The pathway from year 13 or college to university can be a bumpy ride. For some students, you’re making the first major decision about your future, entirely on your own and some, unfortunately, get it wrong. Let me tell you about the student who wouldn’t quit and why it’s okay to accept defeat.
My student sat and passed an entrance exam before I joined the course and, to this day, I still don’t know how they were accepted. A little context – Student 13 had signed up to become a journalist and yet struggled to piece together a fully coherent sentence. I can only assume someone else completed the assessment for them.
The course is intense. Five days a week, four sessions a day for 18 weeks, with seven exams and a simple pass or fail result, no grading. It’s not for the fainthearted.
The students are made acutely aware of what is expected of them from the off, so imagine my surprise to receive an email from Student 13 stating: “It’s not worth me coming in to do work I can do from home. It’s a waste of petrol. I’ll just send you my work by email when I’m finished.”
Student 13 was then consistently late. They didn’t complete work on time or to a satisfactory level and were stressing out their classmates. When receiving feedback Student 13 became upset, aggravated and immediately began to argue.
This is a huge bugbear of mine and perhaps something that gets missed in the transition to university. You must be able to accept feedback and process it in a positive way in order to improve. Simply telling a lecturer they’re wrong isn’t going to cut it.
As the first exams loomed, I looked in dismay at the most recent assignment Student 13 had submitted only to find a glaringly obvious plagiarism claim. My heart sank. I spoke with colleagues about Student 13 and their consistent belief that they would finish the course. It just wasn’t going to happen, but supporting the student in accepting that fact was a different matter.
Eventually, with help from additional services, Student 13 agreed that the course had been perhaps too intense to fit with their lifestyle and so a year-long option (as opposed to 18 weeks) was offered.
Skip forward six months and, you guessed it, Student 13 failed the exams, citing poor quality teaching and insufficient study materials. A little rich considering they had less than 60% attendance and had refused to buy the book list supplied at the start of term.
Again, additional student support was called on to help Student 13 plan a realistic approach to their study. Goals were set to improve attendance and funds were sought to buy the missing study materials. However, a week later, these additions made no difference at all.
Student 13 would go on to fail their third and final attempt at the programme of study. Despite multiple attempts to plan realistic milestones and improve on aspects such as attendance, understanding modules and meeting deadlines, Student 13 became the student that wouldn’t quit. They later enrolled at a different college.
It was a slog for everyone involved. The student, the staff, the classmates.
My Advice
Don’t be the student who wouldn’t quit. It’s that simple. Sometimes you have to accept defeat. Perhaps you chose the wrong course. Perhaps your lifestyle has changed and you can no longer meet the minimum requirements to study. Maybe your heart wasn’t in it from the start and you’re just trying to make your parents proud. It’s 100% okay to fail. It’s 100% okay if it doesn’t work out the first time.
Accepting feedback and being able to process it to bounce back is a hugely important part of your university journey. There are so many variables that can steal your concentration away from study. So, if a lecturer offers feedback on how to improve, don’t shy away. Grab it with both hands and learn how to accept their input.
There are lots of people employed through the university networks and associated partners who can help you reevaluate your next steps. Reach out, move on.
Read next: How to show up for yourself