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.

.

[FantasticButtocks]

Making a decision to not submit is an intense panic reaction your mind has come up with to stop yourself feeling so bloody awful. A way to escape.

You've wound yourself up so much in the shower thinking about what is wrong with what you've done, and your thoughts about this have gone so far down that route that you've utterly convinced yourself it's all gone to shit and that the easiest way to feel better is to throw in the towel, so you can get on with your life.

But what you need to see is that these are just thoughts. And thoughts are not facts. Think of all that you've done right. Think of the actual facts -

1. You've already done well in your coursework ✅

2.you have actually written nearly all of this, bar 1500 words. ✅

1. You've checked with your tutor that your choice of dissertation was a good one. ✅
2. You still have two days left ✅
3. You've worked hard and got almost all of this masters done ✅
4. You do not need to get it right tonight, right now; you can look at it tomorrow, contact supervisor etc tomorrow
5. A while ago your thoughts were that it would be ok, and you were probably right.
6. This is a hellish crazy panic, it's making you feel terrible and you are catastrophising, making it worse and worse than it actually is.
7. Thoughts can be changed.

You need to stop now, or write an email asking for help, and then stop! Give your head a short rest from this, because tomorrow you will sort out what you are going to do. You can re-read all the suggestions on here, add the extra words, and then the next day you can submit and hope for the best. Do not let your fear of failure be the thing that makes you fail! That is self- sabotage.
Very best wishes to you, I think you'll get it done, you'll get it submitted, it may not be as 'perfect' as you'd like, but it will be enough!
And then you can have some wine and get on with the rest of your life.

[DeathStare]

OP.... if you can't think what to put then tell the tutor that you are panicking and send them a link to this thread. I know that might sound crazy but as a tutor I would rather you did that than you spent the next hour sitting up getting yourself in more and more of a state about what to write in the email, when you could be getting some sleep.

If you don't want to send a link then copy and paste your original post. don't worry about it not looking professional - when a student is in a state of crisis we don't care about stuff like that, we just want to know so we can help them. In fact the informal emails can often help us get a sense of what sort of state the student is in and thus how urgently they need our help.

Stop looking through your handbook. You are exhausted and panicky. You are not going to find your answer even if you spend all night looking. And I promise you, your tutor will know the options in seconds. And there will be options. No university fails a Masters student for a first fail/non-submission of a dissertation, especially with a disability diagnosis and when they are clearly under the kind of stress/anxiety where they would get a medical note. That doesn't make business sense for them and could possibly be in breech of legislation. There will be options.

[SevenStones]

In your email, ask them to confirm the wordcount and what it needs to be.

It doesn't matter if you sound whiny, after you've finished the MA it won't matter. They'll also be used to receiving panicky emails near the deadline of all kinds.

Stop worrying. As long as you set down in your email what you're worried about and ask what to do to sort it out you will be fine.

[arethereanyusernamesleftatall]

You have to submit it. You have nothing to lose and you might be surprised.

Email with the questions you have. Stop worrying about sounding whiny, it honestly doesn't matter.

This is a hellish crazy panic, it's making you feel terrible and you are catastrophising, making it worse and worse than it actually is

This. Please, take a deep breath, get some sleep and speak to them tomorrow.

[SourAndSnippy]

Add to FantasticButtocks

10 - The University will really try their hardest to give you enough marks to pass. ✅

[KickAssAngel]

When I did my masters it was very clear that I couldn't have got as far as you have unless my tutor was confident I'd pass. If no one has sat you down and given you a long hard talk by now then they are happy with what you've completed. So turn it in and stop letting the anxiety turn you into a drama Lama.

If you want reassurance then email your tutor tomorrow outline your concerns. Otherwise this is all needless panic.

[safariboot]

Better to have tried and failed than never to have tried at all.

You have Monday to go over things with your tutor/supervisor, then do the finishing touches and submit.

My undergraduate masters project was shoddy. Rushed, way under the word limit, didn't have any real conclusions, and was submitted not when it was complete but rather when the deadline was. Still didn't fail. I know a postgrad masters dissertation is more substantial, but even so.

[mathanxiety]

Honestly, I feel crazy with anxiety I can't see the wood for the trees.

This anxiety is your problem, not the state of your thesis.

Do not abandon it.

Sit down tomorrow and whack out a conclusion. As you write, your ideas will become clearer. Edit back to 1500.

Submit it.

Stop second guessing every single aspect of this.

If they thought you would fail they would have taken you aside and told you.

[SleepWarrior]

I helped a friend with a masters dissertation in the 11th hour. It was dreadful. It wasn't presented in a hypothesis, method, results, discussion format. It was a jumble that I'd have winced at as a GCSE project. It wasn't even written in proper sentences with capital letters in the right places. Honestly, it was that bad (and theyd already submitted it and had it handed back, this wasn't a draft ). Oh, and it was only about 20 pages long written in a large font to beef it out .

I felt there was a real limit to how much I could do without actually writing it for them, but they'd been told they'd fail the whole course if this dross was not improves and they were desperate for help.
I focussed on just helping with arranging the nonsense in a sensible format and turning it into actual sentences that could be made sense of. I couldn't help with the content or their personal aims or conclusions, which were incredibly basic and not properly addressed.

A couple of hours of tweaking and they got a comfortable pass. I don't think it was anywhere near deserved but oh my goodness it that could pass then bloody anything could! You have nothing to lose except your pride, just swallow it and go for it the best you can. Make it legible and well written according to the content you have. Insert all your references properly. Scrape every last one of the 'easy' marks that are there for the taking. If you do fail then it doesn't matter - your value as a person does not lie in how well you did this dissertation

[PyjamasForever]

It's so normal to go through this kind of panic before submitting. For my MSc dissertation I ended up with what was just a big literature review and became very intimidated by others talking about their amazing sounding research projects. I rushed the end and decided there was no way I could embarrass myself by submitting, but that was just the fear talking. Sounds like you are feeling similar. In the end I submitted hoping I'd scrape a pass and got a distinction with the highest mark on my course. Years later I still don't believe it.

Talk to your tutor tomorrow, knuckle down and finish the dissertation no matter how rubbish you think it is, and then submit it. Chances are you will pass.

[Mummyoflittledragon]

Please read the comments and advice you’ve had with a clear head. If you haven’t already sent the email, don’t worry about how you may appear. No one is going to think badly of you and trying to rewrite it wastes time and energy. People are on your side, not against you. If anyone had real concerns for your aptitude or ability, you would know about it already and they would not have got this far without intervention.

[SE13Mummy]

"Dear course coordinator and tutor,

A few weeks ago I said I was on track to complete and hand in my dissertation. However, I have now reached a point where I am feeling extremely anxious and unwell and am considering not submitting what I've done.

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 I'd manage somehow because I love the material and really believed in my idea but I've now lost any confidence I had in my work, my ability to draw a conclusion or even to study at this level and am panicking.

I understand that I have already been allowed an extension and I am grateful for that but I am really struggling and am on the verge of giving up. Is there any additional support available to help me get to submission? Is it something that would be helped by a GP letter? I feel as though my ADHD and negative thought patterns are what's stopping me from submitting what I've done as I'm certain my work isn't good enough and I'll fail but I can see this may be I have withdrawn from a previous Masters course because I wasn't coping with the pressure so I don't want to so that again and undermine the work I've put in so far.
I have been encouraged to let you know how terrible I'm feeling, how close I am to not submitting and to ask for help.
I'd really appreciate any help and reassurance you are able to give me; I really want to pass but I'm so worried I can't think straight.
Many thanks, KnuckFows"

Maybe something like this?
I'm still up at 3am because I have an MSc assignment to submit in a few hours and I've been having trouble with it. Mine may not pass because the video I have to submit doesn't have sufficient content of the right sort for me to demonstrate particular skills. I have acknowledged this in my submission paper work having already emailed the course coordinator and tutor... I don't know what the outcome will be but I figured that by sending what I've got, I won't fail on all counts and might get some useful feedback.

[PurpleDaisies]

There is bound to be a leeway (usually 10%) for wordcount.

To be under, yes if you’ve hit the criteria for passing. Mine had a hard limit. They would stop reading when they hit it.

Op I’d just write something to finish it off, even if you think it’s crap. You can edit if you get chance. Once you’ve got something you can submit you might find your state of mind improves.

Please email your tutor. That’s what they’re there for and they will want to help.

[Igmum]

I'm an academic. You're getting great advice here. Definitely speak to your tutor. Yes you can pass a Masters dissertation in my area with a literature based study (and get a distinction). Yes you can draw conclusions from existing literature. You sound like a really conscientious student who suffers from anxiety. Please don't let it stop you submitting.

[Oblomov19]

Please get help first. Failing is miserable, I should know! And your'll look back on this with regret.

[Patte]

Talk to your supervisor. I've known people who got MScs with extended literature reviews.

[Bluntness100]

If you don't submit you absolutely will fail. If you do submit you might not, irrelevant of your negative feelings.

Even if you tell everyone you didn't submit, just do it anyway, you'll regret not doing so one day

[notnowmaybelater]

In the end it's better to submit what you have rather than nothing.

You can't win the lottery if you chuck your ticket in the fire before the draw.

Please listen to everyone.

[Apolloanddaphne]

This is you anxiety talking. You can finish this work and submit it. We are all behind you.

[Stupiddriver1]

Drawing your own conclusions on the opposing views you’ve found in the literature review is fine. It’s critical analysis. X says this but y says that. z backs y up. X’s arguement is flawed because it was a small sample/shoddy research method/invalid for the U.K. as it was done in Mongolia......therefore Y’s argument is stronger.

That sort of stuff. Submit but also put in for extenuating circumstances due to adhd and any other health issues so if you need to appeal for a resubmission you have a better chance.

Do the Uni library offer any support sessions for doing academic work?

[Stupiddriver1]

my.cumbria.ac.uk/media/MyCumbria/Documents/CriticalWritingExamples.doc

www2.le.ac.uk/offices/ld/resources/writing/writing-resources/critical-writing

[malificent7]

If you are going to do this, do it for you...not family. Sometimes you cant win. I got 99 percent in an exam and dad said its coz the exam was too easy! ( failed essay though so not too smug!)

[Runkle]

OP you have good grounds for extenuating circumstances. Speak to the Student Union and Student Services. If you do submit and fail then you could appeal on the grounds of ECs - you'll need medical evidence. You can do this.

[OrangeCinnamon]

Can't link at moment but search 'Manchester Academic phrasebank' invented for speakers of english 2nd language is really useful for native english speakers with writers block. Just pick a couple of phrases to start you off snd help

[TheoriginalLEM]

I got a PhD based on limited, if any, results and an embarrassing thesis. Don't even ask about my viva.

Talk to your supervisor ask them to read it and give you pointers on any changes - they should have been doing this anyway.

You've actually nothing to lose- plough on.