Hey, I've just received my final masters grade and I'm quite disappointed as I got a 68%, so very close to a distinction but not quite. I had a lot of issues in my first term where I wasn't given any support for my learning difficulties and anxiety, due to a lack of staffing and the staff who did offer support were rude, patronising and were not knowledgeable about my difficulties at all (one told me I shouldn't be working with Dyslexic students, despite not being dyslexic). Also, none of my work was marked with my reasonable adjustments taken into account. After contacting a lawyer and panicking my university a lot, they agreed to mark all my future assessments using constructive marking and that the markers would be aware of my difficulties. I also contact student finance about my DSA, and moved my support from my university to an independent tutor (who was miles better). Since then, my grades went from passes to distinctions and I was hoping I'd be able to scrape a distinction overall but no such luck. I've spoken to an Equality expert to see if I have any case to get my first term's work re-marked with my adjustments in place, but I'm not expecting much from it. Is it likely that the grade is going to impair me much in the future?

Ideally, I want to study a doctorate or PhD but I've heard that they only accept distinction level candidates now. Does anyone know what my options are?

68% is very good, you should be pleased with it, especially considering the circumstances. This will not stop you from getting a PhD. Depends on the field, but I know a lot of PhD students that don't have a MSc at all, let alone a distinction.

thank you! I'm more hoping to go into educational psychology, and I haven't really spoken to many people on that course. I've had one lecturer say I wouldn't get onto that course without a distinction, whilst others have said the grade wouldn't matter.

Grade won't matter as far as I am aware. I came out of my viva for my MSc and a lecturer there and then mentioned doing a Doctorate, he had no idea what my grade was he just knew I would definitely pass and he liked my work.

I know getting a distinction can become a bit of an obsession (I like you missed by a whisker and was livid as my lecturer thought I was easily in the 70's) but an MSc is a big achievement, time will make you see that.

Enjoy that you have passed and plan for the future.

It would depend where you are applying as some places don't require one (or any particular grade), whereas others will expect a Distinction (or a Merit with Distinction in the dissertation). If you are applying for the top few universities in the country a Distinction will be more of an expectation than a bonus but many universities would bite your hand off with a 68% average.