How would you feel if life's circumstances prevented you from finishing a graduate degree (see details)?

I think that if I didn’t give it my very best shot, I’d always regret it.

If I gave up too easily, it would be apparent that my conviction and passion didn’t go very deep. And that weakness would be a poor foundation for a future career.

If there was absolutely no way—and no hope of being granted an extension—then the only thing to do would be to let it go and move on. Not completing the thesis does not deduct anything from the knowledge already gained.

I would do everything in my power to finish the thesis. Giving up would not be an option.

Failure is an option. It’s an unpleasant one, but it is one nonetheless.

If there was truly no way for me to complete the course, I would probably seriously mourn for a while. Yet, I would move on, grow from the experience, and still try to live life to the fullest.

If I could not come back at a later time or another semester to complete it I would try to move mountains to at least finish even if it was not as well as I hoped. To invest all that time and then walk away would not sit well with me. If I didn’t act then I know what the outcome is.

I would talk to my thesis advisor and see what resources are available to help me complete the paper, including taking a few more courses to delay the deadline, or seeing if it’s an possible to get a degree without a thesis. Depending on the school and the program, it may be possible to get a degree without the thesis.

I too would do anything I could to finish the thesis. Like @Jeruba I know I would regret it if I didn’t. If I tried and didn’t make it, at least I would know I gave it my best shot. I agree with @BarnacleBill though, universities want you to finish so I would definitely make sure I checked out all options too.

The purpose of the thesis requirement is to generate new academic research. Once you are finished, your thesis is the property of your university.

I’m trying to get pregnant… and have only one class and a thesis to finish my masters degree. I suppose if I got pregnant and had a severely premature baby during the fall semester, that could get in the way of me finishing (although that should be enough to get me an extension into the next semester…).

Finishing my degree with a baby at home is so incredibly far from ideal that I will move mountains to make sure I finish beforehand. I would feel awful about getting so far and not finishing (plus, I’m looking forward to doing my thesis work).

My school tries so hard to get everyone to finish that I don’t foresee a problem.

Deadline? The restriction on graduate degrees with regard to timing is only that all courses that are to be counted towards the degree be completed within a certain number of years relative to the thesis. Missing a “deadline” would only mean that I’d have to redo one semester’s worth of classes (unless I kept missing deadlines). So while I’d certainly be willing to work very hard to finish on time, missing one deadline really couldn’t stop me from finishing a little late.

FYI… I finished my thesis! It’s official! I’ve earned my M.Ed. :)

Congratulations, @prolificus! Quite an achievement!