Dropping out of Masters so embarrassed and lost

[KnuckFows]

Realised my dissertation is simply not good enough. It absolute won't pass, it would be ok for undergrad but not this. DP is exasperated says I'm being too hard on myself and negative, that's not it though it really is not relevant and only realised what the problem is today and can't fix it in a couple of days.

I'm so depressed about this, and my family will be a bit contemptuous. I've dropped out of a postgrad degree before but really thought I could do it this time - and I have done well in my assignments so there's that. I will have a certificate.

My family all take for granted I can just do this level of academic work, I grew up being told how bright I am and im clearly bloody not!! I feel like that is (unintentionally) a set up for feeling like a failure when I can't deliver? Which I honestly can't.

I have an adhd diagnosis but not even really sure I have it, I have several medical conditions which can possibly interfere with concentration and stamina, and mean I could not try the adhd medication anyway.

The thing is it doesn't even matter what the reason is for failing, the reasons why become meaningless, just that oh look KnuckFows has failed again smirk smirk.

At a loss, not sure what direction to go in now without this degree. More fool me for thinking id get it.

.

[KnuckFows]

If I really deserved the degree, it would have occurred to me before now that no results was a major fucking fly in the ointment

How stupid is that? I've been anxious regarding it over the last few months, but could not see the actual problem. I was trying to press on and thinking Id manage somehow because I love the material and really believed in my idea. But that isn't the way academia works.

[DaveMinion]

If you’ve been diagnosed with adhd then you have adhd. It’s not an easy diagnosis to get in my short experience with it (if just been diagnosed myself).

Speak to uni. Honestly you have a learning disability in the eyes of education. You should get extra help. I’m repeating my second year and I couldn’t do it without any help as I was completely lost and self sabotaging last year. I only just managed to scrape through 1st year. My executive function is near useless. But that’s me and I am what I am. I’m not stupid just my brain works a bit differently. Well a lot differently lol. It’s a real learning curve this adhd thing.

If you are like me you are a perfectionist too and being too hard on yourself and you will get a better mark that you think. Good luck.

[rattusrattus20]

it's early-mid december, if this is a traditional 'october to summer' one-year course then it's almost certainly salvageable with a lot of work.

[gavisconismyfriend]

If you are at the stage where it is pretty much finished (even if you aren't happy with it) then you have nothing to lose by submitting. If it is a fail, then you could appeal - even with an extension you are still entitled to supervision. it is worth a try,

[Reallybadidea]

But people do extended literature reviews as dissertations, so why does it matter that this is what you've done? And what do you have to lose by submitting it regardless?

When I re-read my masters dissertation 2 weeks after submission I realised that it was utter shit. My hypothesis didn't make sense so my discussion and conclusions were also nonsense. I could have kicked myself and if I could have rewritten it from scratch I would have done. Turns out the markers disagreed and I passed. You might just be going through the same.

[Ringsender2]

The no results thing is a result. That's the nature of research - sometimes things don't work

Also, as PP said, submit it anyway. It might pass, it might fail. If you don't submit at all it's 100% guaranteed to fail

[KnuckFows]

@Ellisandra I used secondary data at undergraduate also and that was acceptable. I actually did some qualitative stuff with interviews but none of that made it into the finished piece for various reasons.

[Hellofromtheotherside2020]

Just submit it. You never know. As you can't have another extension, you've really got nothing to lose now by just submitting it. This may be a case of you being too hard on yourself or lack of confidence.

Did you regularly have contact with your supervisor throughout writing your piece?

I'm a lecturer and supervise dissertations. The only time I get frustrated is when I have a capable student who has no argument to their work, or they're so close with where they should be, but aren't within the parameters for me to mark them well. These are always the students who haven't had any contact with me throughout writing their dissertations. Had they'd made contact and allowed me to help them, I know I could have assured their work had been on track to an excellent grade.

Just submit what you have. Your feedback will be valuable.

[PapayaCoconut]

It really cannot pass. It is a meta analysis of secondary data, which was all agreed with my supervisor so seemed like it was ok. But - I HAVE NO RESULTS!

But it's fine to do a meta analysis / lit review. What you're describing isn't "no results". I don't see what the problem is.

[KnuckFows]

But people do extended literature reviews as dissertations, so why does it matter that this is what you've done? And what do you have to lose by submitting it regardless?

I know, but I am totally bewildered now and don't know how to make any conclusions from my extended lit review. And I think people who do this successfully have to be able to draw conclusions that they can then back up with evidence somehow. I don't know how to do this and submission date is 2 days away.

[Chocmallows]

Why is it worse to submit and fail rather than fail to submit?

Surely no attempt is worse?

[BiggestJulie]

Just submit it, even if you think it is not good enough. If you submit and you are right that it’s not good enough, you’ll fail. But if you don’t submit, you’ll definitely fail. So you have nothing to lose by submitting, and possibly everything to gain. One of the examiners may see the merit. Take a chance!

[HowDeepIsYourGlove]

That isn't right. Other students on my course have failed essays. Im sure they don't like to fail people but if the work isn't good enough, what choice do they have?
Yes essays, not the whole degree. People drop out of masters or don’t submit resulting in failing the degree. I’m yet to hear of a single person who completely failed a masters if everything was submitted. They will scrape you through at 40%

[KnuckFows]

I mean - I have drawn conclusions but that's just me having an opinion about something? So how is that academic? it isn't.

[HowDeepIsYourGlove]

Have you completed all your other assignments? What were your results?
What proportion of your grade does the dissertation make?

[housemdwaswrong]

An extended lit review is a valid research design. What does your supervisor say?

[KnuckFows]

We need 50% to pass, I don't think they could pass it without compromising their integrity.

[HowDeepIsYourGlove]

@KnuckFows that’s what qualitative based dissertations are.
Essentially a huge lit review of relevant material and then draw your own conclusions from it.
As long as you argue why you think that way based on the literature you’ve covered you literally cannot fail, it’s subjective.

[KnuckFows]

Yes, all other assignments done and happy with the results there. I will get a postgraduate certificate. Dissertation is a third of the credits of a full degree.

[tabulahrasa]

If you submit it there’s a chance you’re wrong and it’ll pass, or it fails.

If you don’t submit it you definitely fail.

So why are you thinking it’s better to not submit it?...

[HowDeepIsYourGlove]

@KnuckFows trust me the university do not want failures. I worked for a very prestigious university for many years, they will not fail you unless it is quite literally completely irrelevant to your degree topic.

[Biscusting]

Why didn’t the qualitative data from your interviews not make it into your dissertation? Negative data is still a result remember.

[Cohle]

Just submit it! I really don't understand what you have to lose by submitting it at this point?

Realistically if you only have two days left I think you need to get off MN and dedicate some time to polishing up what you have. You can do it!

[HowDeepIsYourGlove]

So you’re already completed 2/3 of your degree.
Calculate how many marks you need for the dissertation to pass, it’s easy to do, make a quick excel spreadsheet. I guarantee it’ll be a lot lower than what you think anyway.
I worked out when doing mine that I needed a grade of X for a pass, Y for a merit, Z for a distinction using my already confirmed grades from previous assignments

[tava63]

Send it in - you already have the certificate so nothing is lost. If possible send it to your supervisor first thing tomorrow - even better try and see them. At present, you can’t see the wood for the trees. I wasn’t happy with my Master’s dissertation but it came to a point that I needed to hit the send button and get on with the rest of my life. I passed - I think you will too.