- Need advice on what to do about exams

[CrimpJiggler]

URGENT - Need advice on what to do about exams

I am prescribed dexedrine for ADHD but for some reason it has been making me feel like crap for the past week so I couldn't study at all for my last 2 exams. Theres not much point in me even showing up for the exams because I won't be able to do anything on them. Should I go to the doctor and tell him what has happened and try to get a medical exception from the exam?

 

[Vanadium 50]

What is your question really? Is it "how will the professor/school react?" What kind of "urgent" advice are you looking for?

No matter what, I think you are taking a risk - an entirely reasonable question will be "why didn't you come to me two weeks ago?"

 

[CrimpJiggler]

I was just wondering if it was too late to get extenuating circumstances or not. I found out that you can get the extenuating circumstances if you have the appropriate medical document. I have a doctors appointment today so I'm fairly sure I will get one because I have a legitimate medical issue right now.

 

[micromass]

I was just wondering if it was too late to get extenuating circumstances or not. I found out that you can get the extenuating circumstances if you have the appropriate medical document. I have a doctors appointment today so I'm fairly sure I will get one because I have a legitimate medical issue right now.

It seems you solved your own problem. What was the reason for this thread?

 

[fluidistic]

Am I missing something? A university student in my university at least, has no obligation to assist to exams. No one cares if you don't take an exam, it's up to you to take them. If you don't finish the course you don't get a 0/10, you don't get any grade and you can't take more advanced courses until you finish the course, which means taking the final exam (there are 7 days to take any final exam in the year, you're absolutely free to choose between them). A medical exception is of no use.

 

[CrimpJiggler]

Am I missing something? A university student in my university at least, has no obligation to assist to exams. No one cares if you don't take an exam, it's up to you to take them. If you don't finish the course you don't get a 0/10, you don't get any grade and you can't take more advanced courses until you finish the course, which means taking the final exam (there are 7 days to take any final exam in the year, you're absolutely free to choose between them). A medical exception is of no use.

Thats not how it works at my university. My college, you're given a dates of your exams and if you miss them, you get 0 and have to repeat it at the end of the year. Then no matter what you get in the repeat, you get 40%. Does it work differently in other universities? If so, I'm going to consider changing college. It works the same way in my brothers college. I got this medical note but they might still cap me at 40% anyway. My brother says he got capped at 40% with a medical note. I want to get good marks for my degree because it will determine my ability to get a job for the rest of my life. Its a ****ed up system because it puts mad pressure on the students but that's how it goes.

 

[fluidistic]

Thats not how it works at my university. My college, you're given a dates of your exams and if you miss them, you get 0 and have to repeat it at the end of the year. Then no matter what you get in the repeat, you get 40%. Does it work differently in other universities? If so, I'm going to consider changing college. It works the same way in my brothers college. I got this medical note but they might still cap me at 40% anyway. My brother says he got capped at 40% with a medical note. I want to get good marks for my degree because it will determine my ability to get a job for the rest of my life. Its a ****ed up system because it puts mad pressure on the students but that's how it goes.

Thanks for the clarification. In this case I wish you good luck. By the way I'm in Argentina, probably much different than in your country so changing college might not be a good idea for you.

 

[CrimpJiggler]

I'm in Ireland. I'm not sure if all universities here work this way but I know that my brothers (UCC in Cork) also works this way. I've had an obsession with South America my whole life so I'd love to move to Argentina. I have an EU passport though, so I would probably be better off looking into other EU countries which have a system more similar to Argentinas university system. I would like to live in France for numerous reasons, are there any French students here that can tell me how university works over there? I could commute to northern Ireland too but I suspect that the UK has a similar university system to Ireland.

 

[Lavabug]

I attend university in Spain and the exam system is identical to fluidistic's, except at my university we have 3 opportunities to take the exam every year (in most its only 2). The final grade is what you get on the exam, period. However you can't get an honors mention even if you get a 10/10 on a 2nd or 3rd convocation (its only awarded to 1 in every 20 students anyway so nobody cares).

But I don't recommend transferring to university that doesn't impart subjects in your native language, especially not Spain. The system here is a LOT less forgiving than in a lot of other countries. Its not uncommon to take 6-7+ years to graduate.

 

[docfreezzzz]

Adjunct professor (PhD candidate) here. Definitely go to the doctor and get a psych evaluation. In the US the Office of Student Disabilities is REQUIRED BY LAW to assist you in taking exams by giving extra time or proctoring in a location away from distractions. I have done this for several students and it seems to lower their stress level considerably. You may, however, be too late with regards to this semester. At my university (and I think by law) the student is required to request OSD help at the beginning of the semester and does not have to accommodate a student after a certain date. I would, however, if a student had the proper documentation. Please, for your own sake, go talk to your OSD office on campus.

They are very helpful and will likely be able to assist you in some way. Best wishes!

 

[neyzenyelda]

dexedrine is a stimulant. your experience is unexpected.
a stimulant is expected to improve your examination performance.
so it seems dexedrine failed. you need a different medication.
ritalin has the best scores for ADHD.
I think the urgent thing is to find the right medication for you.
the right medication can be life saving.

 

[Moonbear]

Too late now, but in case any other students are wondering something similar, my advice to students has always been unless they are sick with something contagious, have vomiting and/or diarrhea (hard to sit for an exam even if it's not contagious), or have a true medical emergency (need to go to the hospital), they should take the exam. Even if they have to guess their way through it, it's better than taking a zero if their excuse isn't accepted. If they can present a reasonable excuse later, it's easier to replace the grade with a make-up exam, or drop the score or weight it differently than to recover from a zero if the excuse isn't acceptable.