Thesis rejected? What now?

Let it sink in for a moment before you take action!

Perhaps your first inclination is to immediately dive into action and start revising your thesis. However, it is actually better to take the time to fully absorb the bad news if your thesis has not passed. By allowing yourself some peace of mind to process your emotions, you will often be able to think more clearly and make more rational decisions on how to handle your rejected thesis. It is also important to recognize that you are not the only student who has faced this setback. Many students have received the same message before, and there is usually a valid reason behind the rejection of your thesis.

Take responsibility

We understand how frustrating it can be when your thesis gets rejected, and it’s natural to feel disbelief or anger. However, it’s important not to dwell too long on assigning blame. It doesn’t make sense. The fact is that your assessment is valid, and it is indeed annoying that you didn’t have a good rapport with your graduation supervisor or received inadequate assistance during your internship. It’s also frustrating when your supervisor approves your plan of action with your topic and problem analysis, only for the examiner to find flaws in it immediately. Ultimately, there are often multiple reasons for this rejection, and it’s not necessarily a reflection of your abilities. In fact, in most cases, you can still learn from it and improve. So, focus on that instead!

Be open to feedback

When you have been working on your thesis for a long time, it can be difficult to objectively assess your own work. Everyone has blind spots when it comes to their writing, which means that you may not notice your own mistakes. This is when seeking the help of an external person with a fresh perspective can be useful in addressing the issues in your rejected thesis.

Your first point of contact should be your thesis advisor. However, based on our experience, feedback from advisors on a rejected thesis is often unclear and lacks specific guidance for making independent changes. Sometimes, there may only be vague comments in your document that you cannot effectively act upon. In some cases, you may not receive any feedback or comments at all. Additionally, it is important to note that when your advisor places a comment, it can have a ripple effect throughout your entire document. Simply changing that one comment may not be enough, as there may be structural errors that need to be addressed in multiple sections.

Therefore, it is crucial to carefully evaluate your rejected thesis and consider seeking external assistance to gain a fresh perspective and ensure comprehensive revisions to improve the overall quality of your work.

Plan a feedback meeting with your supervisor or examiner

An assessment form is available for each study to check your thesis. Utilize this form and the feedback to improve your thesis. Is the feedback you received too brief? If so, try contacting your program and requesting a feedback meeting with your graduation supervisor or examiner. Determine the specific issues in your thesis and the reasons for its rejection. Are the problems related to the research questions? Is your theoretical framework not adequately connected to the main question? Is there an issue with coherence and structure? Or is your language lacking? These are just a few examples of potential problems. By remaining calm and discussing with your graduation supervisor about the specific issues and reasons for not passing your thesis, you will gain a better understanding.

Never argue

Of course, it is tempting to become defensive and engage in a discussion during a feedback conversation with your graduation supervisor. However, based on our experience, it is not productive to argue or get into unnecessary debates. Ultimately, what you want to understand is the reason why your thesis was not approved. Therefore, it is advisable to remain calm and carefully listen to the comments provided by your supervisor.

Do not give up

Our advice is, even if your thesis has been rejected, to keep going. It would be a pity to halt your studies just because of a rejected thesis; handling disappointments is a normal part of life. Moreover, you often have the chance to pass your thesis when you resubmit it. We have also noticed that graduation supervisors and assessors tend to be more lenient during a resubmission if they see that you have put in your best effort to revise your thesis based on the feedback received.

Get help in a timely manner to prevent procrastination or fear of failure

Would you like to seek the assistance of an external thesis supervisor? Jouw Scriptiecoach is here to support you with your rejected thesis. We have successfully aided over 2,000 students with their theses, and many students with rejected theses have still passed with our guidance. Take a look at our reviews on Trustpilot to see for yourself. We offer both online and in-person support throughout the Netherlands and Belgium (Flanders). You can choose the method of guidance that suits you best. However, the majority of our students choose online thesis supervision, as it is often convenient to combine with a job. Additionally, our prices are reasonable, and we always provide a cost estimate in advance based on the number of hours required to complete your rejected thesis.

If your thesis has been rejected, we can do the following for you:

• Clarifying the reasons and problem statement
• Defining your main and sub-questions
• Refining your literature research and theoretical framework
• Solidifying your research methodology (ensuring validity, reliability, and justification of choices made)
• Enhancing the structure and coherence of your thesis or dissertation
• Analyzing and transcribing research results (using software like SPSS or Stata, transcribing interviews, coding data)
• Ensuring logical and clear argumentation in your thesis or dissertation
• Editing your thesis (correcting sentence structure, spelling, style, and language errors)
• Organizing and formatting your reference list

Do you want immediate help with your rejected thesis? Make an appointment now for a free consultation.