Failed half of my exams... what next? :(

Lost_Time

Hey,
I'm really out of my comfort zone here. I have two years under my belt in college without a repeat and now I fail half of my exams. This whole year has been a bit of a slump. Think a lot of others in my year felt it too. I just felt fed up and wasn't able to motivate myself to do the work necessary to pass.

I have no idea what to do next. I know I need to get in contact with my tutor but I don't really know who that is. Who do I get in contact with to find out. Will he/she tell me anything that I don't know?

I'm in doing Engineering if that helps.

syboit

Best thing is to go see the lecturer's off your courses. Ask them where you went down in the main exams,and ask them about the repeats , any tips etc etc. They will also be able to help you if any tutor's are still around or anyone that could possibly help with grinds.

boombang

Your tutor is somebody not necessarily related to course subject (mine was in a completely different department). They are simply a sensible person working at TCD who can help you through things like this. The student information system may have changed since I was an undergrad, but you can probably find who your tutor is through that. Either that or ring/call into student records in Front Square.

Regarding your failing the exams? I guess you're not yet in a degree year (ie the failure of these exams won't count towards your final degree grade)? If so, don't sweat it. Get sensible/tactical about the repeats and look to cover the minimum necessary across all your papers and work up from there. Figure out what sort of grade compensation you are facing across the subjects etc.

Even if you fail your repeats it really isn't the end of the world at all. An extra year in college won't be a problem in the long run. If you're totally tired and fed up you can all ways go off-books for a year and return to the degree a year later.

Speaking as somebody who completed their undergrad ten years ago I would advise you not to sweat it too much. Keep a calm head and take a look at all the options. In the long run this won't matter a bit.

Lost_Time

boombang wrote: »

Regarding your failing the exams? I guess you're not yet in a degree year (ie the failure of these exams won't count towards your final degree grade)? If so, don't sweat it. Get sensible/tactical about the repeats and look to cover the minimum necessary across all your papers and work up from there. Figure out what sort of grade compensation you are facing across the subjects etc.

Even if you fail your repeats it really isn't the end of the world at all. An extra year in college won't be a problem in the long run. If you're totally tired and fed up you can all ways go off-books for a year and return to the degree a year later.

Speaking as somebody who completed their undergrad ten years ago I would advise you not to sweat it too much. Keep a calm head and take a look at all the options. In the long run this won't matter a bit.

This year counts for 20% of my degree so I'm pretty upset at the outcome. I have contacted the office by email for details on my tutor so I can meet up with him/her. I think I need a cup of tea

boombang

One possibility worth considering is repeating 3rd year. A friend of mine did poorly in his 3rd year exams and rather than take a big penalty to his final degree he simply chose to repeat the year. He got the head down, did well when repeating the year and was well set up for finals in 4th year.

This might seem like the nuclear option, but it is worth considering. Has implication for fees of course.

I don't know if you can repeat off books (ie not attend tuition, but just repeat the year in terms of exams and assignments) but this might also be worth asking about.

Lost_Time

boombang wrote: »

One possibility worth considering is repeating 3rd year. A friend of mine did poorly in his 3rd year exams and rather than take a big penalty to his final degree he simply chose to repeat the year. He got the head down, did well when repeating the year and was well set up for finals in 4th year.

This might seem like the nuclear option, but it is worth considering. Has implication for fees of course.

I don't know if you can repeat off books (ie not attend tuition, but just repeat the year in terms of exams and assignments) but this might also be worth asking about.

I don't think I would be able to afford the fees. I'll keep it in mind but I really don't want to have to repeat the year.

I wish I could go back 3 or 4 months and kick myself up the arse.

Lost_Time

Got in touch with my tutor who is scheduling a meeting with me for next week.
After the overwhelming process of opening the results page and the feeling of not knowing what to do, I know feel a lot better.
Thanks everyone for the help and tips. Have a few questions that I need to ask and then a whole lot of studying to do.

Grimebox

boombang wrote: »

One possibility worth considering is repeating 3rd year. A friend of mine did poorly in his 3rd year exams and rather than take a big penalty to his final degree he simply chose to repeat the year. He got the head down, did well when repeating the year and was well set up for finals in 4th year.

This might seem like the nuclear option, but it is worth considering. Has implication for fees of course.

I don't know if you can repeat off books (ie not attend tuition, but just repeat the year in terms of exams and assignments) but this might also be worth asking about.

Absolutely bonkers suggestion. Definitely do not do this.

Just knuckle down for the repeats and let this be a lesson you will never forget. As regards to the 20%: its done now and you can't change it. Forget about it and move on, in the grand scheme of things it doesn't mean matter anyway.

Lost_Time

Grimebox wrote: »

Absolutely bonkers suggestion. Definitely do not do this.

Just knuckle down for the repeats and let this be a lesson you will never forget. As regards to the 20%: its done now and you can't change it. Forget about it and move on, in the grand scheme of things it doesn't mean matter anyway.

Cheers mate.

The only issue with the 20% is that I really want to go onto do the masters course during 5th year. We were told about some minimum grading that is required to get into the program. I just hope this doesn't go and bite me come the end of fourth year.
If I don't get the required grade then I'm in some what of a limbo, not having completed a "final year project"
I know these are not the sort of things that I should be asking you guys. Hopefully my tutor will have answers for that.

Thanks again.