What if I fail? :(

LegacyUser

Hey,

I'm finishing my honours degree this year, after a bit of a break to save some money as I support myself. The thing is, I was all excited about it this time last month, but now I'm really worried

Its a complete change from the first 2 years, and I'm finding some of it quite difficult to be honest, one class in particular. Its just that there is so much work to do in such a short space of time. Along with that I'm working fri evenings and 6pm - 6am night shift on a Sat, which is just about covering my back yet still leaving me with less time to study. I keep thinking what if I fail and everything I've done to get here winds up being a total waste of time? It would crush me to be honest. Failing to me is getting anything under a 2:1 - thats what I want - I know a degree is a degree but I just really want a good one.

Alot of the course involves presentations, some of which account for part of your final grade, and I'm absolutely bricking it, I had one this week which was only 10 minutes and I completely bottled it - I couldn't catch my breath to speak and my legs were shaking - I'm so annoyed at myself because I worked really hard on it I know its not just me - alot of people are saying the same thing - but I still can't help feeling stressed out 24/7. Even if I'm just sitting down doing nothing for a minute, I'm constantly thinking about what study I should be doing instead.

The first two years were nothing like this, I found it quite easy and I was confident in my abilities, but now I'm not so sure It's been a long road to get this far on my own, I took a loan out to help cover the rent this year because I knew I wouldn't be able to work as much, but what worries me is that if I fail I'll have nothing to show for it

I just really really need to do this right, and I don't know what to do.

MagicMarker

If at first you don't succeed, try try again.

brianthebard

Its good that you are worried, if you hadn't set up a challenge for yourself what would be the point. Lots of people get worried about final year and lots of people get through it. Set yourself goals on a weekly,monthly,semester basis and work through them. Its not easy but it is worth it.

GAAman

Im in the same boat op believe me sure dcc told me as i wasnt livin in Dublin from oct of last year im not eligible, but they didnt fund me for my foundation year (so basically they wouldnt give me fundin for my foundation year studied and because of that year which got me into uni they wouldnt fund me for uni :mad::mad::mad:)

But all i can say is, you said you are worried about failin and havin nothin to show for it. Use this fear like a petrol get the head down and if you are findin one module in particular harder then others ask for help Does your college have studies advice tutors? They will provide help when needed and you wont be the first one nor the last one to need it.

Not to sound cliché but "Feel the fear and do it anyway"

Best of luck

jellie

i think your final year is a shock to the system for everyone. suddenly everything is much more serious & your results REALLY MATTER, which is scary as hell.

i was the same. 3 weeks into 4th yr i was thinking "what the hell have i gotten myself into, i cant cope with this". but i did. take it 1 week at a time, 1 assignment at a time. try not to let things build up. make use of your free hours between lectures to get work done & dont spend them in the canteen drinking coffee!

as for presentations, yeah they are very daunting at first. my legs shook the entire time i was up speaking on my first one. but you get used to them. make sure you know your presention inside out, & dont have a script learnt off (some people do this & then if they forget one line theyre completely lost).

& make time to relax & do things you enjoy. have time set aside if you must thats YOUR time to do nothing (or something, depending on what you want).

dont know if any of thats any help, thats just how i somehow got through it all

LegacyUser

Thanks everyone,

Unfortunately, trying again just isn't an option, I can barely afford to do it this year. Due to a fine print detail I can't get a grant for this year, so I'm totally dependent on work for income. My loan covers my rent until March thank god.

I'm after getting through a fair bit of work tonight, its not the hard work that gets to me, its just the fear of not being able for it - not being intelligent enough I guess. I've never come across something I just could not comprehend except for Maths in my Leaving Cert and one of my classes this year is heading that way.

All I can do is try though I guess, and if I don't do well at least I'll have finished it. I know alot of people have felt this way, and sara84 - its good to hear someone got through it

MayMay

Regards the money, I know no one wants to rely on their folks to bail them out but would you ask them for a little bit of money to make life a bit easier for you? I'm sure they'd be happy to help if they can, it sounds like you've worked so hard as it is.

Sangre

There isn't really much you can do except suck it up and plow through the work. I know the feeling of balancing study and work. Once, during exams, I had an exam from 9.30-12.30 then had to go to work from 1.30-10. I'd been up since about five. It was really tough but it paid off. It was completely worth it when I got the results in the end (these were the type of exams where if you pass you were over the moon). You have to ask yourself is the hard slog now worth the final result?

Its a clíche but it builds charachters, any time I've come across another huge load of work I know what I'm capable of. It certainly helped the next year when I balanced work (not as bad this time), dissertation and exams.

To top it all off in interviews when looking for a job I could point to this to show examples of hard work, dedication and planning. So if you suceed the only result isn't just your results.

One final point regarding the public speaking, please talk to the people running the class. They will have encountered this many times and will normally be more than willing to help you. Even if you don't, practice makes perfect and lots of preparation will also ease the nerves.

ali.c

MayMay wrote: »

Regards the money, I know no one wants to rely on their folks to bail them out but would you ask them for a little bit of money to make life a bit easier for you? I'm sure they'd be happy to help if they can, it sounds like you've worked so hard as it is.

If this isnt an option for you- colleges have welfare funds for people in your situation. If possible make an appointment with the welfare officer in the SU and they can help point you in the direction of any resources that may be available.

On the presentation side of things- practice, practice and more practice is the only thing that makes it easier. I used to be so bad at them now while still could be better a whole lot of practice makes it an almost enjoyable experience


Also you lectures and tutors are there to help you- if you are struggling this early in the year you should try and have a chat with them. Most of them have no problem giving an interested student a hand!

Good Luck and believe in yourself but what you are doing is a tough ask so dont forget ask for help if you need it!!

Thoie

Try finding a group of people in your class to study with. A bunch of us did this in my final year, and it really helped. We picked a subject for each session and either went through assignments that had been set for the class, or old exam questions. For me the two best benefits were the fact that if someone got an answer, they could explain where they got it from and the group could go through difficult questions brainstorming. Also, there will be times where you're the one getting the answer, and that helps you build confidence.

It was also useful for comparing lecture notes as well - we'd each take the notes taken by everyone for a particular lecture, and type them up making sure that no-one missed out on anything important. That meant you were the "expert" for that topic when it came to question answering as well.

We used do some of this in the canteen, drinking coffee between other lectures and it really worked well for us.

Oshare Bones

You know I dunno if this will help or not, but I was goin through the same thing around this time last year (was in final year of my degree also). So I talked to my mam and she said "Well if you fail, you fail, you'll get a job like everyone else and work". I ended up getting the degree anyway but it kinda helped when she put it into perspective.

LegacyUser

thanks everyone

Asking my parents isn't an option, I don't have a relationship with them. I've tried all avenues welfare wise but nothing is available, I think I'll be ok for money though if I put my mind to it. I've got this far on my own.

I was just sitting in my room thinking about it last night and got a bit stressed out, but I think I'll be ok. Most people in my class feel the same I was talking to them today, and I have great friends here aswell - it just all got to me last night I guess. I also said asked the lecturer to go over the thing I couldn't understand in class today and when she asked if anyone else didn't get it nearly every hand shot up
My college is good that way - the classes are small and I know the lecturers just want us to get through the year.

I think I'll be ok

MayMay

That's great to hear, see, you will be okay, it's not impossible. Good luck

Sugar Drunk

when I read your post the first thing i thought was 'whay if you don't fail'?
Sounds like you are making great tracks, your working as well as studying and still doing well and you seem to be very determined.
Like someone else said join a study group.

also, re presentations work on this and you will be fine. Practice presenting to friends or to a study group to prepare you for the real deal. also taking something like rescue remedy beforehand would be no harm. Its easy to pick up marks but giving a good presentation

LegacyUser

Same situation myself a couple of years back. Had to work and study at the same time and ended up failing 2 exams in my final year so that meant no degree for me! Just put it behind me and got a job. Im probably lucky that i dont really worry or stress about much in life, I just think to myself that its not the end of the world and move on. Two years later im earning more than most of my friends who got their degree and in all honesty it is only a piece of paper, I think experience and personal character mean alot more than a degree when it comes to the work place. I work with some people who you would swear were brain dead yet they have 2 or 3 degrees, a masters and speak several languages! Just try your hardest and im sure you will pass and if not....so what!