Failed first year - what do I do now?

[annalise.joyn]

Hi everyone,

I would like to start by saying that I really just need a helping hand in navigating this situation. I don't really have anyone to speak to about this and kind of crumbling under all of this stress.

For context I study PPE at Oxford. I received my first year grades today and I failed. My university totals grades in an odd fashion so my actual classification would be a 2:2 as it is a 59% average (I got a 2:1, 2:1, 2:2 and failed one grade) yet I was classed a 3rd in their boundaries. A third in my first year Oxford degree examinations will forever be in my transcripts. I failed in one exam due to circumstances that was incredibly stressful, which occurred a few days before the exam I failed, and my tutors are all aware of this and are willing to write a statement backing me. however a third is still a third. a fail.

Now, everything I've been working for in terms of spring weeks and internships within this summer has all just been thrown in the bin. I know law firms were already so strict in applications as the field is so saturated but having a third has quite frankly ruined my life. Without a vacation scheme, I cannot get into a law TC as nowadays even those with a vac scheme are not getting a return offer. I was so ready to start vac scheme applications and planned my life out to the T however this grade has impacted my self esteem and my ability to move ahead.

this has always been so important to me (getting a vac scheme, getting a TC) as my life has generally been very tough. I had a traumatic childhood and always wanted to do better for myself hence why I have been working my ass off doing my law applications alongside my degree. I received 1st and 2:1 all year but that one failed exam completely dragged my entire grade down.

I feel honestly like an imposter for being at Oxford, I feel like im not worthy to be a lawyer and I can't lie I dont even feel energetic enough to even apply for anything as I know I will be rejected off the bat.

what do I do? do I just sit around and do nothing for second year as all internships and vac schemes will reject me anyway? I never in a million years anticipated this. I feel so lost.

please help me

 

[Jessica Booker]

The first thing to stress is a third is not a fail. If you had failed the year, you would be retaking it rather than progressing to your second year.

When your at a uni at Oxford, you get into a little competitive bubble where supposedly everyone is doing all the flash internships in their first/second years and securing graduate jobs before they get into their final year. The reality is that the majority of people don’t do this. You only hear about the people who are securing these things rather than those who have not and so the perception is that everyone is doing it.

As a non law student, you are early to the game. Yes, there are some firms who would take you on this year as a penultimate year student, but they are actually a minority. Most firms would not take you on until you are a finalist or graduate as a non-law student.

So there is going to be plenty of time and opportunity to achieve your goals. It is not all going to come down to what happens in the next 6 months or so. You can apply to opportunities as a finalist and although I know you don’t have formal exams in second year, you can use any other informal grading systems to show your academic performance/improvement/consistency. If you have to resit your first year module, you will also have an improved grade for that too.

And even then it sounds like you have some mitigating circumstances to your failed module too, and if you do have extenuating circumstances to that, that the university can/will verify, then that will help you in the future too.

I have seen enough people with a similar academic profile to you secure TCs. They usually just are the ones who aren’t securing them as a second year student. But considering the average trainee is 28 years old, clearly most people are not securing them as a second year undergraduate.

You’ve got plenty of time and you’ve still got this!