I'm failing my degree.
 

Maybe you need to admit to the university that you need help with your studies? There are things in place so that the university can help you with that. Or you might want to think about having a year out to focus on things?

Its not really leaving though and at the end of the day you have to decide what you want to do. Time off is not a bad thing, you can still do uni work and be really prepared for when you go back and also get yourself better. But if your work is suffering because of that then it may be for the best.

Can you retake them?
Or ask for an extension on your next pieces of work so that you can spend more time making it good. If you get good marks with all of the rest of your work this year then it should balance out with bad one and then you will be ok.

Did you actually fail these pieces of work or were they just poor marks?


Also the more you worry about this the harder it will be to pick your self up and do well on all the other stuff.

Also speak to your personal tutor. See what the. An help with.

All the best x

Ithink when people are ill at uni they have to step back and re-adjust their expectations of themselves as regards marks. So long as you are passing that's good enough. Firsts are only there for the very top few - and with what you've been through it would be unrealistic to force yourself to try to achieve that - in fact it may be dangerous. I had to give up on thoughts of a first a long time ago, and it was the best thing I could do. Focus on staying alive, and your degree will follow in due course. Trying to focus on a first, and you may put your life on the line if you stress yourself too much. xx

Even if the marks would mean you only graduate with a third, you would still graduate. Which means you still have a degree and possibilities as a result. Keep going - if you drop out you'll only regret it. A pass degree is better than no degree.

Time out is not the end of the world. I had to, then came back part time. Was horrible at the time, but I got a high 2:1 and am now doing well on an MSc.

I hear you. I hear what your saying but I can feel the pressure you are under from here hun.. it's bouncing of the page. If you enjoy your course, get your head down, read well, study well... and you'll do great.

You won't let anybody down sweetie. Do this for you, if you want to otherwise, don't put yourself through it.

I can't lie, next year will be very tough...third years at uni just are, they just are hard but it is possible. I am proof of that but you have to do it for you not because you might let X or Y down.

My pm box is open if you want it

Would you rather take a much needed leave of absence and come back later when you are in a better place, even if it means paying for it yourself, or graduate for the sake of graduating with a mark that disappoints you and could end up haunting you forever? It's up to you.

Let's be honest here, graduates now need at least a 2.2, although more and more and more jobs are asking for 2.1s. A degree isn't really enough on its own. There is no shame in taking a year or two out in order for you to get yourself better.

just wanted to echo what the one who says

There are always options, perhaps part-time study or the Open University (you should be able to transfer your current credits) might be more suited further down the line. For the money you'd probably need to work and save, but it can be done.

Why don't you have access to help? You could change your focus to getting help, or to working, or to volunteering, or to travelling. Anything really. Maybe a break is all you need.

I struggled through uni instead of taking time out. It was a long 3 years but I got a low 2:2 and went onto my masters.

I had so much support though to do it, uni counselling, therapist, family, boyfriend, friends, my tutor.

So yeah it really can be done but not if youre struggling alone with it.

Are there any support services that can help with specific things? What about uni disabilty services.

I keep coming back to this thread, and I'm not sure that what I'm going to say is useful, but I hope it helps at least a bit.

I know that you really, really don't want to take any time out, but don't let finances stop you from doing that. You can suspend your student loans for a year and actually when I enquired about it they were really helpful.

I don't know your situation fully, but on the surface I was in a very similar position to you. I spent the final term of my first year in hospital, came out in the August and went straight back to uni in the September. I fought so hard to pretend that I was well, but with the pressure of that my second year marks weren't good enough for me. There was no pressure from anyone but myself, but people were consistently surprised, because previously I'd done well. I then ended up in a really sticky situation.

In my third year (of 4) I forced myself to carry on, because I couldn't bear the "shame" of taking time and space to get myself sorted out, and I ended up with another month in hospital. I really wasn't well and it's only through major blagging and a really "playable" Spanish system that I got anywhere decent marks.

In my final year I reached a point where I told myself and everyone in my MH team that if I didn't get a 2:1 I was going to kill myself, and really, really meant it. To the point that when I went to pick up my results I took everything that I would have needed, and very nearly got into a lot of trouble.
Looking back, I can't believe that I carried on with how unwell I was. I believed that everything depended upon my degree result, on me finishing it and being brilliant. It didn't. Yes, I have a good degree from a good university, but has it solved anything? No.

What I'm trying to say is that my biggest regret is not taking the time I needed to get well. Everyone thought I was going to get a first, or so I thought, but when it came down to it, and what my friends, family and MH team have told me since is that they didn't care about my grades, they just cared about me getting through it without me seriously hurting myself.

So my second point is, don't think about other people's expectations of you, because actually they'll be your own, really high expectations, projected back onto them.

I'm sorry for this massive ramble, but I really feel that whilst it can be done nothing is worth what you're going through. Even maybe taking this term out and taking your exams in the resit period could give you a bit of time to get yourself sorted, or as sorted as possible.

Good luck and please don't place more value on the short term than the long term.

Can I ask one question....what in your eyes is wrong with a 2.2?

There are also lots of graduate programmes that just require you to have a second class honours, and many just require a degree but a suitable person, and with mitigating circumstances you may just be that suitable person.

I do know how you're feeling though. I joined uni adamant I'd get a first, and I'm now 7 revision weeks away from finals no clue how I'm going to pass because I've hit a massive low. But so long as I qualify for honours this year I can go on to next year, so I reach the consensus that I just have to get 40%. Taking that pressure off kinda helps.

And you don't HAVE to go onto a graduate programme - there are lots of other routes out there.

I don't really have much to add to this, except to add some personal experiences into the mix.

I've been advised from finishing my GCSE's in 2004 right up until I agreed to it last year to take time out of education due to my mental health. I wish I had listened to them before now as all I have done is make my mental and physical health a million times worse in the long run.

I can understand wanting to stay at university because you have fought to be there, but tbh it seems like you are running out of options with the university and their position in the issue. My university actually gave me an ultimatum last year... either I took the year off or they wouldn't let me back. It has been the best thing for me ever. Yes, there have been times that I have hated not being at univeristy but other times I have been glad that I accepted that I needed the time out. You have to see this from the universities point of view. Although you are now an adult, they do have a duty of care over all their students, if they think you can't cope with university they have to be seen to be doing something to help you, even if it seems like they are doing the exact opposite.

At the end of the day, none of us can make this decision for you but we can ask you this. What is more important to you. Your degree or your health? From what I am seeing here from you, if you carry on now with your degree it is going to affect you negativley for the rest of your life if you don't get the grades you feel you can achieve (I've had to deal with these thoughts over my GCSE's and it does really bug me sometimes). Definatley finish the year though, but take the year out, as final year is the most stressful. Also, would it be possible to do resits on the odd module on your year off if you don't do as well as you think you could?

Might be worth going and talking to a careers advisor at university, they are good with helping sort out years off and stuff.

This is exactly how I felt. To the letter.

I was so sure I'd sail through and get a first, I didn't, but I ended up with a high 2:1, with marks very similar to yours in my second year. I look back now and realise that adding that pressure on myself was the worst thing I could have done. It made me iller, and I wasn't particularly in a good place to begin with.

A 2:1 or a first is lovely, but on my course no-one got a first and out of the whole of my department less than 15 people did, and my department was huge. Uni isn't just about the marks, it's about growing up, developing, finding your interests and coping.

For the record, I also applied for grad schemes, and ended up turning one down following an internship because I'd have been so unhappy there. Again, only a small number of people get on to grad schemes, and an even smaller number love them. I realise I was very lucky to get my place, but it was more a case of who I knew than what I knew.

It seems that you've got a very fixed idea of what you want to do and how you want to do it set in your mind, and I completely understand why, but honestly, and I know it's difficult to see in the middle of everything, the pressure you are putting yourself under is not worth it.

No-one would ever think negatively of you, and I can think of several schemes which only require you to have a 2:2, the NHS one for example. A 2:2 also isn't a barrier to masters study, should you wish to carry on.

Again, this has turned into a massive ramble, but I felt the same at this time last year, it was all I could think of, but really now, it doesn't matter. I haven't once, since graduating been asked what type of degree I have, only where I went and if I enjoyed it.

If you don't want to take time out, I'd really look at how you're going to cope with final year. Because it has the potential to make you really ill.

I got on a masters and phd in drug chemistry on a 2:2.

I agree with the above once you finish it's about who you know not what you know. I got on my masters based on my tutors recommendation. I got my phd as I'd studied the right course and had an interest and had good tutors who were known by them.

Why don't you apply to do some summer work or summer university work. You could do it voluntarily and see if it's what you'd want?

Hey, how have you been the last few days?
If you're not in your final year (i'm sorry for making assumptions) is there a possibility of postponing/deferring some of your exams til later in the summer or next year? I don't know if your uni do it, but mine has a 'summer resit deadline' in August that you can get extenuating circumstances for, and submit some essays, or take some exams at a later date.

You sound like you're having mixed feelings about staying/leaving. What do you think you want to do right now?

Just wanted to say HUGS, I've been going through the same thing for the last year. And a lot of teachers seem to not think a mental health issue is a problem, one teacher failed me just based on attendance even though I was in the hospital because of mental health issues, and her head of department sided with her. I used to be a 4.0 student, so I know I can do it, its just I feel like I'm fighting myself. So I know how you feel, I'm going through it too :/ I can't offer too much adivce other then just keep trying, you will make it through this, and if you have to take a break, then you will be back if its something you really want to do. I also havnt told anyone how I am doing, and its even more disapointing to have everyone think your amazing and stuff when you know your not doing well. So HUGS again, I wish you the best, feel free to PM me if you ever want to :)

Thanks for your replies,

I'm freaking out because the library was close for 5 ****ing days and then our online thing where all our reading is is now down for today & tomorrow. Why the hell my uni planned a 7 day ****ing holiday when people have deadlines I have no idea ****inghellthisisbullshitiuehwndo. I'm very stressed.

I can defer my exams until the summer (I'm in 2nd year) but my department hate me and are waiting for an excuse to make me take time out so asking for extentions is now a no no.

Katisha sorry you're going through the same bullshit, I'm here if you wana talk :)

Ahhhh :crying:

I am in my second year and was in hospital in january. I have ongoing mitigating circumstances in place continously, and reguluarly take extensions. I have missed modules, but replaced them this year with the help of my course leader and tutor. I am also resiting exams in august and coursework that i missed due to being in hospital.

I was offered a year out, but a year doing nothing with no aim would not help me. You are entitled to extensions regardless of whether your department 'likes you' as you have a valid reason.

Is there a mental health adviser at the uni you can see? Mine has been great. I also have a mentor who helps me plan my work and manage time who is great too. In fact my uni are very supportive.

Im not sure what you should do, but i hope you come to the right decision soon. Sorry for useless post, i was just sharing my situation.

take care xxx