I'm in the finals of my last semester of college. I'm in a philosophy class with my favorite professor. She's already been so fucking understanding and accommodating of my mental health going down the toilet this past year. But. I've still got an oral presentation and a 8 page essay to write for her by Tuesday and I'm just not sure if I can do it. So do I discuss with her how to fail her class gracefully? The only cons to this are the F on my transcript, the drop in my GPA and the humiliation that comes with failing a class for the first time. Other than that, it won't effect my graduation or anything. I really don't know what to do.
From someone who went from never failing a class to trying to stop failing classes: Do discuss it with her, she might be able to help you not fail. But if you choose to give up on this class, you might be able to dedicate more spoons to the ones you do need to pass to graduate. And failing one class isn't the end of the world, it just feels like it will be when you've never done it before. You're graduating anyways (congrats!) and gpa and such will be less important from here out especially since this class isn't in your field (im guessing)
Freeing up the spoons is what is making this sound like an actual possibility right now. I'm just not sure how I'll get it done otherwise. I mean, looking at my academic history, I do get things done, even if I don't know how I'm going to at the start. But I'm also pretty much at the end of my rope... No, I'm a chemist, so this is probably not going to be a big deal in the long run. But I feel like I'm letting my prof down (we've become friends in the four years since I first had a class with her). Yeah, I think I just need to talk to her. Gah...
I was in a similar situation this semester and ended up withdrawing from the class, which has the advantage of a) not failing, and b) if a medical withdrawal, won't show up on your transcript. I think.
Hi! Some professorial input if you like. If it impacts all your classes you can try for a medical withdraw. They don't show up on your transcript usually but you will need to find out for your uni specifically. But most importantly please go talk to your professor!!!!!! There are lots of options to support your education if you just talk to us about what the problem is. There is a grade type at most universities that is an incomplete. This means you are likely to finish the class with a passing grade but due to reasons can't do it within the semester timeline. At my school this allows for 60 days after the end of the semester for you to complete the assignments and be given a grade. Seriously, we don't judge our students if things happen that they are struggling with. We want you to succeed. If you go talk to them they can get the university working for you because you are obviously trying hard to be a good student. Your professor isn't a judge of your worth as a human, they're an ally to make your education go as well as possible. *hugs* You can do it!
An update, since you all are giving such nice advice. I went and talked to professor, we worked an alternate final assessment out and I didn't have to fail the class. Phew. I don't know what my final grade will be for a few weeks though. Thanks for the replies and support!