SMART Short Self test Failed

I ran a full system scan on my Dell laptop and it said that the SMART Short Self test had failed. It explained that my hard drive could fail any time now and to back up my files immediately. My computer is only 3 months old, how can my hard drive be dying already? As it's still in warranty I take it my only option is to ring up DELL? Being a student, having my computer away for replacement is going to be very impractical so I'm extremely disappointed that something so vital as a hard drive can be failing so soon. Is this normal?