Advice for Desperate Situation: Failing Maths at University

[Gwilim]

Not likely, if only for the obvious reason that smoking marijuana is illegal (at least in the US). If you are working towards a real job, i.e. you are in a PhD program and want to work in a government lab eventually, good luck getting hired if you get caught and have a criminal record for something so silly. Also, if you actually read the thread you would see that smoking pot has caused the OP a great deal of trouble (getting expelled from school, among other things). There was really no reason to bring up a week old thread just to post a poorly thought out reactionary response.

I've actually been caught by the police twice thanks to utter carelessness, but neither time did I get a criminal record for it. Also the thread may be a week old, but the situation is ongoing.

And while I'm posting here, I'll give an update. The exams are over, and I should be getting my results back within a month. I don't know what I can do in the meantime, I have smoked since but I really feel that I should be trying to do something else with the time other than wallow in my lack of purpose and let my depression continue its advance. Once the results are back however, that won't be the conclusion, since there are also the resits in August to work towards, and even if I have passed every module that I've sat in these past few weeks, I have a couple of failiures to redeem from the January exams.

But since everyone still seems to want to talk about weed and whether or not it's the devil, I'll say this. Sustaining my habit was a bigger problem than just being incapacitated by the effects of the weed. Having failed to get myself a social network it wasn't as if I was just calling up the campus dealer and picking up, or that I mantained the habit because of peer pressure. I used to travel to another city where I did have contacts, which would be a 6-8 hour round trip, and the real cost was more than the cost of the weed itself, thanks to public transport fees and the neccessity of feeding myself during that time. If I do get back into university, I'll do my best to have a social life (as a lower priority than my academic success), and it's likely that if this happens I'll eventually find myself in a situation where it's offered to me. And I can't predict now whether or not I'll refuse it, but if I don't I'll remind myself of the costs involved in habitual use. If I can succeed in becoming a more rounded individual using it as an existential crutch should no longer seem appealing and the negative effects should be mitigated.

 

[j450n]

I've actually been caught by the police twice
I have smoked since
I can't predict now whether or not I'll refuse it

If I can succeed in becoming a more rounded individual using it as an existential crutch should no longer seem appealing and the negative effects should be mitigated

If I were to try to connect you to the career in "academic mathematics" from your first post, I wonder what kind of crazy, squiggly line it would take.

Kerouic said it was a foolish, hEarth'side notion that one could follow a straight red line but I think you would make even him beg for a little structure.

Let me tell you this, no one from academia is coming to pluck you out of your world. You need to cross the desert and make it to them. No one here is trying to stop you from making it and you've been given solid advice on how to survive the journey. Do whatever you want - just try not to call so much attention to yourself next time you find yourself in a "desperate situation."

You decide your own level of involvement.

jason

 

[Gwilim]

So, an update on this. I received my results a few days ago, with the following results in the modules I took over the summer, which I was preparing for when I started this thread:
Divisibility and Congruences 59% pass
Algebra 2 50% pass
Calculus 2 47% pass
Probability 1 42% pass
Differential equations 36% fail
Dynamics 30% fail
Where the pass mark was 40% and 20% of the marks for each module were given for homework assignments in which I automatically received no marks. Even taking that into account, these are percentages I would have been horrified with a few years ago, though given the circumstances I am fairly pleased with them. Neither of the modules I failed this time round were core modules, however some of the modules were sat in January, including the core modules algebra 1 and calculus 1, the former of which I had failed quite miserably. Therefore the overall decision of the academic board was 'Fail', meaning I have no further oppurtunity to resit any of the modules or enrol on any course at the university. However, there is the oppurtunity to appeal against the decision of the board, to be allowed, for instance, to sit supplementary examinations in August to redeem the failed core module. An appeal may be made on the grounds of there being exceptional circumstances which would have affected my performance in the exams, and a reaason must be supplied as to why I did not make the board aware of them at the time. I don't think the board would be particularly sympathetic to hear about my issues with illicit drugs and computer games, though I feel these were symptoms of my problem rather than the problem itself, which I would term 'bad philosophy' though it would perhaps be better expressed in conventional terms as 'depression'. I am not inclined to seek medical treatment for such issues so there is no way of my proving this. If anyone has any advice on how I might go about constructing such an appeal, it would be much appreciated.

I also no longer view my alternative prospects quite so bleakly. Although I could not obtain gvernment loans for another 3 full years I think I have proved myself capable of passing at least the first year of a university maths course without outside support so long as I have access to a well stocked library, especially if I had adequate time to prepare, so an option would be to enrol in another university, sitting the first year externally while looking for paid work to help fund a second and third year.

 

[tiny-tim]

An appeal may be made on the grounds of there being exceptional circumstances which would have affected my performance in the exams, and a reaason must be supplied as to why I did not make the board aware of them at the time.

I don't think the board would be particularly sympathetic to hear about my issues with illicit drugs and computer games, though I feel these were symptoms of my problem rather than the problem itself, which I would term 'bad philosophy' though it would perhaps be better expressed in conventional terms as 'depression'.

I am not inclined to seek medical treatment for such issues so there is no way of my proving this. If anyone has any advice on how I might go about constructing such an appeal, it would be much appreciated.

Hi Gwilim!

An appeal is a non-starter without "exceptional circumstances".

You can't have it both ways … if you're not affected badly enough to seek treatment, then you won't prove "exceptional circumstances".

But isn't about time you told your GP or a counsellor about your situation anyway, whether you appeal or not?

It's free, and it can't do any harm …

 

[Gwilim]

Time for another update. I made the appeal, and it was succesful, insofar as I am going to be allowed to sit supplementary examinations. They will begin in two weeks, and I'm going to have to redeem all five failed modules to pass the year as a whole. This will be a tall order to say the least, but I'll give it my best shot. Since I will have to sit so many exams in such a short period of time, I have been given the option of sitting some modules during the next academic year. With only two or three subjects to cover I could be confident of passing them all, but to be honest I'm sick of waiting around to keep covering old ground when my peers are all graduates now. On the other hand, I need a degree and if I blow this absoloutely final chance then it would become an even greater struggle in the future. I have ten days in which to make the decision. My rate of progress over the coming days should help make it clearer what to do.

I did some research into the possibility of doing the first year of a degree course somewhere else externally while working if the appeal fell through, but it turns out that would actually be more expensive than being a full time student. As such, I'm lacking in contingency plans. If anyone has any ideas I'd be much obliged.

 

[tiny-tim]

Since I will have to sit so many exams in such a short period of time, I have been given the option of sitting some modules during the next academic year.

Hi Gwilim!

If they've given you this option, it's because in their experience they consider you need it.

You're not the first person they've found in this position.

They're the experts.

And they're on your side.

Trust their judgment … take the option.

 

[Gwilim]

Hi Gwilim!

If they've given you this option, it's because in their experience they consider you need it.

You're not the first person they've found in this position.

They're the experts.

And they're on your side.

Trust their judgment … take the option.

I think you're right. I'll try and defer as many modules as possible until next year. That means biting the bullet and spending another year at home, but there are productive things I can do with the time other than attending university, i.e. taking a course at the local college and working part time. I think being 'on my side' is a bit of a stretch, I'm still convinced I'm just a number to a faceless beaurocracy, but that's entirely reasonable. Anyway thanks for the response, that cleared up any doubt as to what I should do.

 

[Gwilim]

Another update.

Tim, I'm really glad you gave me that advice, I stayed home and studied and recently got my results back. Now in typical fashion, thanks to getting my dates muddled up, I missed one of the exams. Having passed every other module, however, I have been given a final oppurtunity to sit the missing module this August and return to the university next year. I am confident that I have more than enought time to revise. Hopefully the road gets straighter from here on out.

 

[tiny-tim]

Another update.

Tim, I'm really glad you gave me that advice, I stayed home and studied and recently got my results back. Now in typical fashion, thanks to getting my dates muddled up, I missed one of the exams. Having passed every other module, however, I have been given a final oppurtunity to sit the missing module this August and return to the university next year. I am confident that I have more than enought time to revise. Hopefully the road gets straighter from here on out.

Combination of …

Woohoo! ​

and …

D'oh! ​

Anyway, I hope you got some useful stuff done this year,

and pob lwc for August! ​

 

[mal4mac]

Definitely go and see your GP and a University counsellor and say exactly what you have said in this thread to them. The latter might help you with the appeal.

Why not work for 3 years and take courses at the Open University equivalent to taking a full first year. Then you may be able to apply elsewhere to take the final two years with a grant (or you could just continue with the OU.)

Of course you have 'chosen' the worst time to go looking for a job for many decades! So you may have to live on social security while doing the OU courses. If your GP thinks you are depressed you may even get a 'disabilty' bonus.

 

[tiny-tim]

it's all sorted now!

Definitely go and see your GP and a University counsellor and say exactly what you have said in this thread to them. The latter might help you with the appeal.

uhh? what appeal?

you're a year out of date!