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I'm nervous, help me out?Submitted by vkitty17 on Wed, 04/30/2008 - 3:00pm.
Ok, so, I work, go to school full time, and have a little boy to take care of. I also have celiac disease that I haven't yet mastered, it's kinda new. Anyway, I'm way behind in my work at school, and I sent this email to my professor. Can someone read it tell me if it sounds whiney to you? Or is it fine? I see that she has already read it, but still...She hasn't replied. 8] "It has been a while since we've had a meeting, but I wanted to update you on what has been going on with the project. I think I mentioned in my last email that I had hit a few bumps pertaining to information on the Fatherless Children of France. Do you remember the email I sent you asking about that old source from around 1920 and whether it was okay to use? I have decided that it would fit in nicely in context considering this source was indeed from the time that the Father Children were in operation. Also, I had made a mistake in taking too many credit hours as well as trying to do this project along side my writing intensive course. Also, I have Celiac Disease, something I thought I had under control but I have found during this semester I do not. I was wondering if it would be possible to have an extension on this project of possibly two to three weeks? I have a basic outline written and have made progress on the paper itself, but there is not as much information as I had wanted. Please let me know if this would be alright. Thank you, Ack! Ok I'll calm down, it'll be fine. my students are very good at this! Forward the original and then ask - very, very politely - if the prof has "had a chance to review your message" and what his/her thoughts are on your request. sometimes they mean to answer but forget -- I swear, profs are about the worst at responding to emails. ...this is the message I already sent. I also got a read receipt about a half hour ago, but no reply from her. What I'm nervous about mostly is whether or not I sound like I'm making excuses for not having gotten this done on time. But I never make excuses, what I said is exactly how it is. I just have this hang-up about maintaining respect and acceptance from my professors. Is that neurotic, or what? lol |
This sounds honest and upfront to me. And not too whiney or privileged (like some students who expect to have everything just handed to them on a silver platter!). Your email indicates that you HAVE been working on the project and are thinking about it. I agree with the advice regarding sending a very polite follow-up, just to see if she's going to give you the extension or not (because if not, it may be a huge problem and you may have to take an incomplete, which she should also know about).
Just the other day I was reading a couple of threads on the Bitch PhD blog about students, requests for extensions, etc. The consensus from folks over there is that they are *generally speaking* annoying when the requests come at the last minute. But ALSO that many profs are also sympathetic to your kind of situation and will give extensions.
In case you want to read the posts and comments over at Dr. B's, here are links. Sometimes it's nice to get the perspective from the other side...
http://bitchphd.blogspot.com/2008/04/free-advice.html
and
http://bitchphd.blogspot.com/2008/04/question-to-be-contemplated.html
Just the fact that you are worried/nervous about this shows a lot actually-- that you aren't the type who does this all the time and that it's not just because you've been a slacker all semester, etc etc. I hope your prof knows you well enough to sense that. Good luck!