Help!! Advice for a worried soul??

Hi all,

This past educational year (2022-23) I have taken a year out of university and my Psychology course, due to me being unable to attend my final exam, and its subsequent resit. (hear me out).

The first time I missed it alongside one other exam, I had been diagnosed with COVID and initially was going to wear a mask and attempt to attend (selfish, I'm aware, but it was the last exams and I just wanted it to be over). My friends eventually talked me out of it, telling me to just let the university know. As such, I was given an uncapped resit, as it was out of my hands. I attended my first exam resit (Statistics) and it went fine, and then began cramming for my second exam. However, I made a stupid mistake and got the date of the exam confused with an important date for my part-time job, resulting in me missing it. I tried to explain, but obviously they can't accept "I made a mistake" as grounds to allow me to retake again that year. So I have been out of university for a year, working and waiting to take this final exam - which took place this Thursday gone (Social Psychology, super easy and super annoying that I messed up on this topic of all topics).

Well as it turns out, within the last year, the exam had changed to an open book exam. I was not aware of this. Honestly, it could have even been an open book exam and I was unaware last year, but I never once heard mention of it in my lectures or otherwise. So I took the exam without notes. I personally believe I did well enough, I was able to answer the questions I chose with accuracy, coherency, and with some decent (and some less decent) citations to studies and whatnot.

The issue is, that I'm worried that the grade boundaries or the marking scheme will be catered towards people citing things with a higher degree of accuracy, due to the ability to take notes with you - allowing perfect references. As such, I'm scared of how my work will be received.

Due to the nature of this exam being a real resit, not an uncapped leniency resit, I am capped at a pass grade - however this is all I need. Do you think that with average to subpar citations, but a strong argument and correct answering of the question, that I will at least get a pass? I am beginning to worry myself that this won't be the case.

(edited 11 months ago)

Reply 1

Muttly

What a nightmare for you, and how despondent you must feel waiting for the exam result.

Recheck any correspondence and instructions you had received for the the exam. If you feel you were genuinely disadvantaged at the lack of information, you have an option to write formally to the University and register a complaint under the terms for which the exam was sat (if this was the case) Then just sit back and wait.

There is nothing you can do now. The exam is over and the only control you have is how you think about it (or not) Get rid of all thoughts of the exam and monitor your thinking. If on your head radar you find yourself thinking about it deliberately and immediately block it out of your mindset. Displace thinking by being busy with other activity.

Fingers cross though a pass is a pass and hopefully you have done enough to get over that bar.