Dealing with Academic Setbacks?
Hi there,
I recently completed my undergraduate degree, I had a massive issue with my dissertation where I had finished the final draft a week before the deadline and wanted to get it checked by my supervisor.
Unfortunately, the supervisor in question had gone on holiday during this week and the next in which the presentation was also due. I wasn't too worried since I had an extension due to issues with my long-term illness. However, when they had returned the deadline to review drafts had passed and nothing could be done.
I got a lower-than-expected grade in my dissertation, due to the structure and not the content (mainly just issues with the use of figures and chapter names), something which could've been easily fixed upon review. Fast forward to now and I got rejected from my ug uni to do an MSc as I missed the entry req by 1 mark. (I still got a 2.1. so nothing life-destroying)
This setback forced me to leave behind my friends and family and move to a different city to attend a different university. I haven't made any friends yet and struggling to feel motivated to apply for grad jobs, study, etc.
I'm still feeling incredibly upset about this entire situation, which was completely out of my control. I know that life isn't always fair, but I'm struggling to move past this and regain my motivation.
Has anyone else been in a similar situation, dealing with academic setbacks and unexpected turns in their journey?
I recently completed my undergraduate degree, I had a massive issue with my dissertation where I had finished the final draft a week before the deadline and wanted to get it checked by my supervisor.
Unfortunately, the supervisor in question had gone on holiday during this week and the next in which the presentation was also due. I wasn't too worried since I had an extension due to issues with my long-term illness. However, when they had returned the deadline to review drafts had passed and nothing could be done.
I got a lower-than-expected grade in my dissertation, due to the structure and not the content (mainly just issues with the use of figures and chapter names), something which could've been easily fixed upon review. Fast forward to now and I got rejected from my ug uni to do an MSc as I missed the entry req by 1 mark. (I still got a 2.1. so nothing life-destroying)
This setback forced me to leave behind my friends and family and move to a different city to attend a different university. I haven't made any friends yet and struggling to feel motivated to apply for grad jobs, study, etc.
I'm still feeling incredibly upset about this entire situation, which was completely out of my control. I know that life isn't always fair, but I'm struggling to move past this and regain my motivation.
Has anyone else been in a similar situation, dealing with academic setbacks and unexpected turns in their journey?
Forgot to say:
We didn't get told that we had a deadline for draft reviews and that if you had an extension then you weren't allowed to have your draft reviewed after the initial deadline
We didn't get told that we had a deadline for draft reviews and that if you had an extension then you weren't allowed to have your draft reviewed after the initial deadline
Original post by Anonymous
Hi there,
I recently completed my undergraduate degree, I had a massive issue with my dissertation where I had finished the final draft a week before the deadline and wanted to get it checked by my supervisor.
Unfortunately, the supervisor in question had gone on holiday during this week and the next in which the presentation was also due. I wasn't too worried since I had an extension due to issues with my long-term illness. However, when they had returned the deadline to review drafts had passed and nothing could be done.
I got a lower-than-expected grade in my dissertation, due to the structure and not the content (mainly just issues with the use of figures and chapter names), something which could've been easily fixed upon review. Fast forward to now and I got rejected from my ug uni to do an MSc as I missed the entry req by 1 mark. (I still got a 2.1. so nothing life-destroying)
This setback forced me to leave behind my friends and family and move to a different city to attend a different university. I haven't made any friends yet and struggling to feel motivated to apply for grad jobs, study, etc.
I'm still feeling incredibly upset about this entire situation, which was completely out of my control. I know that life isn't always fair, but I'm struggling to move past this and regain my motivation.
Has anyone else been in a similar situation, dealing with academic setbacks and unexpected turns in their journey?
I recently completed my undergraduate degree, I had a massive issue with my dissertation where I had finished the final draft a week before the deadline and wanted to get it checked by my supervisor.
Unfortunately, the supervisor in question had gone on holiday during this week and the next in which the presentation was also due. I wasn't too worried since I had an extension due to issues with my long-term illness. However, when they had returned the deadline to review drafts had passed and nothing could be done.
I got a lower-than-expected grade in my dissertation, due to the structure and not the content (mainly just issues with the use of figures and chapter names), something which could've been easily fixed upon review. Fast forward to now and I got rejected from my ug uni to do an MSc as I missed the entry req by 1 mark. (I still got a 2.1. so nothing life-destroying)
This setback forced me to leave behind my friends and family and move to a different city to attend a different university. I haven't made any friends yet and struggling to feel motivated to apply for grad jobs, study, etc.
I'm still feeling incredibly upset about this entire situation, which was completely out of my control. I know that life isn't always fair, but I'm struggling to move past this and regain my motivation.
Has anyone else been in a similar situation, dealing with academic setbacks and unexpected turns in their journey?
Hi there
I'm sorry you're feeling this way. It's a fairly recent phenomenon, so honestly I wouldn't expect you (or anyone else this happened to) to get over it so quickly. It can be especially difficult when things are out of your control. However, it's easy to fall into the trap of self-doubt when the motivation is lacking, so that is definitely something you have to prevent.
Everything has pros and cons. On the pro side, you got a 2:1 in your undergrad which is amazing and you're now doing a masters. You're starting a new journey, both academically and socially. Instead of being bogged down by the cons that you're leaving friends and family, I would say make the best of it. Treat it as a new opportunity to allow yourself to meet new people and adapt to new circumstances. I know it won't be easy initially but if you put in effort, you will definitely start making new friends and feel much better about the whole situation. And I know this because I'm an international student, so I also left my friends and family and moved to a whole new country to study for my undergrad.
Plus, you can always facetime your close ones and visit them when you want. Also remember that if these feelings drag on for too long, you can seek support from your uni. Counselling services at uni are usually free so reach out to them. The careers service will also be there to help with finding and applying for grad jobs. I feel that once you feel more supported where you are right now, especially by people around you, you'll do much better. So try to go out, join some societies of interest, interact with people on your course, and just try to get to know people. I'm sure everything else will start falling in place, even if it doesn't seem like it right now.
Good luck
-Himieka
Hi @anonymous #1 💛
I sympathize with you deeply , what you have been through is not easy and that kind of disappointment can take it's toll on you. It is perfectly normal to grieve the plans you had made and the hard work you put in that didn't bare the fruits you planned. I haven't been through that exact same situation but I know what it is like to put a lot of effort and things go south completely out of my control in an academic setting . It is demotivating to say the least and although life is unfair that doesn't mean that we don't get affected when it happens.
Take a little time to process what's happened , it's still recent and your allowed to be sad and heart broken but you can't stay that way forever. Cry if you must , moan and groan about it too and maybe have some ice cream and chocolate ( I strongly advice this ). But when all is said and done you have to pull yourself out of this and get back at it. You don't have to be 100% motivated but start with just one job application and then start studying 45 minutes a day for the first two week of school then slowly get back to your normal pace .
Motivation doesn't help us get things done because it runs out , I've learnt that discipline keeps us going. And this is a perfect time for you to start exercising that discipline. This experience was awful but how you come out of it will be your victory story , even in your interviews you can use this experience as an indication of how you dealt with adversity and setbacks and why , what you learnt make you a better employee. Our experiences shape us into better people if we allow them to , this too will be a story of how you overcame if you are willing to make it that.
Good luck for this year ! and don't let this keep you down too long.
Cece ✨
Engineering Student
De Montfort University
I sympathize with you deeply , what you have been through is not easy and that kind of disappointment can take it's toll on you. It is perfectly normal to grieve the plans you had made and the hard work you put in that didn't bare the fruits you planned. I haven't been through that exact same situation but I know what it is like to put a lot of effort and things go south completely out of my control in an academic setting . It is demotivating to say the least and although life is unfair that doesn't mean that we don't get affected when it happens.
Take a little time to process what's happened , it's still recent and your allowed to be sad and heart broken but you can't stay that way forever. Cry if you must , moan and groan about it too and maybe have some ice cream and chocolate ( I strongly advice this ). But when all is said and done you have to pull yourself out of this and get back at it. You don't have to be 100% motivated but start with just one job application and then start studying 45 minutes a day for the first two week of school then slowly get back to your normal pace .
Motivation doesn't help us get things done because it runs out , I've learnt that discipline keeps us going. And this is a perfect time for you to start exercising that discipline. This experience was awful but how you come out of it will be your victory story , even in your interviews you can use this experience as an indication of how you dealt with adversity and setbacks and why , what you learnt make you a better employee. Our experiences shape us into better people if we allow them to , this too will be a story of how you overcame if you are willing to make it that.
Good luck for this year ! and don't let this keep you down too long.
Cece ✨
Engineering Student
De Montfort University
Original post by De Montfort University
Hi @anonymous #1 💛
I sympathize with you deeply , what you have been through is not easy and that kind of disappointment can take it's toll on you. It is perfectly normal to grieve the plans you had made and the hard work you put in that didn't bare the fruits you planned. I haven't been through that exact same situation but I know what it is like to put a lot of effort and things go south completely out of my control in an academic setting . It is demotivating to say the least and although life is unfair that doesn't mean that we don't get affected when it happens.
Take a little time to process what's happened , it's still recent and your allowed to be sad and heart broken but you can't stay that way forever. Cry if you must , moan and groan about it too and maybe have some ice cream and chocolate ( I strongly advice this ). But when all is said and done you have to pull yourself out of this and get back at it. You don't have to be 100% motivated but start with just one job application and then start studying 45 minutes a day for the first two week of school then slowly get back to your normal pace .
Motivation doesn't help us get things done because it runs out , I've learnt that discipline keeps us going. And this is a perfect time for you to start exercising that discipline. This experience was awful but how you come out of it will be your victory story , even in your interviews you can use this experience as an indication of how you dealt with adversity and setbacks and why , what you learnt make you a better employee. Our experiences shape us into better people if we allow them to , this too will be a story of how you overcame if you are willing to make it that.
Good luck for this year ! and don't let this keep you down too long.
Cece ✨
Engineering Student
De Montfort University
I sympathize with you deeply , what you have been through is not easy and that kind of disappointment can take it's toll on you. It is perfectly normal to grieve the plans you had made and the hard work you put in that didn't bare the fruits you planned. I haven't been through that exact same situation but I know what it is like to put a lot of effort and things go south completely out of my control in an academic setting . It is demotivating to say the least and although life is unfair that doesn't mean that we don't get affected when it happens.
Take a little time to process what's happened , it's still recent and your allowed to be sad and heart broken but you can't stay that way forever. Cry if you must , moan and groan about it too and maybe have some ice cream and chocolate ( I strongly advice this ). But when all is said and done you have to pull yourself out of this and get back at it. You don't have to be 100% motivated but start with just one job application and then start studying 45 minutes a day for the first two week of school then slowly get back to your normal pace .
Motivation doesn't help us get things done because it runs out , I've learnt that discipline keeps us going. And this is a perfect time for you to start exercising that discipline. This experience was awful but how you come out of it will be your victory story , even in your interviews you can use this experience as an indication of how you dealt with adversity and setbacks and why , what you learnt make you a better employee. Our experiences shape us into better people if we allow them to , this too will be a story of how you overcame if you are willing to make it that.
Good luck for this year ! and don't let this keep you down too long.
Cece ✨
Engineering Student
De Montfort University
Love: "motivation doesn't help us get things done because it runs out. I've learnt that discipline keeps us going."
Oluwatosin – 3rd year student – University of Huddersfield
Idk it's 2 weeks later and I still don't feel great, I'm visiting my home city (London) for 5 days (end at 2pm on Fri, Tues class is cancelled) this week and it's just so much better. I miss my old friends and life. I've already booked tickets to visit London again, from Fri to Mon (my timetable allows for it). My new friends in the new city are quite unsociable and won't even study together which sucks, I have a friend to play fifa with but that's pretty much it. I've only met 1/7 flatmates too.
I'm also planning to just stay in London for a week, the week after next (can do so without missing labs).
Idek if its worth putting a lot of effort into making new friends since I'll be back living in London (family home) after the end of the MSc and there's only 16 weeks of teaching left (6 left this sem, full 10 next) since I always go home for revision periods. The summer term is just a dissertation which can be done at home, I also can visit London frequently. It also takes so much effort since if you don't have good coursemates/hallmates, which is me. My friends from London are going to be long-term friends since I can live at home which sets me up financially.
I'm stuck in an in-between position where I need to be up there for classes but don't need to be on campus on Mon & half of Fri in both sems, so can visit London frequently. But then that kinda detracts from going to uni and the door-to-door commute time is 3 hours and a £35 ticket. I'm just lost on what to do since everything seems to be a losing situation. I want to be open to new experiences but can't even meet sociable people. What do I even do?
I'm also planning to just stay in London for a week, the week after next (can do so without missing labs).
Idek if its worth putting a lot of effort into making new friends since I'll be back living in London (family home) after the end of the MSc and there's only 16 weeks of teaching left (6 left this sem, full 10 next) since I always go home for revision periods. The summer term is just a dissertation which can be done at home, I also can visit London frequently. It also takes so much effort since if you don't have good coursemates/hallmates, which is me. My friends from London are going to be long-term friends since I can live at home which sets me up financially.
I'm stuck in an in-between position where I need to be up there for classes but don't need to be on campus on Mon & half of Fri in both sems, so can visit London frequently. But then that kinda detracts from going to uni and the door-to-door commute time is 3 hours and a £35 ticket. I'm just lost on what to do since everything seems to be a losing situation. I want to be open to new experiences but can't even meet sociable people. What do I even do?
Spoiler
You have to move past this.
There are very likely steps that your institution could have taken to mitigate the stuff you mention, but ultimately they will say that it is your responsibility to know this stuff and to adhere to all deadlines. It would be very, very unusual for there to be no communication of deadlines, and one might expect many more failures and poor results f this was indeed the case. It is now what it is and there's not really much to be done, so dwelling in the past is only going to make you sad - it's just not worth it.
It's also no use saying 'if only for x y and z I'd have a first', because the facts simply are that x y and z happened, and it's no use ruing what might have been when you can be working toward what could be.
I am sympathetic to your situation and I see things like this fairly often in my job. But I have to say to you what I say to my students: pick your chin up and crack on. make sure you do well now, going forward. Ensure you know in advance any deadlines or weird marking criteria, and work to mitigate their impacts. Speak to an advisor or a unit leader, programme director about any concerns.
You have to take this by the scruff of the neck and make it work for you, else you will have years of self-inflicted misery.
There are very likely steps that your institution could have taken to mitigate the stuff you mention, but ultimately they will say that it is your responsibility to know this stuff and to adhere to all deadlines. It would be very, very unusual for there to be no communication of deadlines, and one might expect many more failures and poor results f this was indeed the case. It is now what it is and there's not really much to be done, so dwelling in the past is only going to make you sad - it's just not worth it.
It's also no use saying 'if only for x y and z I'd have a first', because the facts simply are that x y and z happened, and it's no use ruing what might have been when you can be working toward what could be.
I am sympathetic to your situation and I see things like this fairly often in my job. But I have to say to you what I say to my students: pick your chin up and crack on. make sure you do well now, going forward. Ensure you know in advance any deadlines or weird marking criteria, and work to mitigate their impacts. Speak to an advisor or a unit leader, programme director about any concerns.
You have to take this by the scruff of the neck and make it work for you, else you will have years of self-inflicted misery.
Original post by gjd800
It would be very, very unusual for there to be no communication of deadlines, and one might expect many more failures and poor results f this was indeed the case.
I think it's because I had an extension, we also weren't made aware we could have our dissertation looked over by our supervisor at all (maybe cos it's STEM subject?) so that probably played a big part in it.
Original post by Anonymous
I think it's because I had an extension, we also weren't made aware we could have our dissertation looked over by our supervisor at all (maybe cos it's STEM subject?) so that probably played a big part in it.
Have you looked into some sort of appeal based on this? Non-communication or miscommunication can be covered under procedural error sections of appeal regulations. I don't know if that's an avenue you would want to take (it might even be too late, to be honest).
Original post by gjd800
I don't know if that's an avenue you would want to take (it might even be too late, to be honest).
It's too late now I think.
I did have an appeal for the exam I got a 41 in approved since I also had a few health related issues come up during the exam period, but it would mean my BSc would be revoked until the results are ratified in July 2024 meaning I can't even apply for entry into 2024 but only 2025.
I assume it'd have been a similar result.
I spoke to admissions about the appeal and they essentially just said you haven't met entry requirements so it doesn't matter.
Original post by Anonymous
It's too late now I think.
I did have an appeal for the exam I got a 41 in approved since I also had a few health related issues come up during the exam period, but it would mean my BSc would be revoked until the results are ratified in July 2024 meaning I can't even apply for entry into 2024 but only 2025.
I assume it'd have been a similar result.
I spoke to admissions about the appeal and they essentially just said you haven't met entry requirements so it doesn't matter.
I did have an appeal for the exam I got a 41 in approved since I also had a few health related issues come up during the exam period, but it would mean my BSc would be revoked until the results are ratified in July 2024 meaning I can't even apply for entry into 2024 but only 2025.
I assume it'd have been a similar result.
I spoke to admissions about the appeal and they essentially just said you haven't met entry requirements so it doesn't matter.
I don't like this at all, it strikes me as very unfair.
Original post by Anonymous
Hi there,
I recently completed my undergraduate degree, I had a massive issue with my dissertation where I had finished the final draft a week before the deadline and wanted to get it checked by my supervisor.
Unfortunately, the supervisor in question had gone on holiday during this week and the next in which the presentation was also due. I wasn't too worried since I had an extension due to issues with my long-term illness. However, when they had returned the deadline to review drafts had passed and nothing could be done.
I got a lower-than-expected grade in my dissertation, due to the structure and not the content (mainly just issues with the use of figures and chapter names), something which could've been easily fixed upon review. Fast forward to now and I got rejected from my ug uni to do an MSc as I missed the entry req by 1 mark. (I still got a 2.1. so nothing life-destroying)
This setback forced me to leave behind my friends and family and move to a different city to attend a different university. I haven't made any friends yet and struggling to feel motivated to apply for grad jobs, study, etc.
I'm still feeling incredibly upset about this entire situation, which was completely out of my control. I know that life isn't always fair, but I'm struggling to move past this and regain my motivation.
Has anyone else been in a similar situation, dealing with academic setbacks and unexpected turns in their journey?
I recently completed my undergraduate degree, I had a massive issue with my dissertation where I had finished the final draft a week before the deadline and wanted to get it checked by my supervisor.
Unfortunately, the supervisor in question had gone on holiday during this week and the next in which the presentation was also due. I wasn't too worried since I had an extension due to issues with my long-term illness. However, when they had returned the deadline to review drafts had passed and nothing could be done.
I got a lower-than-expected grade in my dissertation, due to the structure and not the content (mainly just issues with the use of figures and chapter names), something which could've been easily fixed upon review. Fast forward to now and I got rejected from my ug uni to do an MSc as I missed the entry req by 1 mark. (I still got a 2.1. so nothing life-destroying)
This setback forced me to leave behind my friends and family and move to a different city to attend a different university. I haven't made any friends yet and struggling to feel motivated to apply for grad jobs, study, etc.
I'm still feeling incredibly upset about this entire situation, which was completely out of my control. I know that life isn't always fair, but I'm struggling to move past this and regain my motivation.
Has anyone else been in a similar situation, dealing with academic setbacks and unexpected turns in their journey?
Hi there,
I've been in this situation more times than I can count. I think that the best thing that you can do is embrace the 2:1 (an incredible grade), forget about your dissertation and try to move on. It's easier said than done but that's one instance and the best thing that you can do is pick yourself up. Try to find out what you're interested in and really focus on that, you'll make some new friends along the way (just be yourself and take your time - don't put pressure on it). I'm sure that things will work out!
All the best,
Jaz - Cardiff student rep
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