Deferring exams because of mental health

I'm in my final year at uni and I have been struggling with my mental health lately which has affected me in my assignments. With exams coming up, is it possible that the uni will allow me to defer my exams to August without them being capped due to my mental health problems? How much evidence do I need to provide?

Reply 1

CardiffUni Rep 2

Official Rep

11

Original post by loxii

I'm in my final year at uni and I have been struggling with my mental health lately which has affected me in my assignments. With exams coming up, is it possible that the uni will allow me to defer my exams to August without them being capped due to my mental health problems? How much evidence do I need to provide?

I think that its a little hard to say since every university's policy might be a little different, unfortunately. The best thing you can do its probably just ask. There are usually a couple different contacts you can ask. Your SU gives good advice, since their purpose is to support students. I've found that contacting the university's mental health team is also helpful, as they would be aware what to do with university problems concerning your mental health. If you find your personal tutor helpful, it might also be helpful to ask them as well.

~ Fatiha, Cardiff University Student Rep

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 2

username5972212

0

17

You will need medical / professional psychotherapeutic evidence for this I would think. Get it done asap in case your application is rejected and you still have to sit the exams.

Reply 3

Chronoscope

Volunteer Section Leader

21

Original post by loxii

I'm in my final year at uni and I have been struggling with my mental health lately which has affected me in my assignments. With exams coming up, is it possible that the uni will allow me to defer my exams to August without them being capped due to my mental health problems? How much evidence do I need to provide?

I would contact your academic tutor or uni's disability office for advice. If you have MH problems if you provide evidence to your uni's disability office you should be able to get reasonable adjustments for exams, e.g. separate room, extra time etc.

The only problem with deferral is you don't get a second chance to resit (August exams technically are the second chance for most students).
It also depends if you also want to graduate with your cohort or not too. For example, my graduation is July and I wasn't expecting it to be so soon! :yikes:

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 4

Kingston Reps

Official Rep

15

Original post by loxii

I'm in my final year at uni and I have been struggling with my mental health lately which has affected me in my assignments. With exams coming up, is it possible that the uni will allow me to defer my exams to August without them being capped due to my mental health problems? How much evidence do I need to provide?

Hi @loxii,

I am sorry to hear that you are struggling at the moment. I have been to the same place before in my final year. You will need some evidence, but how much depends on the university. I believe a GP note is enough in some cases. As others have advised every university's policy is different and I would contact the disability team, your tutor and the course lead for the models with exams coming up.

There is usually a procedure to apply for exam deferrals. Also, some of my friends who deferred exams did graduate at a later date than the original set for our cohort. Some universities have a wellbeing team who can offer emotional support.

In my case, I tried to prepare as much as I could even though I could only revise for a little bit and if felt like I was staring at a screen without progress.

Do you think that attending a study group might help you?

Hristiana (Kingston rep)
1st Year Mental Health Nursing Student

Some free resources you might find useful are:
Shout text helpline

•

Text 'SHOUT' to 85258 to start a conversation with them

The Samaritans

•

Call 116 123 for free

Reply 5

hallamstudents

Official Rep

18

Original post by loxii

I'm in my final year at uni and I have been struggling with my mental health lately which has affected me in my assignments. With exams coming up, is it possible that the uni will allow me to defer my exams to August without them being capped due to my mental health problems? How much evidence do I need to provide?

Hi there,

I would say that the best thing to do would be to try and contact your University help team as soon as possible and explain your situation to them. They may be able to help you and come up with a solution for you. It's different for every university so it's worth just going to them and asking what the procedure is for doing this.

I would also go to your GP and explain the situation and see if they would be able to provide you with a doctors note or other evidence as it is likely you will need this in order to defer your exams so it is worth having it. They may also be able to help you with your mental health in general so it is a good idea to get an appointment with them.

You could also go to your personal tutor/academic advisor and explain how you are feeling to them as they may also be able to help you with this process or just give you some general advice about the exams if you are unable to defer them.The same goes for your module tutors as they may also be able to offer you some advice about this.

Again, you could contact your university wellbeing team as they may also be able to support you on this so it is worth a try asking all of these people just in case someone can help you. The main thing you will need though is evidence so make sure you have this as this is what will help your case.

I hope some of this helps ,

Lucy -SHU student ambassador.

Deferring exams because of mental health

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