I just did what every college student has nightmares about. I slept through a midterm. I spent the whole night before studying, and my alarm didn’t wake me up the following morning. I won’t pass the class now.
I feel like such an idiot. I’ve never failed a class in my entire life, and I’ve never made this kind of stupid decision. I should have known better. I know it’s completely my fault. I’ve been kicking myself over it for the past few days.
This is going to be permanently marked on my transcript forever. I feel like I ruined my academic career. If I ever want to apply to graduate school, this is going to show up on my transcript. I’m in the honors program at my school, but I acted like a complete fool. I’m sure none of my peers would have ever acted like I did. I’m ashamed. I don’t know how to move on from this.
I’m sorry to hear this happens. It stinks. The same thing happened to my son last year as a freshman (though in his case I’m not quite sure if he slept through the exam by accident or just forgot his final was that morning and missed it). He re-took the class in the summer term and his new grade (an A) replaced the F. Yes, the F is still on his transcript, but at least he fixed the GPA part as the A replaced the F.
He was able to move on from it and recover, and while the whole situation stinks, all you can do at this point is move on. And just know that you are definitely not the only person that this has happened to.
My son also slept through a test freshman year. So, look at all of us chiming in – you certainly are not the first kid to do this! My son probably felt as bad as you did, and I’m pretty sure this will never happen to him again because of how bad he felt.
He spoke to the teacher too (in his case, the test was a quiz, and the teacher would not let him make it up, but this was pre-Covid and was in person). I echo the others, speak to the prof, and figure out a plan going forward.
It is not the end of the world, although it may feel like it.
Please talk to your professor. Don’t just assume there is nothing you can do. They may allow you to retake it - perhaps with some penalty, but a grade is better than a 0.
As for your transcript: the secret is your transcript only matters if you’re trying to get into graduate or professional school, and even then, one bad grade (even one F) doesn’t “ruin your academic career”. I failed a few classes in undergrad and I have a PhD from an excellent program in my field, and I bet other folks on this forum have similar stories. You CAN come back from a mistake. Nobody is perfect.
Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone fails sometimes. What matters is not that you made a mistake, but what you do to move past it.
You should of called your professor right away. Never assume there is nothing you can do. My son in freshman year showed up at a test at the wrong time. There “was” a time change at the last minute but he wrote down the wrong time. He immediately called the professor and was just honest about it. The professor was very cool and told him everyone has one of these in their life. My son was able to take the test in his office the next day. The professor was truly cool about it.
Please don’t be so,hard on yourself. You’re human and you made a mistake. It might seem disastrous right now, but it doesn’t mean you’re doomed.
As others have said, contact your professor. Be honest. Ask if there is anything at all that can be done. And be kind to yourself. Things will work out as they are meant to.