Student self-assessment surveys were used to assess student self-awareness in second-year organic chemistry courses. Surveys were given after examinations in the courses. Students that performed well on exams accurately predicted their exam scores. However, students who did poorly were significantly off-base in their predictions. These findings indicate supportive evidence of the Kruger–Dunning effect, a cognitive bias whereby people with low ability, expertise, or experience regarding a certain type of a task or area of knowledge tend to overestimate their ability or knowledge. In our study, students who did well on exams knew that they were well prepared, while students who did not do well seemed to be unaware before taking the examination that they were not adequately prepared.