3rd degree, what do I do now? [Considering Appeal]

dellfanatic

I've had a provisional degree result and I've got a 3rd. It's a BSc. Hons course but still I can't see anyone wanting to employ a third class graduate. I'm looking into making an appeal as there were extenuating cicrumstances they were aware of but not sure whether these were taken account of, along with the viva voce exam where I am convinced the examiner misunderstood my dissertation as I spent the first 10 mins of the interview erring and umming as I didn't know what he was asking me. He got the wrong end of the stick with one of my colleagues dissertation too on a relatively simple/obvious point. I feel confused and I'm not sure what to do about this, I don't know what bearing a viva would have had and I don't get the transcript till this coming week sometime then I've only got 10 days to make an appeal.

I've been thinking about doing a course to "mask" this one for example I'm quite interested in economics/business/retail but my course is in science. Finance for a masters would be tight and there seem to be no grants available.

What is annoying me the most is that there are people there I know I'm better than; I knew more about my course and was a better lab researcher, I have better spelling/grammar and can discern between your/you're and their/there/they're whereas most of them made glaringly obvious errors in their oral presentations, but that doesn't matter apparently. All an employer is going to see is that they got a 2:1. It just doesn't seem fair. I'd be very grateful for any advice as I'm completely lost and have nobody to look to for help/advice.

Thank you and congratulations to those who received results this week/good luck to those waiting!

sharon59

My daughter is hovering between 2/2 and 3rd -will know this week-too mucgh time spent studying social life!however her friend whose expecting same got job last week-all they were interested in was that she had a degree and not what class it was.Both my son and older daughter got 2/2 degrees-son now at age 26 Head of PE in big private school and daughter happily teaching RE in one of best North wales comps.Neither were asked about grades etc.So really what lm saying is maybe its not as bad as you fear.keep your chin up!

Blacksheep1979

dellfanatic wrote: »

I've been thinking about doing a course to "mask" this one for example I'm quite interested in economics/business/retail but my course is in science. Finance for a masters would be tight and there seem to be no grants available.

Hate to be the bearer of bad news but alot of masters courses expect a 2.2 min and alot ask for a 2.1 - especially business related ones as they are very popular.

dellfanatic wrote: »

and can discern between your/you're and their/there/they're

Erm so can alot of 11 year olds - if that really is one of your selling points on a sciences degree you are in trouble.

dellfanatic

Blacksheep1979 wrote: »

Hate to be the bearer of bad news but alot of masters courses expect a 2.2 min and alot ask for a 2.1 - especially business related ones as they are very popular.



Erm so can alot of 11 year olds - if that really is one of your selling points on a sciences degree you are in trouble.

Yes, I had a feeling about the entry to masters courses, hence my concern.

And my grammar is a selling point, I have seen how many 'science graduates' are completely unable to construct an accurate sentence. Not many 11 year olds can do that these days

BigBouncyBall

you'd be very surprised what masters you can do with a 3rd. OK Cambridge and Oxford are out but don't despair! There are loads of places that might take you on with a 3rd - particularly 'new universities' (i hate that phrase) that offer a more 'vocational courses' (that one too).

It's true that the degree class gets you the interview but the 'real you' (God anymore cheesy ones coming?) gets the job.

It will feel like the end of the world at the moment - i know but remember the proverb:

turn your face to the sun and the shadows will fall behind you

*Right thats it - i'm off to the cheese shop to pick up some more lines.

celyn90

Hi OP, Firstly, as BigBouncyBall says, there are options open to you. Contact the places you are interested in and ask them, phone them up if necessary. Being pro-active in contacting them is seen as a big plus - it proves you are motivated and gets you noticed.

Employers are not daft, they will look for the right candidate for the job and if you get an interview, then you can wow them regardless of your degree grade. Most are fully aware that a science degree, regardless of level is an achievement. Work on putting together a good CV that underlines your strengths.

You also say in your original post that this is a provisional result. Is it your actual result or just a predictor?

Best of luck with the path you choose, cel x

equitydealer

I know someone who got a 3rd and got a job with a small IT consultancy that was starting up (only 2 employees at that time). The company has grown to 30 staff and he's been based at a FTSE 100 company for the last 2.5 years earning a very good salary and is now a project manager.

Try applying to local businesses instead of the grad schemes.

Blacksheep1979

The trouble you will find initially is that many big/top firms won't look at someone with a 3rd and tbh if you get a 3rd you've (generally) either not worked or not the sharpest tool in the box.

celyn90 wrote: »

Employers are not daft, they will look for the right candidate for the job and if you get an interview, then you can wow them regardless of your degree grade. Most are fully aware that a science degree, regardless of level is an achievement. Work on putting together a good CV that underlines your strengths.

yes they're not daft and thats why due to the high costs of recruitment they'll bin all applications with grades lower than a certain point as 99/100 those people won't be what they are after.

Best bet is going to be getting work experience wherever you can as once you have a couple of years work experience that takes presidence over what your degree was.

bestpud

If there were mitigating circumstances then did you formally apply to have them taken into consideration? I'm not sure how you can be unsure about this as it's a formal procedure at all universities isn't it?

Secondly, if you had doubts as to how the viva voce went then you really should have brought it up before now. However, you should definitely appeal if you feel the decision is wrong.

I can't see what you mean when you compare yourself favourably to other students as, if you are more literate and know the subject better, why wasn't this reflected in your results? They must have offered something better in their assignments surely?

Could you go and speak to your personal tutor about this? I would say you will find it harder to get on a masters course with a third too. Don't worry too much about it as, yes it may be a bit more difficult to find a job, but it's not impossible.

dellfanatic

bestpud wrote: »

If there were mitigating circumstances then did you formally apply to have them taken into consideration? I'm not sure how you can be unsure about this as it's a formal procedure at all universities isn't it?

Secondly, if you had doubts as to how the viva voce went then you really should have brought it up before now. However, you should definitely appeal if you feel the decision is wrong.

I can't see what you mean when you compare yourself favourably to other students as, if you are more literate and know the subject better, why wasn't this reflected in your results? They must have offered something better in their assignments surely?

Could you go and speak to your personal tutor about this? I would say you will find it harder to get on a masters course with a third too. Don't worry too much about it as, yes it may be a bit more difficult to find a job, but it's not impossible.

My personal tutor was aware of the situation, he's chair of the board so it's not like I didn't speak to the right person. Regarding the viva, I did meet my project supervisor straight afterwards and I was quite vocal in how the viva exam went, he was surprised at the questions I was asked. I then met a postgrad researcher who helped me with the lab work. I told her what I was asked. She said she wouldn't have known that. So I have left a little trail I can pick up on if needed.

In terms of my degree I agree I should have had a better result. The department also suffered staff shortages due to extreme apathy but the external examiner was aware of this so I presume they have taken account of it. I attained the highest mark in the country at two AS-Level biology modules, but recently as my parents have been going through a divource which my "dad" is drawing out and using every legal loophole to prolong, it's caused my mother a lot of stress. Our car was vandalised by him as well as our fence panels sprayed with obscene words. So it's not surprising she's under stress, consequently I've had to look over the household admin e.g. insurance & finances/banking among others (she's had overdraft charges 5 times in the last two years, compared with never in her entire life - don't worry I reclaimed the charges!) - the reason I compare myself favourably to others in my cohort is that with all respect to them, I am so much more aware of the real world due to the responsibility I've had to take on for my family and I know I have skills that a private business would cherish.

I'm going to contact the tutor who was present in the viva interview (in a chaperone capacity) to ask why I was asked such irrelevant questions. Thanks for your replies I appreciate all this advice and BigBouncyBall, the proverb is so appropriate, thank you! I'm not sure whether to contact the registrar first or the tutor, from my perspective the registry are in more of a position to give advice as I see it. My personal tutor is chair of the exam board and probably the one who made the decision and as he's also my CV reference (academic) I'm concerned about approaching him

empfun

What does 2:1 and 2:2 mean?

If you think about doctors' handwriting they are pretty illegible if you asked me, but the associations still let them prescribe medicine.