don’t Be A Downer

James Nondorf, vice president and dean of admissions and financial aid at The University of Chicago says, “Don’t be negative about other people, be appreciative of those who have supported you, and be excited about who you are and what you will bring to our campus!” He adds, “While admissions offices want smart students for our classrooms, we also want kind-hearted, caring, and joyous students who will add to our campus communities too.”

Don’t Pattern Match

Alan Ramirez is the dean of admission and financial aid at Sewanee, The University of the South. He explains, “A big concern I have is when students find themselves comparing their writing to other students or past applicants and transform their writing to be more like those individuals as a way to better their chances of offering a more-compelling essay.” He emphasizes that the result is that the “essay is no longer authentic nor the best representation of themselves and the whole point of the essay is lost. Their distinctive voice and viewpoint contribute to the range of voices in the incoming class, enhancing the diversity of perspectives we aim to achieve.” Ramirez simple tells students, “Be yourself, that’s what we want to see, plus there's no one else who can do it better than you!”

Don’t Feel Tied To A Topic

Jessica Ricker is the vice president for enrollment and dean of admissions and financial aid at Skidmore College. She says, “Sometimes students feel they must tell a story of grief or hardship, and then end up reliving that during the essay-writing process in ways that are emotionally detrimental. I encourage students to choose a topic they can reflect upon positively but recommend that if they choose a more challenging experience to write about, they avoid belaboring the details and instead focus on the outcome of that journey.” She adds, "They simply need to name it, frame its impact, and then help us as the reader understand how it has shaped their lens on life and their approach moving forward.”

Landmark College’s Stefanowicz adds, “A lot of students worry about how personal to get in sharing a part of their identity like your race or heritage (recalling last year’s Supreme Court case about race-conscious admissions), a learning difference or other disability, your religious values, LGBTQ identity…the list goes on.” He emphasizes, “This is always your choice, and your essay doesn’t have to be about a defining identity. But I encourage you to be fully yourself as you present yourself to colleges—because the college admission process is about finding a school where your whole self is welcome and you find a setting to flourish!”

Don’t Be Redundant

Hillen Grason Jr., dean of admission at Franklin & Marshall College, advises, “Don't repeat academic or co-curricular information that is easily identifiable within other parts of your application unless the topic is a core tenant of you as an individual.” He adds, “Use your essay, and other parts of your application, wisely. Your essay is the best way to convey who your authentic self is to the schools you apply. If you navigated a situation that led to a dip in your grades or co-curricular involvement, leverage the ‘additional information’ section of the application.

Thomas Marr is a regional manager of admissions for the Americas at The University of St Andrews in Scotland and points out that “Not all international schools use the main college essay as part of their assessment when reviewing student applications.” He says, “At the University of St Andrews, we focus on the supplemental essay and students should avoid the mistake of making the supplemental a repeat of their other essay. The supplemental (called the Personal Statement if using the UCAS application process) is to show the extent of their passion and enthusiasm for the subject/s to which they are applying and we expect about 75% of the content to cover this. They can use the remaining space to mention their interests outside of the classroom. Some students confuse passion for the school with passion for their subject; do not fall into that trap.”

A Few Final Don’ts

Don’t delay. Every college applicant I have ever worked with has wished they had started earlier. You can best avoid the pitfalls above if you give yourself the time and space to write a thoughtful essay and welcome feedback openly but cautiously. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself to be perfect . Do your best, share your voice, and stay true to who you are.

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British Academics Despair as ChatGPT-Written Essays Swamp Grading Season

‘It’s not a machine for cheating; it’s a machine for producing crap,’ says one professor infuriated by the rise of bland essays.

By  Jack Grove for Times Higher Education

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The increased prevalence of students using ChatGPT to write essays should prompt a rethink about whether current policies encouraging “ethical” use of artificial intelligence (AI) are working, scholars have argued.

With marking season in full flow, lecturers have taken to social media in large numbers to complain about AI-generated content found in submitted work.

Telltale signs of ChatGPT use, according to academics, include little-used words such as “delve” and “multifaceted,” summarizing key themes using bullet points and a jarring conversational style using terms such as, “Let’s explore this theme.”

In a more obvious giveaway, one professor said an advertisement for an AI essay company was  buried in a paper’s introduction ; another academic noted how a student had  forgotten to remove a chatbot statement  that the content was AI-generated.

“I had no idea how many would resort to it,” admitted  one U.K. law professor .

Des Fitzgerald, professor of medical humanities and social sciences at  University College Cork , told  Times Higher Education  that student use of AI had “gone totally mainstream” this year.

“Across a batch of essays, you do start to notice the tics of ChatGPT essays, which is partly about repetition of certain words or phrases, but is also just a kind of aura of machinic blandness that’s hard to describe to someone who hasn’t encountered it—an essay with no edges, that does nothing technically wrong or bad, but not much right or good, either,” said Professor Fitzgerald.

Since  ChatGPT’s emergence in late 2022 , some universities have adopted policies to allow the use of AI as long as it is acknowledged, while others have begun using AI content detectors, although  opinion is divided on their effectiveness .

According to the  latest Student Academic Experience Survey , for which Advance HE and the Higher Education Policy Institute polled around 10,000 U.K. undergraduates, 61 percent use AI at least a little each month, “in a way allowed by their institution,” while 31 percent do so every week.

Professor Fitzgerald said that although some colleagues “think we just need to live with this, even that we have a duty to teach students to use it well,” he was “totally against” the use of AI tools for essays.

“ChatGPT is completely antithetical to everything I think I’m doing as a teacher—working with students to engage with texts, thinking through ideas, learning to clarify and express complex thoughts, taking some risks with those thoughts, locating some kind of distinctive inner voice. ChatGPT is total poison for all of this, and we need to simply ban it,” he said.

Steve Fuller, professor of sociology at the  University of Warwick , agreed that AI use had “become more noticeable” this year despite his students signing contracts saying they would not use it to write essays.

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He said he was not opposed to students using it “as long as what they produce sounds smart and on point, and the marker can’t recognize it as simply having been lifted from another source wholesale.”

Those who leaned heavily on the technology should expect a relatively low mark, even though they might pass, said Professor Fuller.

“Students routinely commit errors of fact, reasoning and grammar [without ChatGPT], yet if their text touches enough bases with the assignment, they’re likely to get somewhere in the low- to mid-60s. ChatGPT does a credible job at simulating such mediocrity, and that’s good enough for many of its student users,” he said.

Having to mark such mediocre essays partly generated by AI is, however, a growing complaint among academics. Posting on X,  Lancaster University  economist  Renaud Foucart  said marking AI-generated essays “takes much more time to assess [because] I need to concentrate much more to cut through the amount of seemingly logical statements that are actually full of emptiness.”

“My biggest issue [with AI] is less the moral issue about cheating but more what ChatGPT offers students,” Professor Fitzgerald added. “All it is capable of is [writing] bad essays made up of non-ideas and empty sentences. It’s not a machine for cheating; it’s a machine for producing crap.”

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Harvard dean’s essay arguing for limiting faculty speech causes uproar

Dean of social science lawrence bobo recently argued that faculty should face the possibility of punishment if they arouse "external intervention into university business.".

By Ross Cristantiello

After a chaotic year at Harvard University , a dean drew the ire of many with a recent essay arguing that the free speech of faculty should be limited. 

Dean of Social Science Lawrence Bobo made the case in an op-ed that appeared in The Harvard Crimson , the student newspaper, last week. 

“Is it outside the bounds of acceptable professional conduct for a faculty member to excoriate University leadership, faculty, staff, or students with the intent to arouse external intervention into University business? And does the broad publication of such views cross a line into sanctionable violations of professional conduct?” Bobo wrote. “Yes it is and yes it does.”

The ideas in Bobo’s op-ed do not reflect the official position of Harvard, a spokesperson told The Boston Globe . 

The Oct. 7 Hamas attacks and Israel’s subsequent military campaign in Gaza ignited multiple waves of controversy at Harvard that attracted enormous outside attention over the past eight months. Allegations of antisemitism and Islamophobia have been frequent. Former President Claudine Gay stepped down after disastrous testimony at a congressional hearing and allegations of plagiarism . A Pro-Palestinian encampment set up by student demonstrators on campus lasted 20 days, and other acts of protest have been frequent. Harvard was the subject of multiple federal investigations. The topic of necessitating diversity, equity, and inclusion statements provided more fodder for debate. 

Last month, Harvard announced that it would no longer make public statements on issues that don’t immediately affect the “university’s core function.” This is a reason for faculty to use their voices “responsibly,” Bobo wrote. 

He advocated for the benefits of internal discussion and wrote that the expression of diverse opinions is crucial in creating a healthy intellectual community. Academic departments, faculty meetings, town halls, and campus publications should be used regularly to facilitate participation in university governance, he wrote.  

But there are some faculty members who have large external platforms that they can use for “potential advocacy.” Bobo referenced a few by name: Raj Chetty , Henry Louis Gates Jr. , Jill Lepore , and Steven Pinker . 

“Would it simply be an ordinary act of free speech for those faculty to repeatedly denounce the University, its students, fellow faculty, or leadership? The truth is that free speech has limits — it’s why you can’t escape sanction for shouting ‘fire’ in a crowded theater,” Bobo wrote. 

It is problematic for faculty members to encourage students to violate university policies even after they have received official notification of a potential infraction, Bobo wrote. 

“Such behavior should have sanctionable limits as well,” he wrote. 

One professor, who was granted anonymity by the Globe , said that it represents an “authoritarian mindset” to suggest that members of an institution should be punished for criticizing that institution. 

Ten members of Harvard’s Council on Academic Freedom, including Pinker, published a response in the Crimson Wednesday. Bobo’s op-ed represented an “unprecedented repudiation of the principle of academic freedom,” they wrote, while declaring that they strongly reject his arguments.

Bobo’s op-ed is made all the more problematic by the power he has on campus, they wrote. 

“It is downright alarming that such a stunning argument would come from a dean who currently wields power over hundreds of professors — without indicating that he would refrain from implementing his views by punishing the faculty he oversees,” the members of the Council on Academic Freedom wrote. 

In the initial op-ed, Bobo wrote about the “appallingly rough manner” in which some affiliated with Harvard have denounced the university’s students and current leadership. This includes “one former University president,” apparently an oblique reference to Lawrence Summers. 

Summers criticized the university for its silence in the immediate aftermath of Oct. 7, publicly blamed Harvard’s leaders for not doing enough to combat antisemitism, and said that campus protests could encourage adversaries of the U.S.

Summers responded to Bobo’s op-ed on social media. 

It takes something extraordinary to bring me into agreement with Israel demonizing faculty like Walter Johnson. That is what Harvard Dean Lawrence Bobo has done with his call for punishing faculty who publicly challenge university decisions. I cannot understand why his boss Dean… — Lawrence H. Summers (@LHSummers) June 19, 2024

Walter Johnson, the “Israel demonizing faculty” mentioned by Summers, is a history professor and former adviser to the Palestine Solidarity Committee at Harvard. In a statement to the Globe , Johnson called Bobo’s essay misguided. 

“Look, I also wish I could turn down some of my colleagues,” Johnston told the paper. “I’m sure some of them wish they could turn me down. But expanding the already abused disciplinary apparatus of the university to punish faculty for speaking out about the issues, even if in ways that one group or another might view as counterproductive, seems, at the very least, counterproductive.”

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