In college, a backlog refers to an exam that a student was not able to clear on their first attempt. This could be due to various reasons such as lack of preparation or inability to attend the exam. Backlogs are counted as the number of subjects that a student failed or could not take. A student with a backlog receives a certificate from their academic institution that enlists all the details regarding their backlog. The number of backlogs a student has can affect their academic profile and may limit their choice of universities. However, many universities in different countries, such as the UK, US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, are flexible towards students with backlogs and accept them. The way of calculating backlogs varies with different countries, with some counting the number of backlogs and others counting the attempts to clear them.