The Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) board exam results of Bangladesh were published on the 13th of this month. The examinees, unfortunately, went through added stress and pressure caused by the uncertainties surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite this, there was a record increase in the number of students who received GPA-5 and that is certainly applaudable. Amidst the celebration for GPA-5 holders, we must not forget those who were unlucky this time around. It is important for the students who did not achieve their desired results not to give up as HSC is, by far, not the endgame. Even though to many, it may seem as if the end of the world is here, that is, without a doubt, untrue. 
In our lives, we will sit for many exams and it is only realistic to accept that we will not be able to ace every single one of them. The sooner we accept this, the easier it will be for us to get back on our feet after an undesirable result. Indeed, what defines us is how we pick ourselves up after getting those less than perfect grades. Admittedly, it does not help that some relatives and neighbours will be just sitting there to take a shot at our beaten spirit in these dark moments of our lives. Therefore, we must ensure that, at least, we ourselves are kind to ourselves. Acing a test can be a great achievement and an endorphin boost but our integral value as human beings remain unaffected by test scores. Furthermore, whether or not a student gets a GPA-5 is by far not a predictor of the future success or failure that student may achieve.
The bitter truth prevails, many students who scored a GPA-5, unfortunately, will not be able to secure admission at their desired universities but many of the students who could not score GPA-5 will. "Of course, a GPA of 5 is a good result, but that's not the final decisive factor in securing a seat in public universities. Many GPA 5-holders lack talent and many students who did not get GPA-5 secure seats because of their perseverance during the preparation period," said Umama Islam, who passed HSC from Viqarunninsa Noon School and College this year with a GPA of 5. There are many examples of students who were unable to score a GPA of 5 but later went on to dominate the admission exams. "We shouldn't be too happy as a GPA-5 isn't that big of a deal. Securing a place in a public university is a student's top goal and this year it won't be easy because of the sheer number of qualified applicants competing for the same goal. Public universities will definitely have students who didn't get a GPA of 5 because they'll work way harder in this period," commented Afia Kabir, another student who passed HSC from Viqarunninsa Noon School and College this year with a GPA of 5.
"Undoubtedly getting a good grade in HSC is quite an admirable milestone. However, when it comes to university admission, high school grades matter only while applying for a few universities. Regardless of everything, a student will go through a different level of pressure in the coming days since the syllabus for university admissions is quite vast and uncertain," said Rahmatullah Moon who scored GPA-5 in this year's HSC from Birshreshtha Noor Mohammad Public College in Dhaka.
Therefore, the wise step for students who did not get a GPA of 5 to take will be to work as hard as they can for their admission period. They should not feel as if they have already lost before the fight has even begun as that is just simply not true. These sort of damaging thoughts may also turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy. Consequently, we have to avoid such thoughts at any cost. Certainly, it is normal to feel grief and loss but it will be foolish to ruminate on those feelings. If these students already internalise the conviction that their academic career is over they will be sabotaging their own potential future success. Instead, it is much more effective to direct all of this energy into their admission preparation. It goes without saying, focusing on mental health is of utmost importance during this period. It will not serve the students to launch into a spiral of self-loathing and self-blaming. On the contrary, understanding and accepting our human limitations, objectively reviewing our mistakes, and trying again will render much better results.
The writer is a fourth-year BBA student at IBA, Dhaka University.
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