lost, lost, lost ... I've lost my marbles

People in my section are going bonkers (yes, I am included in that set of people) over when the grade for the last exam we took will be visible.  We are two weeks post-1L and currently this is all we have to think about.

I generally do not panic, so I went to my school's website Academics page (available to the public, so I'm not giving away any secrets) and found this lovely tidbit:

"Professors are required to submit grades to the academic dean for approval no later than three weeks after the final exam date."

This means that the grades from the exam we took 15 days ago potentially could remain anonymous until late NEXT week, which is AFTER 1: the summer term begins, and (more importantly for some) 2: a scant 4 days before the last day to withdraw without financial penalty.

Now, it is possible that the grades would be submitted to the dean on the due date and receive basically immediate approval (or, in deference to all possibilities, they may have already been submitted and are rolling through a long review process).

But, the potentially bad timing raises some questions ... not because they apply to me, but because I am curious:

What if a person's other grades have indicated that they may return to law school for year 2 given a certain minimum grade in that course, and then that class tipped them over into NOT returning, and ...

1. s/he already signed a lease in plans to return/stay?  (contract negotiation skills needed here)
2. s/he already began summer classes? (how embarrassing...)
3. s/he spent their previous semester loan money down to nothing in reliance on a new stipend in 2 weeks?  ("broke" does not begin to describe the pocket emptiness of loan-reliant students at the end/beginning of each semester)

The answer to these questions doesn't matter much (unless you happen to BE the person at the end of one - or all - of the question marks!).

Disclaimer:  This post is simply the outcome of Amy having gone bonkers ... waiting for a grade ...