As students, how (if you did) did you fail miserably or make a huge mistake? I’ve heard of people who slept through exams, or had a mixup in their schedules and totally missed their final exams.
Lost papers, stolen USBs, infected computers, blanking out during tests. Or just being ill-prepared. coupled with strict professors, one seemingly small mistake can cause a hugely negative impact on their life and it feels like the end of the world. And then there’s teh humiliation of showing your face to the world, admitting you failed…
So how did you pick up the peices? and how did you recover?
Let this thread be a place to laugh and cry, and of course, be a learning experience.
I know I’m not the only ‘idiot’ on this board, so cmon everyone..share!
ok so what happened was that i had that physics class that i hated and i didnt wanted to continue and at the same time i was trying to get financial aid for that class sooo i went to that office and for some reason that dummm lady told me that my fees was due and i m not eligible for financial aid..and if i wont pay my fees the class will be droped out automatically …ok so i was relaxed never showed up for class thinking it will be dropped soooo
btw i m a good student and always kept my GPA above 3.00 sooo here in the end of the semister when i got my grades a big **F **for physics oh my God i was so devestated…and that took my gpa …i will never make that mistake again…failing for no reason
so i was in 9th grade..and it was my practical day very faaaaaaaar from my house..about 30/45 mins drive...anywayas i woke up and got ready and at 7:30 AM my bro drop me at exam center...at 8 :00 i went to office to know about where is my lab...the teacher said my practical is not at morning its in after noon at 2:30 PM..oh GOD...i was like now what...
i called my father and told him..he said what u will be there all alone untill 2:30 PM...( b'coz they weren't letting in any one once practial was started.)...so my father say wait let me send ur brother back to u and come home..and go back at 2:30 PM..
so my brother came..i went home and was sleepy...and i fell asleep..and my mom come awake me up at 2:00 PM..i knewwwww i wud be late...uffff and it was tooo much tracfic that time..i reached there at 2:50 PM..practical was allready started...and they let me in after a big lecture :(...
This one subject that I was having trouble with…I waited till the nd to study for it:(…and when I did…nothing would stick in my mind…I tried for couple of hours…then as I was getting sleepier and sleepier…I made this whole plan in my mind that how I would drop this class…no biggie whatsoever…and off I nodded to sleep…only to wake up in the morning to be panic stricken…It was like I got in hosh then…What was I thinking:smack:
I vow NEVEr to let sleepy stupor dictate any plans…NEVER NEVER NEVER …also I will study way in advance for subjects like those…that need marinating to be done of the subject material
All my horror stories in my undergrad occurred due to my own circumstances, as I was always time stricken because of working two jobs to support myself through school, and attending school full-time. I never had exceptionally good grades and was happy just to get by because I couldn’t spend as much time studying as some of my colleagues.
In any case, the funny thing is that the courses I took near the end of my degree as electives, and the courses that were meant to be bird courses, were the ones that lowered my GPA further prolly because I took them to be way too easy, or I didn’t have the aptitude for them. There was this Astronomy course that used to have a course average of B- which is considered really good at the University I was in… so I enrolled in the course… hardly attended two or three classes the whole term… and panicked near the end cuz I didn’t understand a thing! I went to the very last class, and cold called upon a girl who I didn’t even know before and asked if I could Xerox her notes…and luckily she agreed to let me. With some last minute cramming, I got a C+ in the course! – sigh… so much for a bird course! my average in my core courses was around a B at the time.
The other horror story I have to relate was due to no fault of my own… I was a CS major and I used to do most of my programming assignments a couple of days before they were due… and I used to spend all-nighters in the computer lab. In one of my senior courses, I was in the midst of a programming assignment and sent out a print job but got busy with making some changes to the program and forgot about the print job. As it happened, someone else got a hold of the printout and copied my code. When the assignment was submitted, I got a call from the Prof. asking me to come in for a meeting, and he intimated me that my assignment was being reviewed for plagiarism. Needless to say – I was flabbergasted, didn’t know how this was possible… but the other guy admitted to his fault, and nothing happened… but those two days that I waited for a decision were days from hell.
Last semester (fall) was supposed to be my final one before I graduated.
Towards end of the semester I get a email saying that since I had repeated two courses, they were going to deduct those credits from my audit, which would leave me short of 4 credits.
I scrambled to register and find a class for the winter session, getting special permission, and waiting for a decision. Finally registered for a January class.
Come January, I find out I fail one class, and on top of that I had to drop that January class b/c I was hospitalized the first day of classes. I wasn’t sure wheN i’d be out of the hospital, (ended up being there for 5 days, entire class was 10 days long), so I made the decision to drop the course.
So now, i registered for a few classes for the spring and this is where I am hitting myself the most, I totally forgot about thsoe deducted credits.All along I thought i’d have 125 credits by now, but it turns out ill only have 119. Just one credit short.
I have no horror stories to share. I was good student , I had good memory , always well prepared for my tests and exams.
I never did my home work ever in my elementary , middle and high schools though. I was punished at school for that but in the end I would Ace the exams and that is what counted back home in Pakistan. Your finals exams were the gauge of your academic achievements. Which I would pass with flying colors.
Horror Story 1: Freshman year in college, we had to take a English Literature class. For the final assignment was writte a collaborative 25 page paper on Walden by Henry David Thoreau
My team consisted of a very nice former editor of her newspaper and a dumbass from hell. Our grade depended on each other and he figured he could just sail through.
The guy failed to do his assignment and on the night before the final paper was due waltzed in with a 1/2 paragrah written. I was so pissed.
The girl and I ended up working the entire night and submitted our paper 1/2 hour before the deadline in the morning. She also stapled at the end of the paper his piece and wrote an explanation.
I thought we would all get Ds because of this moron because it was a team assignement. But the professor was generous and we got As and the guy flunked obviously.
Horror Story 2: I took an environmental engineering class. The part that I liked about the class was that they transmitted the lectures on public T.V. So I thought “Great, I don’t have to go to class and I’ll just watch it at home”. Every time I would get distracted and watch “young and the restless” instead
Well the night before the final - I had to go the library and watch 20 tapes in 20 hours of the lectures that I had missed. It was a loooongggg night with lots of coffee
Horror Story 1: Freshman year in college, we had to take a English Literature class. For the final assignment was writte a collaborative 25 page paper on Walden by Henry David Thoreau
My team consisted of a very nice former editor of her newspaper and a dumbass from hell. Our grade depended on each other and he figured he could just sail through.
The guy failed to do his assignment and on the night before the final paper was due waltzed in with a 1/2 paragrah written. I was so pissed.
The girl and I ended up working the entire night and submitted our paper 1/2 hour before the deadline in the morning. She also stapled at the end of the paper his piece and wrote an explanation.
I thought we would all get Ds because of this moron because it was a team assignement. But the professor was generous and we got As and the guy flunked obviously.
don't even get me started on group work stories - aargh! - and these days, I get to hear about horror stories from my students regarding their group fiascos... needless to say, I have little compassion for students who just ride their group's coattails.
…i will never make that mistake again…failing for no reason 
, always well prepared for my tests and exams.
