I keep failing at uni (UK)

Post Reply New Topic

Results day is today. I have barely passed 50 credits worth of modules this year, which I think is about half of what is required. Those that I did pass, I passed barely by a few percent. I feel so sick right now. This is my second attempt at this year of my course already - the last time I left halfway through due to being suicidal. In my first year, I didn't do badly at all. But then it seems like without any warning whatsoever, it went from being easy and enjoyable to impossible unless you're a maths genius with a ridiculously huge memory.

I've been looking forward to graduating for ages (my course is supposed to take 3 years..) but right now I'm really not optimistic about that happening ever. On one hand, I know that I am pretty much stuck in a dead end soul-sucking job if I don't have a degree, if I can have a job at all that is, but I also don't want to keep pissing my money away trying to graduate when I'm just way too stupid to do it.

I am in the UK. There is no such thing as 'take online classes', 'take different classes', 'just change your degree subject', 'take less credits'.

Actually, taking a different course may solve your problems. I hit rock bottom once I started my business management studies, because I couldn't handle the subjects about accounting--no matter how hard I tried. After I dropped out, I enrolled in computer engineering and aced it. People with Asperger's have pretty much non-existant concentration and attention span in subjects that do not interest them, but good concentration in subjects that do.

I totally know what you mean. The British system of school is very different. I'm originally from Jamaica and I went and did 3 years of Uni before emigrating to the US. I know that you take courses as a course set. So of course taking another class is out of the question. My first year was great because I had a great set of friends who motivated me to keep up with them. They set up study groups and in a way there was a friendly competition amongst us to have the best grades. But when I changed majors I didnt have the same camaraderie and so I sunk big time. I had repeats and resits both of the years in my new major. Finally, I had made such a mess of things that my only other choice was to do a whole YEAR over again OR go to another school. Thats when I came to the US.

My advice is to see if you can find a group of students that you can study with because that really helps with the executive function problems. If they are a little bit competitive it helps even more because then you will feel that peer pressure to keep up too. It might be hard but its worth a shot. Otherwise, maybe you should explore another major and start afresh.

Starting again means starting from scratch from year 1 and being more and more in debt and it's really not what I want to happen at all since I don't enjoy uni and am just trying to get it over with. That, and I don't have a clue what other course I might be interested in. I don't think it's the course that's the problem, because it's subjects I have been interested in at school (geology/physics) and I do find some lectures interesting. I just hate university as a whole.

I have no friends, and I never speak to anyone at all since I live alone too. It makes me feel like complete sh** when everyone talks about how well they are doing and I struggle to get a passing grade or do the simplest problems.

In all honesty, if there were interesting, fulfilling and decently paid jobs I could do without a degree, I would go after them in an instant.

I'll start with saying that I don't know anything about the British school system, so I might just annoy you with my words. I'm just wondering, if there is any kind of support available at your school for students who find it difficult to make progress in their studies. Remedial instruction, one-to-one help from "older" students, support groups? Or are there any student associations that could offer support?

I think I can understand, why you don't want to start from scratch. I'm trying to get a bachelor's degree, although studying has always been very difficult for me (attending classes, fitting in, getting things done and even writing my exam answers in given time). A year ago I switched to another degree programme, because I thought I could handle it better, but during the past year I've been able to get done maybe half of what I should have. We have help available here for students with difficulties, but if I were open about my problems and seeked for help, I might even get thrown out of my programme.

Please don't give up yet. If it's possible, try to find someone to help you with the subjects you find hardest to learn. Or how about leaving a message on the school's bulletin board, that says you are looking for a study partner or a small group, even if you find it socially hard?

Don't feel too bad about it. You're still young. At least you went. When I was younger I had no intention of going to uni and if I'd wanted to my grades weren't good enough. But you decided to go and you got in and for that you have permission to feel smug for a while

You could try some self help books about how to study better or (re)choose your career. I have a few of those but I've been to demotivated to read them them beyond the first few chapters. One of the ones I read says more than 50% of workers dislike their jobs and this includes many who have degrees and are working in their field of study. Presumably they thought it was a feild they'd enjoy when the first signed up.

This might sound like bad advice and I'm not really qualified to give advice since I dropped out of community college and got a menial part time job which I have to this day but if you fail at this degree and you're really worried that a second degree would raise your debts to an unacceptably high level than the more pragmatic choice might be to get one of those soul crushing jobs. You can start paying off your debts. Take solace in the fact that even if you'd graduated, many people who graduated never work in the field of their degree.

The Open University is distance learning. I don't know what subject you're doing, but I know with the OU you can take modules of different lengths and numbers of credits to make up a degree, CertHE or DipHE.

Over the last 2 years I've been having regular meetings with a woman who works in 'disability services'. She's very nice, but I don't think these problems can be solved just by talking. :/
Apart from that, I've never been aware of anything.

Just keep plugging away, Charlie.....everything will come together!

My son has found himself in a similar situation. He moved Uni for his 2nd year, for various reasons. In his first year he got a 2.2 but has failed his second yr, and needs to resit 2 exams to progress.

These are the only exams he has ever failed in his life. He tells me he struggled to motivate himself to revise, and doesn't want to resit and continue because he is convinced he will only get a third. My son is not stupid or lazy, he got A* A A in maths, further maths and physics A levels.

I am worried about him but as I see it he has a few options:
1. Transfer his credits to the Open University and study at home, the fees are alot cheaper and you can progress at your own pace. He would redo year 2
2. Transfer to a local Uni, which means he can live at home, again redo year 2
3. Take his resits, hope to pass and transfer to his third yr, but with no certainty he will get better than a third, which he believes will be a waste of money.
4. Look for an apprenticeship.

My son didn't make any friends at Uni, and does all he can to avoid social situations. My only concern about doing the OU, is that he will become even more socially isolated. At least I will be around to help tp motivate and encourage him. I have done some research this week and it seems, my son lacks something called, executive function, and this could explain his difficulties with motivating himself.

The job centre's have Disabled Employment advisors. They might be worth speaking to, if you are thinking about getting a job.
There are options, you just need to find the right one for you.
Good luck

I can't understand why he's failing at Uni if he got all A's in those subjects.

What is he primarily interested in?

I pulled a 3.8 GPA (about an A-minus) when I went back to college/Uni as an adult. I'm almost sure I wouldn't have gotten those sorts of grades in my GCSE/or A Levels--I MIGHT have gotten them in something like History of Art or English. I took Speech Pathology, English, and Education.

Obviously, he's not motivated. He'll be motivated if he could coalesce his interests with his major in Uni. I believe this is good ground for a discussion.

I don't think Job Centres or whatever are really tailored toward people with disabilities. They would probably advocate he get a job in a supermarket or something.

This may explain partly why he struggled to motivate himself, and finding the course boring perhaps! However, he has always enjoyed maths!

Maybe Accountancy or Actuarial Science might fill the bill?

He could be one of those people conducts complex audits of the finances of corporations.

I believe actuaries, especially, tend to possess Aspergian qualities.

Sweden do free distance learning uni courses: universityadmissions.se.. There's a full degree course in earth sciences and another in GIS systems you may be interested in. They also do quite a lot of individual modules- probably most if not all from those two courses. You may able to subsititue the modules you failed/did crap in if you take a year out and then come back next year to do your final year if your uni allows.

I'm not sure if all this distance learning is a good idea. Do employers consider an online degree to be a real degree?
Am I the only one who feels more motivated if I'm in a place? Less distracted if I'm not at home?

That's an interesting question:

I would be more skeptical if the degree came from an exclusively online college/Uni, rather than a conventional one which offers online courses.

The important word, in all cases, is ACCREDITATION. The school as to be ACCREDITED.