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AIBU?

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Original poster

Damn. Uni exam falls right in the middle of my holiday!

277 replies

QuestionableMouse · 05/04/2019 05:59

Posting for traffic.

Uni exam date was released yesterday and it falls right in the middle of my holiday. Though technically it isn't a holiday as I'm away with the local youth group who I've been volunteering with!

I could just about drive back (distance/time wise) but it would mess the ratios up and I'm not sure if I can afford the extra petrol money. Also not sure if I'll have my own car with me. (Was meant to be driving down with all the food but it might be going in the minibus now)

I'm really not sure what to do. It's an important exam so I can't miss it but equally I can't just drop out of the trip because at this point there's no one to replace me. Going into uni today to speak to my lecturer but I'm panicking!

Any ideas?

OP posts:
WhenZogateSuperworm · 05/04/2019 06:01

Why did you book a trip during term time? There is no point talking to your lecturer- you have to sit the exam. The only other option would be to defer the module and sit it next year but you would have to pay more tuition fees for it and it may not be allowed.

Soontobe60 · 05/04/2019 06:03

You are usually told in advance the exam window. If you were, then you shouldn't have committed yourself to this trip.
You need to do the exam, so the trip will have to be cancelled, unless you can drive back.

agnurse · 05/04/2019 06:04

The college where I teach doesn't normally allow deferrals for vacations or for work. You'll need to check with your university to see if they'll allow a deferred exam. Otherwise, you'll need to make a decision.

Students are generally advised not to book recreational trips during term time.

WhiteDust · 05/04/2019 06:06

I didn't my understand this! Are you at university? On a course? Why would you book on/volunteer to go on a holiday during term time?

Double0FeckingBollocks · 05/04/2019 06:07

They're not likely to be sympathetic even though you are volunteering. You may just be registered as a fail if you don't show and get a re-sit later in the summer. If you fail the re-sit you may be out on your ear.

Rezie · 05/04/2019 06:09

In my uni there was a retake day for people who didn't pass or missed the exam. Does your uni have one? Alternatively do you have time in your schedule to retake the course with another group?

GottenGottenGotten · 05/04/2019 06:10

I don't get this either. Most people are aware of when their exams are going to be, roughly, are they not?

I can't see the uni letting you away with it, you'll need to do the exam, whether or not it messes with the ratios.

Original poster
QuestionableMouse · 05/04/2019 06:10

The trip has been booked for over a year and I didn't book it. I just agreed to help out because I've been working with the youth group and they needed another person due to numbers. The exam should have been the week I came back but it's a week earlier than advised in the module guide.

Not sure the trip can be cancelled, the group would lose all the money and the kids will be so disappointed ☹️. I'm trying to find someone who can cover me!

OP posts:
GottaGetUp · 05/04/2019 06:11

You’ll have to drop out of the trip, you don’t have any other options - what are you expecting your lecturer to do?

HaventGotAllDay · 05/04/2019 06:16

Even if the exam was going to be the week you came back, why would you plan a trip in uni exam season?

I honestly wouldn't even ask at the university. I'd just not go on the trip. Because surely your exam is a priority?

HaventGotAllDay · 05/04/2019 06:17

You don't need to find cover. The organisation does. They might ask you to pay for that person's DBS though!

NorthernKnickers · 05/04/2019 06:18

OP..The PP didn't, obviously, mean that the entire trip had to be cancelled! Just your participation in it!

You are ALWAYS advised not to book trips etc during the entire exam window. Why on earth would you do that? It's in your head to sort out...don't be bothering your lecturers with your ineptitude!

Ellenborough · 05/04/2019 06:18

You'll have to cancel your trip. You are volunteering, you are not obliged. This is a simple black and white issue as far as I can see. You can't go.

BrightYellowDaffodil · 05/04/2019 06:19

But why offer to help out when you must have known roughly when your exam window would be? Even if you had grounds to believe the exam would be an earlier week, the very nature of exam planning (restriction on number of venues, availability of invigilators, not having exams clash for students sitting different modules) means things get moved around.

SaskiaRembrandt · 05/04/2019 06:20

The module guide can't give an accurate date, that's down to admin juggling rooms. Surely you knew this? And even if that was the correct date, you'd need time to revise so a holiday - where you are in some kind of organisational role - would be a seriously bad idea.

You will have to take the exam.

BrightYellowDaffodil · 05/04/2019 06:21

And I should imagine you’ll get short shrift from your lecturer. Honestly, I wouldn’t even bother talking to them about it, just cancel your involvement in the trip.

flumpybear · 05/04/2019 06:21

Blimey exam the following week or not, I'd be more inclined to be on a revision schedule at that time period

Are you a bit blasé about this course/qualification?

Ellenborough · 05/04/2019 06:22

Going into uni today to speak to my lecturer but I'm panicking!

What on earth do you expect them to be able to do about it? Confused

Look, this is simple. You agreed to something you should not have. You either drive back and accept that it will cost you some money, or you drop out and they have to find someone else.

Perhaps the group will be able to help you with petrol money out of their funds if there is literally no-one else to step in on your behalf. Don't go bothering your lecturers with this - it's really not their problem.

purplepandas · 05/04/2019 06:23

Agree with others. Unis will not make an allowance for this. Mine would not. We don't publish exact exam dates until closer to the time ( within notified exam period) due to logistical reasons as others have mentioned. Timetabling is a nightmare.

HotpotLawyer · 05/04/2019 06:23

You have to get everyone involved the youth group to look for a replacement: one of the other volunteers may have a friend or.a sibling, ask all the parents etc.

Ellenborough · 05/04/2019 06:25

In fact I'm feeling embarrassed on your behalf at the thought of your lecturer's face when you tell them of your 'problem.'

floribunda18 · 05/04/2019 06:28

It seems a bit risky to go on a trip anywhere near the exam date. Even if it was the week after, I'd be exhausted after a trip like that and want to revise for the exam. It sounds like you are doing a bit too much and need to say no more for your own sanity, let alone over-committing and then letting people down.

stucknoue · 05/04/2019 06:28

Unfortunately you should have not have promised until the dates were announced. There's a published 3 week or so window 2-3 years ahead and any date within that is fair game

DreamInDreamer · 05/04/2019 06:29

No choice. You have to sit the exam. Why would you plan a trip in term time? You are committed to studying and volunteering is a lower priority. Even thinking it would not be exam time, were you just going to skip days of lectures?
Not really an option to drive back mid-trip. How would you do your exam prep/ revision?
You should have looked at this before committing to the voluntary group but you'll have to excuse yourself and apologise for dropping them in it.

Margot33 · 05/04/2019 06:31

University comes first. Tell your voluntary job now that you cannot go. So that they can arrange a replacement.