DD has just received her university exam results. She received an upper second class honours degree. She has worked so hard for it and words simply cannot explain how incredibly proud we are of her.
However, she is disappointed with her results. She had her heart completely set on a first class degree and worked as hard as she absolutely could have. I could see it in her eyes that she was bitterly disappointed in herself but tried so hard to remain composed and happy for her friends who achieved their first class degrees.
She has always performed well academically. All we ever asked was that she tried her best and she did every single time. She achieved top marks in her GCSEs and A Levels and has worked hard every step of the way.
She performed very well in her first year of university. However she was very physically unwell during her second and third year. She had to juggle various appointments, tests, treatments and all sorts with her university work. We reminded her that she could take some time out to focus on her health but she was determined to complete her degree and not let her health get in her way. It also provided her a distraction and something positive to focus on. She completed some of her deadlines online whilst admitted very unwell, and had to deal with very last minute medical problems and emergency appointments when she had tutorials and other coursework due. Somehow she juggled it like every other student and completed her degree.
I believe that it impacted her performance, however realistically we will never know if she would have ever got a first or not even if she hadn’t been unwell. And it doesn’t matter. She tried her best under extremely challenging circumstances and is already a winner in our eyes.
I have tried to reassure her that an upper second class degree with honours is an incredible achievement (more than I ever achieved!) let alone with the extra challenges she has faced, as she was worried it wasn’t a good degree. It is fantastic! But I know she was bitterly disappointed. I think it’s actually the build up of stress and upset from the last 2 years and it’s all come to a head now. Her goal of a first class degree was a distraction for her. She is out celebrating with her friends and is over the moon for them, but my heart breaks for her that she is disappointed in herself.
Does anyone here happen to know anything about a 2.1 degree and have any words of wisdom I could share with her? She knows we are proud of her regardless of what she achieved which is making her doubt us when we say that a 2.1 is an incredible achievement as she thinks we are just blinded by our pride!