Probably BU to feel like this but hard not too!

[lucertola28]

Hi
Read a lot here, but don't post that often.

Got results of my MSc yesterday and I got a 2.1 overall grade was 64.5

I know I should logically be happy with this but I am disappointed in myself that I did not manage to achieve a first.

Ironically Masters is in Applied Psychology so I know what I would say to someone in my position!

I do have a history of not being happy with myself and find it hard not to compare myself to my brother who got a 1st in his degree and masters and has a PhD.

I got 1st in my undergrad psychology degree. I think the classification I got for my MSc was accurate but I just wish I had done better and achieved more.

I did my degree and MsC part time while working fulltime as went back in my 30s to do them. I suppose I also have regret that I did not do them earlier but I had pretty bad depression and anxiety from my teens until I was about 27/28 (I still do to a lesser extent and am on antidepressants) and dropped out of University after 1 year when I was 19. I then worked for a few years before training as a Montessori teacher. After a year working as a Montessori teacher I got into working with children with special needs in primary schools and have been doing that since.

I did my degree and masters so I could have more options as I am limited in my current role and feel the need to move on and I'm ready for a change.

Apologies for the essay. I guess my AIBU is am I BU to feel bad even though I probably shouldn't but still get those strong feelings of not being good enough.

Thanks everyone

*To (not Too in title)

Bloody hell OP! You’ve overcome so many things and worked really hard to achieve so much. You should be proud of that. Well done you.

I managed to get into an MBA at a good university. I had dropped out of my first degree and had done an OU degree. This was thirty years ago. The MBA was one of the best years of my life. I was engaged and challenged and interested. It was life changing and for me meant the difference between a really low paid job and a reasonable career earning about average.

At the time I had a baby and toddler and an abusive husband, But I got there.

I think it's only in the last three or four years I've realised I'm not stupid and am actually quite bright.

Please don't wait that long!

As a lecturer on an MSc in applied psychology can I congratulate you on your achievement and tell you that a 64.5 is a solid merit and an excellent result! I have several previously 1st class students like you who leave with merits but we tell them early on that masters study is a big step up and to manage their expectations because a distinction is very hard to get, ESPECIALLY for students with jobs. My students know that working typically means a “trade off” - they won’t perform as well as they would have if they were full time with no commitments in the main.

Please be kind to yourself, it’s a great result. Plenty of people fail or drop out of their masters degrees (or never start them) or finish with a pass. With a merit you are streets ahead (not that you should be comparing yourself to anyone, not least your brother. This is your own race. And you are winning it!)

Good Luck with whatever comes next

YABU!! Be kinder to yourself

I can understand where you are coming from. I too got a Merit pass in my MSc as a mature student (aged 53) whilst juggling family and caring responsibilities.
At graduation one of my lecturers actually said to me "You have done so well, if you had been in your 20s you'd have got a distinction" This made me feel if only I had worked that bit harder or studied that bit more. But, in the 3 years since, I have made peace with my mark.
I got the mark I deserved and actually that is okay, a pass with Merit is really respectable.
Well done and congratulations :)

You feel how you feel - and that's ok.

It's a good result, but you know that logically. And you think it's a fair mark for your work.

Old Mumsnet phrase is relevant here... comparison is the thief of joy (etc etc).

If you think you could have done more (realistically), then do so next time (if there is a next time) - learn from it. But you did well with more pressures on you (keeping a job etc). It's so much easier to do these things in your late teens/twenties with no responsibilities.

Try to enjoy it being complete now and not having to study any more. Unless you want your PhD...

Congratulations OP 💐💐
You did fantastically well. It's done now - look forwards not backwards xx

You did bloody well and really you know it. You can't change the result no matter how many ifs and whats and maybes, so just enjoy your achievement.

As an aside, I know many people with Masters and few, if any, of their actual results, just that they have a Masters.

Thanks everyone, really appreciate your kind words and support.

That's very true no one says what their mark is when they say they have a masters.

Feel a bit better today.

I like the comparison saying, I definitely need to follow that.