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So I'm technically a graduate student. My school allows people who are studying a certain subject apply to the graduate program early, so if you get in, you get to work on your master's at the same time as finishing your bachelor's degree. Anyway, I applied and got in. I am also only 20. So the plan was to graduate with both degrees by the time I was 22. Here's the thing though, I think I'm going to be academically dismissed. The rules are that you cannot a C in more than one class. I got a C in my last class and it looks like I'm going to get a C in this class too unless I somehow get a 98% on the final. Unlikely, but I guess anything is possible.

So my question is, what do I do if I fail out? I don't have my bachelor's yet. I'm only 20 and if I'm being completely honest, I don't think this is something that I want to do anymore. I'm just not passionate and my level of caring is so low. It's probably why my grades are so bad. I just don't care anymore. I just can't deal with the fact that I'm probably going to fail out.

harper
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  • Can you still finish your bachelor's degree? – Patricia Shanahan Jan 10 '18 at 01:19
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    I'm not sure that there's a question we can actually answer here. – ff524 Jan 10 '18 at 01:29
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    Seems more likely you would be dropped from the special bachelor/master program back to a bachelors only normal track. Talk to your advisor... – Jon Custer Jan 10 '18 at 02:18
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    If I understand you are correctly, you do not care because you expect to fail and you may fail because you do not care. This sounds like you should talk to a suitable advisory service, if your institution provides this. – Wrzlprmft Jan 10 '18 at 05:26
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    I have sat on a lot of hiring committees. The academic transcripts of some of the best candidates were pretty average (if "average" in a particular course is a C). Find out what courses, if any, you still need for the Bachelor's, and crank those last credits out. You can probably get those few credits online. The Bachelor's will open a lot of doors for you. // Also, negotiate with the university that your academic record not reflect the incompleted master's. // Focus on the accomplishment (the Bachelor's). Not everyone has to get a master's degree. – aparente001 Jan 11 '18 at 04:24
  • And you know, I would be very surprised if the university gave you a hard time about this. Example: I once negotiated with a community college to convert a slew of F's to W's (W=withdrawn) for a young man who landed in jail during a personal crisis. The dean was fully supportive of our thinking -- that someday this young man might be doing better and might want to go back to school. This way he can. Your situation is not comparable of course. I just wanted to show you that the dean will likely want to support your ability to get a job that requires a Bachelor's degree. – aparente001 Jan 11 '18 at 04:29

2 Answers2

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Welcome to the real world.

If you can still get a bachelor's degree, I strongly recommend you do it. The number of jobs that require a bachelor's degree is much larger than the number of jobs that require a masters (which is in turn larger than those that require a PhD). If you can't get a bachelor's degree, you'll really have wasted a lot more years of time and will probably be forced into an uninteresting low-pay job.

The next thing to do is look for a job. Use your local job repositories or job search portals. Figure out what you want to do, and approach the companies in that area to see if they're hiring. If you don't know what you want to do, then look for jobs that require the skills you have. For example if you're trained in psychology, look for jobs that require a degree in psychology. You should also use your network. When I left my previous job, the vacated position literally "fell into" the lap of my replacement. I told my Honours supervisor I was resigning, and she recommended my replacement.

Then prepare a CV that caters to non-academics, stressing what you learned in university. Especially emphasize the transferable skills. For example if you learned the programming language C++ during your university days, and the job you're applying to needs programming skills, you're in business. Be aware that you'll likely be interviewed before getting hired, and one question you are odds-on to be asked is "why did you not finish graduate school". I would recommend preparing a good answer.

There's a lot of advice out there on how to find a job. It's up to you to look for it. Unless you stay in academia forever, you'll end up in a job search eventually. If your university has a career center, absolutely visit them. They're a great resource.

Allure
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  • PS: Cynically speaking, the whole purpose of university study is to prepare you for a job. If you chose a discipline well, you should be in high demand and can command a high salary. If you find nobody wants your qualifications, that's what people are referring to when they say there's a disconnect between the academics who encouraged you to choose that qualification and the real world. – Allure Jan 10 '18 at 00:58
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    The purpose of university study is to prepare life-ready citizens, not job-ready graduates. Where I taught, I threatened to throw up in the lap of any administrator who said, "Job-ready graduates." (Could that be why I don't teach there any more?) – Bob Brown Jan 10 '18 at 03:50
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    @BobBrown We might be on opposite sides of the disconnect then! I view universities as a place where students spend $100k++ and a significant fraction of the best years of their life in return for a certain skill set and a diploma saying they have that skill set. If the skills learned are unnecessary, they could save the money and time by going directly into the workforce from high school. Perhaps most undergraduates don't think in terms of "I'm-here-to-get-a-job-eventually", but if I could go back and do it again, I would absolutely think that way. – Allure Jan 10 '18 at 04:41
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    There are places like that. They're called "trade schools." By your analysis, the Western Civ. and English Lit. courses that undergraduates are generally required to take are a waste of time. If, however, the goal is to prepare the student for a useful, productive, and rewarding life, then they're essential. – Bob Brown Jan 10 '18 at 16:12
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    We're approaching off-topic territory, but still: I'm unfamiliar with trade schools. Do they award degrees? The job advertisements I see mostly ask for degrees. If trade schools award degrees then I think more people should attend. As for Western Civ / English Lit, I think about them like any other subject. Students taking them should know why they're doing it, e.g. there's a job out there they want to do that requires them. "I can afford it + don't mind spending a few years" is also fine. I just find it a pity if someone realizes the degree's actually useless (but only after graduation). – Allure Jan 10 '18 at 19:42
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I would agree with Allure (+1 Allure), and I'd suggest that you follow that as a contingency.

In the meantime however you are acting passively rather than actively in your situation.

  • Have you talked to your advisor as to what options you have?
  • Have you talked with your current professor for the C class to see if you can earn extra credit?
  • Have you talked to your dean about your performance and proposed a plan where you would not find yourself needing to be academically dismissed? Such as retaking those classes?

There is always something that you can do about your situation that I don't think you've considered. Before well... giving up... and failing out, why don't you take a moment, pick yourself up, and act how a mature, responsible, adult would do?

Just as you don't want to be academically dismissed if you don't want to, I can reasonably presume that the academic board of your institution doesn't want to kick someone out who realizes that they screwed up and is taking responsibility for their shortcomings.

My words seem harsh but as Allure said,

Welcome to the real world.

You are your own best advocate, your parents aren't going to make sure everything is alright for you. You have to take responsibility and make things happen.

Bluebird
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    +1, your advice is better! Salvage a bachelor's degree if possible, then think about getting a job. – Allure Jan 10 '18 at 08:31
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    No... salvage a bachelor and masters. This is your best outcome on your education given the amount of years you've put in (sunk cost) as well as highest ROI (return on investment). Masters > Bachelors. The second best outcome is just the bachelors. The third best is simply to withdraw rather than be academically dismissed, this is equivalent to resigning instead of being fired. The absolute worst is to be academically dismissed. – Bluebird Jan 10 '18 at 09:21