This blog post was written by Peer Advisor Aaron, a sophomore in the Elliott School studying international affairs and psychology. Learn more about Aaron here.
Why is there such a stigma associated with extensions? Often, asking for an extension feels like an admission of failure in itself. It isn’t. Work piles up. Assignments are due on the same day, or at the end of a long midterms season that’s left you burnt out. Sometimes, we need more time than our professors think we need – they certainly don’t know about the three other midterms you have this week. Asking for an extension, when done correctly, is just like asking for any other type of help. It’s a great way to ensure that you are giving all of your assignments the attention they deserve, turning in high-quality work while avoiding late penalties.
At its worst, an extension arrives in a professor’s inbox sometime in the early AM hours of the assignment’s due date. It’s more begging than asking. It tells the professor two things. First, it tells her that your time management skills are not very good. Second, it says that, even if she grants you an extension, the assignment you will be turning in will not be your best work. This does not bode well for your grade, or mercy on future assignments.
The best way to make an extension work for you instead of against you is by flipping these negatives into positives. Plan ahead! If you’re a few days away from your deadline and you’re already feeling as though you won’t be able to turn in quality work on time, that is the time to go to the professor! Look at you, showing off your strong time management skills and your ability to have the foresight to ask ahead of time. Asking for an extension earlier will absolutely make your professor more receptive to the idea.
Remember to emphasize that the goal in asking for this extension is to ensure that you are turning in your best work. Of course, you could get this paper done by the deadline, but an extra 24 hours to work on it would make the difference between a good paper and a GREAT paper. This demonstrates that you truly care about the work and more importantly, promises the professor that they will be reading something worth the wait by the time it is turned in a day later than originally planned. It’s really a win-win situation. You get extra time to write a better paper and get a better grade. Your professor gets a chance to read your best work and give you that better grade on something she knows you put a lot of effort into making great.
I have asked for an extension before. I was able to finish the paper within hours of the deadline, but because I asked for help I was able to take advantage of a few more hours the next morning. Having that extra time allowed me to make it into something I was proud of and excited to turn in to my professor. Don’t ever be afraid to ask for the help you need. A little extra time is not the most you could ask for (especially when your professor is going to take a month to grade it!).
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