2026-07-12
Failing an exam feels rough. It's also one of the most common things that happens in student life. On many courses, fail rates on individual exams run at 30 to 50 percent. A retake doesn't mean you don't belong on your programme. It's a second attempt with better conditions, because now you know exactly what the exam looks like and you have the answer key to what didn't work.
This guide is about using that advantage instead of repeating the same studying one more time and hoping for a different result.
The most important thing you can do happens before you open a single book: request your graded exam (you have the right to see it) and go through it question by question. Sort your lost points into three piles:
| Type of loss | Signature | Remedy |
|---|---|---|
| Knowledge gaps | You didn't know the content | Aim your studying at exactly those areas |
| Application problems | You knew the theory but couldn't solve the task | Practice problems, not reading |
| Carelessness and time pressure | You knew it, but ran out of time or misread the question | Practice with a timer, read questions twice |
Most students who fail mix up the piles and conclude they need to read more. But if your problem was application or time, more reading helps almost nothing.
Before a retake it's tempting to start over from chapter one. Don't. You already know a large part of the course, and the points that sank you sat in specific areas. List the course topics, rate how confident you are on each one (1 to 5), and spend 80 percent of your time on everything at 3 or below. It feels uncomfortable, because reviewing what you already know is more pleasant. That discomfort is a sign you're studying the right things.
Research on the testing effect (Roediger & Karpicke 2006) shows that self-testing gives much better retention than rereading. And before a retake, there's no more precise testing material than past exams. Write at least two of them under realistic conditions: timed, no notes, the whole exam in one sitting. Grade yourself harshly. We've collected tips on how to find and study with past exams, and Memmo's archive holds thousands of past exams from universities, searchable by course.
Only have a few past exams to work with? Upload your lecture notes and course material to Memmo and generate quiz questions. What matters isn't where the questions come from, but that you practice retrieving the knowledge instead of looking at it. Read more about active recall.
Count the days you have, book your two or three mock exams first (final week), and spread your weak areas across the days before. Short recurring sessions with spaced repetition beat a desperate marathon on the last weekend, especially since you already have a foundation to build on. A reasonable study plan for a retake is often 2 to 4 weeks at an hour or two a day, not four days of panic.
Many students put off retake studying because the course itself reminds them of the failure. That's human, and it's expensive. Two things help. First, reframe it. A retake is a second chance with the answer key in hand, not a punishment. Second, start small. One 25-minute session with the Pomodoro technique today beats a perfect plan that starts "on Monday". And if nerves around the exam day itself are the struggle, we have a dedicated guide on exam anxiety.
It varies between universities and courses, but the norm at Swedish universities is generous. Often at least five attempts, sometimes unlimited. Check the course syllabus. Some components with limited capacity, like labs and placements, can have stricter rules.
For a typical course where you've already been through the material, 2 to 4 weeks of regular sessions is often enough. The key is to start with the analysis of your old exam right away, so the time goes to the right things.
No. At Swedish universities, a passing retake result replaces the fail. Your degree certificate doesn't show that it was a retake.
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