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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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:
Dungeondragon15 · 05/04/2019 10:41

I don't really see the point in speaking to the lecturer. The best that you will get is that you can resit it with the people who have failed but if that happens you will be treated as if you have failed too. That means you may get a lower mark and if you fail you will be treated as if you have failed twice which could mean you're off the course. It's not going to be considered an extenuating circumstance as you chose to book something during term time so it is your fault.

PrincessAndThePee · 05/04/2019 10:42

Resits are for people who are unable, though illness or significant unforeseen emergency, to sit the original exam, not just for people who have mistakenly committed to something else on the exam date. You need to satisfy a mitigating circumstances requirement that it was not possible for you to take the exam on the original date for reasons outside your control.

We all know what resits are for. You were pretending to not understand what the Op was asking, so I explained.

Grisaille · 05/04/2019 10:45

You seem confused, Princess. Hmm

outpinked · 05/04/2019 10:47

I teach in a college and we make it very clear from the very beginning to not book any holidays during May or June in case they need to retake their exams.

Most students have a vague idea of when exams will be. You need to cancel the holiday, your exams are more important.

PrincessAndThePee · 05/04/2019 10:50

My apologies. It hadn't occurred to me that anyone would think the Op was actually asking for the exams to be rescheduled to better fit her plans. Hmm

Pengrin · 05/04/2019 10:51

Jesus, you’d think OP had come on here and said she was planning to kill someone instead of attending her exam.

RottnestFerry · 05/04/2019 10:55

Jesus, you’d think OP had come on here and said she was planning to kill someone instead of attending her exam

I was thinking the same same thing. I deal with students every day and this really is no biggie.

Grisaille · 05/04/2019 10:55

It hadn't occurred to me that anyone would think the Op was actually asking for the exams to be rescheduled to better fit her plans

Well, I don't quite know what the OP was expecting from a chat with her lecturer, to be honest. I can't imagine she was expecting the entire exam timetable to be rejigged for her, but I've certainly had a student or two over the years who appeared to think I could just 'informally' give them the paper the day before or the week after in my office.

applesarerroundandshiny · 05/04/2019 10:57

What a lot of bitchy responses. The OP is not 20 years old with university being the only thing in her life and she just fancies a little holiday. She is juggling many things as an adult, paid work, caring, volunteering and studying. She is not wrong to wonder which of these things she ought to prioritise. I understand from responses that the uni won't be sympathetic to her, but she is not entitled or spoilt to have this as a dilemma.

@QuestionableMouse you have my sympathy for the situation you are in and I'm sorry that everyone else is so blinkered they are incapable of some empathy for your situation.

Ellenborough · 05/04/2019 10:57

That's not true at all Pengrin

It is a bit of a mystery though, trying to ascertain what on earth the OP was expecting/hoping to hear or be told that shouldn't already have been blindingly obvious to her. Confused

Especially now we know she is not 18 or 19 years old. At least they could be partially excused for still thinking like a helpless child in spite of being, technically, an adult.

PrincessAndThePee · 05/04/2019 10:59

What a lot of bitchy responses. The OP is not 20 years old with university being the only thing in her life and she just fancies a little holiday. She is juggling many things as an adult, paid work, caring, volunteering and studying. She is not wrong to wonder which of these things she ought to prioritise. I understand from responses that the uni won't be sympathetic to her, but she is not entitled or spoilt to have this as a dilemma

No she isn't. And I while I wouldn't be surprised if the uni is unable to help her I wouldn't be shocked if they did either. I find they are very sympathetic to adults students and the issues they deal with.

RosaWaiting · 05/04/2019 11:00

I don't know why you are speaking to the lecturer at all. It will make you look a bit mad.

you have to pull out of the trip I'm afraid. Not worth risking it with traffic and other issues, you will have to find someone to cover you.

Grisaille · 05/04/2019 11:00

Jesus, you’d think OP had come on here and said she was planning to kill someone instead of attending her exam.

It gets people cross because as academics we end up dealing with this kind of thoughtless assumption that we'll 'sort something out' a hell of a lot at this time of year, and it's a bit wearying en masse, to put it mildly.

For instance, I had an email from a student asking for a last-minute essay extension sent at nine o'clock last Saturday night, and then the same email with a 'Why haven't you got back to me yet??? URGENT' added to the subject line sent at 3 o'clock on Sunday afternoon. And I had to look up who she was, as it turns out she's attended workshops precisely twice since I started teaching the module in January.

DirtyDennis · 05/04/2019 11:04

@applesareroundandshiny

What a lot of bitchy responses. The OP is not 20 years old with university being the only thing in her life and she just fancies a little holiday. She is juggling many things as an adult, paid work, caring, volunteering and studying. She is not wrong to wonder which of these things she ought to prioritise. I understand from responses that the uni won't be sympathetic to her, but she is not entitled or spoilt to have this as a dilemma

I completely understand why the OP fancies a "little holiday" but, say this slowly, not during term time. I also agree that she needs to think about what she should prioritise as her life is busy. However, a holiday during term time is absolutely no what she should prioritise.
No, the university probably won't be sympathetic because for every student who has a genuine reason for struggling or missing work or messing up time management (which the OP doesn't by the way, she booked a holiday during term time), there are at least five entitled students who absolutely do expect things like the exam timetable to be changed for them.

DirtyDennis · 05/04/2019 11:07

What @Grisaille said is all to familiar for academics. Unfortunately the OP is yet another student with an unreasonable request* for a situation entirely of her own making.

*Though I'm not sure what the request is since OP has made clear she won't be asking for the exam date to change

adaline · 05/04/2019 11:08

What a lot of bitchy responses.

People aren't being bitchy, they're being honest.

OP knew when exam season was. She chose to volunteer for a week away anyway. It was always going to be risky. Of course her priority should be university, not an unpaid holiday somewhere.

RottnestFerry · 05/04/2019 11:09

It gets people cross because as academics we end up dealing with this kind of thoughtless assumption that we'll 'sort something out' a hell of a lot at this time of year, and it's a bit wearying en masse, to put it mildly

I just find it amusing.

SaskiaRembrandt · 05/04/2019 11:09

What a lot of bitchy responses. The OP is not 20 years old with university being the only thing in her life and she just fancies a little holiday. She is juggling many things as an adult, paid work, caring, volunteering and studying. She is not wrong to wonder which of these things she ought to prioritise. I understand from responses that the uni won't be sympathetic to her, but she is not entitled or spoilt to have this as a dilemma.

The same will be true of most other mature students, who will still be organised enough to ensure they keep the exam period free. In fact, the same will be true of a surprising number of students of 'traditional' age. The OP does not have a monopoly on having other responsibilities. Generally universities are sympathetic to genuine problems, but booking a holiday during your exams does not count as a genuine problem.

And there is no difficulty in prioritising here, it's a choice between a holiday or taking an exam. For anyone who is serious about their degree there is no choosing to do in that scenario.

Pengrin · 05/04/2019 11:09

Not every course is the same.

On my last course, for example, there were 3 resit opportunities, all of which could be taken as a first sit and not capped (obviously only once).

There was also an option to sit the exam with the part time students on a different date.

We don’t know the full details of the ins and outs of OP’s course. Even if it is a regular course with no options for sitting on a different date, the lecturer can tell her that in a one line email. Or she could not turn up to the exam and take the resit with a capped mark.

It’s certainly nothing for others to get in a tizzy over.

RottnestFerry · 05/04/2019 11:16

Even if it is a regular course with no options for sitting on a different date, the lecturer can tell her that in a one line email

Exactly it doesn't take long to say or type "No".

Or she could not turn up to the exam and take the resit with a capped mark

Depending on where she studies, she might have to wait a year to do that. If it is a core module, she also might not be allowed to progress to the following year. Final year it could screw up graduation.

This is normally an issue associated with first year students though.

PrincessAndThePee · 05/04/2019 11:18

For instance, I had an email from a student asking for a last-minute essay extension sent at nine o'clock last Saturday night, and then the same email with a 'Why haven't you got back to me yet??? URGENT' added to the subject line sent at 3 o'clock on Sunday afternoon. And I had to look up who she was, as it turns out she's attended workshops precisely twice since I started teaching the module in January.

Sounds very different to a person who is asking for opinions on a forum rather than asking their tutor first and who is volunteering rather than getting drunk and forgetting to go to class.

DirtyDennis · 05/04/2019 11:24

@PrincessAndThePee Fundamentally, though, it's not actually that different. It's two students who're in a pickle because of their own behaviour and now expecting their tutor to do something about it.

Ellenborough · 05/04/2019 11:25

But what kind of opinions or advice could possibly be of any real use at this point Princess?

There is only one logical, reasonable answer to this. The exam comes first.

The various pros and cons of going versus not going on the trip, and the logistics of getting back for her exam are between the OP and the organisers of the trip.

They are not the lecturer's concern or responsibility. I have no idea what she was hoping to hear that could possibly have been of use. Honestly. None.

PrincessAndThePee · 05/04/2019 11:27

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)

Can you explain the situation and see if they can help out with petrol money and let you bring your car OP?

Pengrin · 05/04/2019 11:30

It's two students who're in a pickle because of their own behaviour and now expecting their tutor to do something about it.

One is asking for an extension, the other is querying alternatives to sitting an exam on the date set. And as I have explained, the alternatives differ between courses.

What’s the problem?

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