Managing Overwhelming Workloads: Tips for College Students

  • Thread starter Thread starter leright
  • Start date Start date
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around managing overwhelming workloads for college students, particularly when multiple assignments and tests coincide. Participants share their experiences and strategies for handling such situations, including the possibility of requesting extensions on assignments.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses feeling overwhelmed by the amount of work due, questioning the reasonableness of requesting an extension for one of the take-home tests.
  • Another participant suggests that it seems unreasonable not to request an extension given the circumstances.
  • A participant shares their experience of being in a similar situation, indicating that sometimes sacrificing a grade in one area may be necessary to maintain a better grade in another.
  • Some participants advise preparing for the possibility of a denial when requesting an extension, suggesting that students should continue working as if the extension will not be granted.
  • There is mention of the potential for late lab reports to be accepted with point deductions, contrasting this with the higher stakes of tests in terms of final grades.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express varying opinions on the feasibility and strategy of requesting extensions, with some suggesting it is reasonable while others caution about the likelihood of denial. The discussion reflects multiple competing views on how to prioritize assignments and manage workload effectively.

Contextual Notes

Participants do not reach a consensus on the best approach to handle the workload or the effectiveness of requesting extensions. There are also varying assumptions about grading policies and the impact of late submissions.

leright
Messages
1,317
Reaction score
19
times where your professors all dump a ridiculous amount of work on your all at once and you know you'll never be able to complete it all? I seriously have a test on monday, a test on wednesday, two take home tests due on wednesday (both of which are a bit too much work, imo), two lab reports to write, both due monday and some other stuff I can't remember. Seriously, with all of this work, I am going to go insane.

Do you think it would be reasonable to request an extension for one of the take homes, perhaps?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Do you think it would be reasonable to request an extension for one of the take homes, perhaps?

It sounds like it would be unreasonable not to.
 
Seriously, this is the worst jam I have ever been in.
 
You can ask, but prepare to be told no. I think that if you work as if your prof already said no (all through the night if you have to) and then ask on monday, you'd be the safest. If you relax a bit this weekend and then your prof says no, you're in deep crap. I would guess that your prof will let you off the hook, but I wouldn't stop working/studying at all this weekend if I were you. :P
 
Good luck with the extension if you choose to ask.
 
try to get as much as you can done before requesting it though
 
I've been in similar situations before and sometimes you just have to sacrifice a grade in one area to make sure you save a more important grade.

If your classes are like mine usually are, the labs make up 10% to 30% of your final grade in the class. Most TA's will accept a late lab report and deduct some points, 30% to 50%. If you have 5 labs for a class, you really aren’t risking too much by losing a few points on the labs. Compare that to a test which is usually 30% to 50% of your final grade.
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 17 ·
Replies
17
Views
3K
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
3K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
3K
  • · Replies 12 ·
Replies
12
Views
3K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
2K
Replies
2
Views
2K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
2K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
2K
  • · Replies 14 ·
Replies
14
Views
4K