It wasn't a fear of screweing up my career - that was never likely. You don't get kicked out of the course for failing an exam. You just have to re-sit the exam, and if you fail the re-sit, you repeat the year, or the rotation if it happens in 4th year. The fear was that I'd have to repeat - and get stuck in uni for yet another year. At six years and counting, I'm getting thoroughly tired of being a waste of space and living off my parents. The fear was that I'd have to put my life on hold for yet another year. (Which, by the way, also puts off the time when I might be in a position to have kids.)
Re: Patronizing
It wasn't a fear of screweing up my career - that was never likely. You don't get kicked out of the course for failing an exam. You just have to re-sit the exam, and if you fail the re-sit, you repeat the year, or the rotation if it happens in 4th year. The fear was that I'd have to repeat - and get stuck in uni for yet another year. At six years and counting, I'm getting thoroughly tired of being a waste of space and living off my parents. The fear was that I'd have to put my life on hold for yet another year. (Which, by the way, also puts off the time when I might be in a position to have kids.)