meegannie
Blue Crack Addict
Tomorrow is the day my MA dissertation is due. I, however, have no dissertation to hand in and am therefore going to fail my MA.
And I'm really, really, really upset about it.
As loads of people here know, I've had a horrible year and struggled a lot with depression, loneliness, and the general lack of organization/support in my programme. I managed somehow to get all of my work done the first semester and did surprisingly well on everything, but it all got to be too much by May and I had to claim extenuating circumstances and hand my last two essays in late. I had an incredibly difficult time concentrating enough to write, despite the fact that I'd spent months researching and had over 40 full pages (typed) of notes on each topic. It took literally hours to write each sentence, and the quality of my work on the last essay was much lower than usual (I'm sure it was good enough to pass, but I never heard back from the professor [my dissertation supervisor] about it, so I don't even know what marks I made on any of the coursework for that module).
Anyway, to make a long story short, so many things went wrong that I decided that it was best for my health and sanity to just give up on my dissertation until I was actually capable of writing it and could gain some sort of satisfaction from it. I sent the following email to the person in charge of the history MAs and to my dissertation supervisor:
"I am writing to request information on the process of applying to defer my dissertation submission for a year due to extenuating circumstances. Although I have attempted to develop my thesis, continue my research, and write the dissertation, it has proved beyond my capabilities at this time. As you know, I applied for extenuating circumstances due to depression this year and that, combined with a hectic summer in which I have gotten married and am currently in the process of moving and looking for a job, has made completing my dissertation impossible. Difficulties in registering with a GP for the summer, complications with medications, having had my bag containing my student ID and some of my notes stolen in July, confusion regarding the dissertation-writing and supervision process, and financial strain have also compounded the difficulty of working on my dissertation. Given the time and money I have invested in this degree so far, I do not want to simply give up, nor do I want to submit a piece of work that is of low quality and below my potential. I do not know whether it is possible to obtain an extension and defer graduation for a year, but under the circumstances it appears my only option. Please could you advise me as to whether there is any chance, and if so, what the next course of events should be. I am sorry for any inconvenience this causes you. "
I got a return receipt from both of the professors saying my message had been opened, but neither of them replied. That was five weeks ago.
So I emailed them again on Friday, and emailed the contact person listed on the School of History's website about the possibility of just getting a postgraduate diploma rather than an MA (basically the same, except without the dissertation). Still no replies.
I feel like such a loser. I have no motivation to do anything anymore and absolutely no confidence whatsoever because this whole experience has been so soul destroying. I've gotten so used to things going wrong in the past year that I've just come to expect the worst of everything. I've always done really well academically and been very responsible and independent. I've wanted to get a degree in England since I was about 12. I worked for two years to save up enough money to do this MA, turned down funding from another university because Nottingham was my first choice, and took out $18,500 in loans. I put up with the year from hell -- crappy housing, no friends, poor departmental organization and student support, badly structured classes, an unprofessional and incompetent health centre, and still managed to do well in all of my modules, yet have nothing to show for it except a lot of debt.
And I'm really, really, really upset about it.
As loads of people here know, I've had a horrible year and struggled a lot with depression, loneliness, and the general lack of organization/support in my programme. I managed somehow to get all of my work done the first semester and did surprisingly well on everything, but it all got to be too much by May and I had to claim extenuating circumstances and hand my last two essays in late. I had an incredibly difficult time concentrating enough to write, despite the fact that I'd spent months researching and had over 40 full pages (typed) of notes on each topic. It took literally hours to write each sentence, and the quality of my work on the last essay was much lower than usual (I'm sure it was good enough to pass, but I never heard back from the professor [my dissertation supervisor] about it, so I don't even know what marks I made on any of the coursework for that module).
Anyway, to make a long story short, so many things went wrong that I decided that it was best for my health and sanity to just give up on my dissertation until I was actually capable of writing it and could gain some sort of satisfaction from it. I sent the following email to the person in charge of the history MAs and to my dissertation supervisor:
"I am writing to request information on the process of applying to defer my dissertation submission for a year due to extenuating circumstances. Although I have attempted to develop my thesis, continue my research, and write the dissertation, it has proved beyond my capabilities at this time. As you know, I applied for extenuating circumstances due to depression this year and that, combined with a hectic summer in which I have gotten married and am currently in the process of moving and looking for a job, has made completing my dissertation impossible. Difficulties in registering with a GP for the summer, complications with medications, having had my bag containing my student ID and some of my notes stolen in July, confusion regarding the dissertation-writing and supervision process, and financial strain have also compounded the difficulty of working on my dissertation. Given the time and money I have invested in this degree so far, I do not want to simply give up, nor do I want to submit a piece of work that is of low quality and below my potential. I do not know whether it is possible to obtain an extension and defer graduation for a year, but under the circumstances it appears my only option. Please could you advise me as to whether there is any chance, and if so, what the next course of events should be. I am sorry for any inconvenience this causes you. "
I got a return receipt from both of the professors saying my message had been opened, but neither of them replied. That was five weeks ago.
So I emailed them again on Friday, and emailed the contact person listed on the School of History's website about the possibility of just getting a postgraduate diploma rather than an MA (basically the same, except without the dissertation). Still no replies. I feel like such a loser. I have no motivation to do anything anymore and absolutely no confidence whatsoever because this whole experience has been so soul destroying. I've gotten so used to things going wrong in the past year that I've just come to expect the worst of everything. I've always done really well academically and been very responsible and independent. I've wanted to get a degree in England since I was about 12. I worked for two years to save up enough money to do this MA, turned down funding from another university because Nottingham was my first choice, and took out $18,500 in loans. I put up with the year from hell -- crappy housing, no friends, poor departmental organization and student support, badly structured classes, an unprofessional and incompetent health centre, and still managed to do well in all of my modules, yet have nothing to show for it except a lot of debt.
I can't go to the university to speak to anyone in person at the moment since I'm living in Norwich now and can't afford to spend money on a train journey unless I know things will be taken care of then and there. I've emailed the school secretary and the International Office about it, and if no one emails me by Wednesday, I'm going to call and find someone who can tell me my options. 
