*$&% grades (can I vent?)

[MoJingly]

I've been a little MIA from the forums for the past months, but I certainly have been lurking. And I'm still rooting for all of you!

So, I did my undergrad in a COMPLETELY different field than my graduate work, and the transition has been a little tough. I got really good grades in undergrad and in a postbacc program that was more related to my grad work. But this year I seem to be flailing like a fish out of water. I'm beating the average on all of the tests in my hardcore biochemistry and molecular biology classes... but this ONE class (which isn't suppose to be hard) has me COMPLETELY buffaloed. After two semesters I have yet to get a better score than a B- on an exam. If I get a C I'm placed on academic probation.

Part of the problem is that I've decided this program isn't the best fit for me, and I am transferring to another that seems to be a much better match. But it's really frustrating when that new program asks me why I can't seem to get a hold on this class and I literally don't have a good reason. I keep changing my study habits, looking at old exams, etc... and I've never had this problem before!

Just needed to vent, guys, thanks.

In GOOD news, my research is going really well. I gave a presentation in seminar to my department recently and got really good feedback. So, I guess I would take my position (good research, not-so-good-grades) over the opposite. But it's still no fun.

Anybody else want to scream into the cyberspace void??

[Sparky]

Ahhh (((huggles))). I'm glad you're transferring. I don't know if this will help at all, but my dept is pretty understanding about students messing up in one class. Academic probation here really only matters if you're planning to bomb a class the next semester, too. Maybe it's better just to grit your teeth, take the C and move on with life and coursework?

Meanwhile, I'm <2 weeks out from my not-a-master's-thesis deadline and...just ugh. This project has turned into the diabolical intersection of my geek tendencies (getting really super into what I love to the ridiculously detailed extremes) and academic perfectionism. Unpleasant. And I'm still not done writing.

[MoJingly]

Oh Sparky, I totally get that detailed perfectionism conundrum! Rooting for you!

Thanks for your encouragement. My department head met with me to basically ask, "what's up with this class?" To which I just said, "no clue." Anyhow, I'm set to get at least a B- in the class now, and there is hope for the last test since that's what I am actually interested in!

Sending you positive writing vibes!

[robot_hamster]

I have one class this semester that I've decided will just have to be a B-. I try and try, but it seems there is no way to study for the exams. It doesn't matter how much I study, there are still weird and unexpected things on the exam that I can't answer correctly. I wouldn't worry too much. I know you're worried about probation, but if you are going to transfer then you can say it was simply a fluke.

[Langoustine]

Hi Mo! The way some classes are taught it is just so hard to study for them! That and, for myself, being out the school for the last 3 years has made the transition back a bit hard!

But I am glad to see you are transferring to a new program better suited for you That is a really hard decision to make in the messiness that is the 1 st year of grad school!! I am so ready for the summer! Good luck with it all!

[Tall Chai Latte]

That happened to me two semesters ago, and I was placed on academic probation. Classes outside of your field can really be a hit or miss. I mean, I guess people come to grad school having their mind set on something they are interested in/good at, sometimes when you take a course outside of your intended field, it could turn out to be interesting and you do well. If it doesn't interest you, well... It could be a drag. I was asked to retake the course (there's a very long story behind it), I managed to pass with a B+ but honestly, I didn't think the material interests me much, and the semester went by so slowly.

Find a happy place Mo! Your happiness is the first and foremost.

[emmm]

I am also dealing with classes in new areas -- a sort of transition to a new field and a long time away from school/work (raising kids). It's tough. So far I am managing, but it definitely feels precarious. I am attempting an even more extreme transition with the research group I joined and will likely need to take technical classes outside my program. Since my program's required courses satisfy our "graded credits" requirement, I am hoping to take these "out-of-current-area" classes pass/no credit. No clue if I will get permission to do this or not.

Good luck with the rest of this year and congratulations on your research going well and on getting accepted into a program that fits you better!

[MoJingly]

Thanks for the encouragement guys! I just took the final for the class yesterday, and I think it went well! This was the best i ever felt after coming out of a test in that class, so my fingers are crossed that my grade comes up a bit! I'm pretty confident that I don't have to worry about probation. Woohoo!

I heard somebody say that if you can survive the first year of grad school, then you have a pretty good shot at the rest. We're surviving, right?!

GO TEAM GRAD CAFE

[MoJingly]

Nope, still got a B- in the class. lol. Oh well. Call it life experience.

MOVING ON.

[Tall Chai Latte]

Hey Mo. B- is good enough, just make sure your grade doesn't hinder your overall progress in the program is good enough.

I didn't know you are a pathology student!

[emmm]

Yeah -- when I saw that you got a B-, my first thought was "good enough" also. Congrats! It's over!

[Spore]

In my program, a B- is considered failing and requires a re-do.

I received a B- in Immunology but was released because I was studying yeast genetics and yeast do not have immune systems (and I passed the qualifying examination). Boy, did I HATE that class.

Every year, there was always some poor student begging the biochem or mol gen profs for mercy.

[pombemaniac89]

Being new here, I feel kinda relieved that there's actually a grade ranting thread around

Hi everyone, so I'm currently a first year Phd student ( so yeah I'm relatively new to the whole wacky feeling of being in a Phd program as described in Phd comics) and so forgive me if I'm still obsessed with grades. Actually, a lot of senior graduate students in my program kept reassuring me that grades doesn't really matter in gradschool, especially in the life sciences.

For first year students in my school's umbrella phd program, there's a total of 7 main core classes that we have to fulfil before taking the qualifying exams this coming june(2 biochemistry requirements, molecular genetics, advance cell biology, problem solving in math,2 first year cell biology seminars)

And so my year long frustration/fear with Phd grades began when the professor teaching my first year required core Biochemistry class walked into the auditorium the first day of class and declared that only 2 students in the whole class will be getting an A, followed by a few B+, a majority of Bs and eventually disheartened Cs that would flunk people out of the program. It was almost the same case in the other classes that I was taking also. It would have seemed that everyone's " cut throat b*tch" mode was turned on immediately when the first exam finally arrived where you have grades as high as 95/100 to as low as 10/100 ( the 10/100 guy was never heard from ever again).Most students would ask for at least a week off for the exam, but I chose not to since i feel that my rotations are equally important as well. I was generally a B+ student and was kinda ok with the fact there's always gonna be people smarter than I am and the whole thing about exam luck/preparations definitely plays a huge part in the whole journey of maintaining your spot in the program.

And so one day I was studying for one of my exams and an international student(who's also in my program. First of all, I'm also an international student who did my undergrad in the states before going full speed into a graduate program) from my class sat right next to me and started asking me about how have I been doing in classes. Without much thought, I replied honestly that I've been maintainig a B+average even though i think i can do better since i was a few points away from the A range and I shared with him the projected grade range that the professors have posted for students just to give a rough idea on how much was it necessary to maintain our B average. To my utter horror, I could sense the smirk on his face when he realized that he's in the A range and even to my digust he continued : " I'm in the A range and I should be getting the A. But still, Pombemaniac, why are you so obessed about grades,especially the A?"

Deep down, I was like " game on b*tch, game on" . I eventually did ended up getting As in my first year Fall classes while maintaining a firm grasp on my rotation researches as well.However, this past spring semester was different as I became too ambitious and started taking electives that were meant for second/Third years ( took a microbial genetics course and a biochem seminar). As the semeter gradually came to an end, I began to notice how overwhelming it was for me to take extra classes when other friends and students from my program only focused on the core spring courses and nothing more. I eventually got a mix of As and B+s in my core and electives to still have a gpa ~3.7( A professor in the elective course i took commented that in Grad School an A is good, B+ is expected and B is no good). And as I was looking at the spread for classes that I had B+s (I had 2 B+s out of 5 courses that I'm taking this semester), to my frustration I was always 1-2 points from the A (where As are mostly given to <4 students for each course). It's really frustrating to know that i'm really that close to an A and yet I'm so far away from it. I've also been hearing from some senior Phd students that it's a good thing that I'm not perfect in grades since getting a 4.0 or a majority A would mean that I'm not taking my research seriously.But seriously how true is that though?

But the part that irritates me the most was that most of the people who've been getting the As are people who took a whole week off just to study for exams while I was still laboring in lab the night before my finals( and I took more courses than they do!) It astonishes me how competitive Phd program can be even after I've survived the whole ordeal of applying into one. I admit that I asked for help from friends who would be pulling all nighter next to me for exams and I've never declined to offer any help to people who asked me questions about any class materials.My written qualifying exam is in mid-june and my program has the old tradition of ranking students based on how well we do in our qualifying exams. I think one of the reason why I'm obsessed with grades originated from the scarcity of competitive grants/fellowships for international students and the way in which my program basically tries to kinda assess everyone's first year performance up until the point of our written qualifying exams. I'm the type who likes to challenge myself by taking hard courses whenever i can as long as I can gain something out of them and I have to admit that I'd really want to apply for those super competitive fellowships/grants for internationals I like my program and I like some of the nice people in my problem( the smart ones, the wacky ones, the shy ones) but at the same time you still have other grade-obessed freaks (myself included) who rubs me in the wrong way (i guess similar poles repels).I dont like to be ranked and at the same time I refused to be compared to as being inferior to people like that bastard who insulted me.

~geez, this is a long one. But it feels good to make a clean breast of things.

[Spore]

No one and I repeat no one will ever ask to see you grad school transcript but for few exceptions (applications for special grants (and that's a maybe), applications to new grad school programs). No one gives a ding dong what you got in Biochem as long as you passed. The same with your qualifying examination.

When I applied for postdoctoral fellowships two things mattered: my publication record and my recommendations. No potential PI asked me what my grade was in Molecular Genetics was. What they did care about was my research and what other profs thought of me. And here is another tidbit...I know of some schools that don't even assign letter grades to coursework...just fail, pass and high pass.

Seriously, wouldn't you rather have a first author paper in science/nature/cell than an A in Biochemistry?

[StrangeLight]

in the social sciences and humanities, you absolutely do send your transcript in when you apply for the big national fellowships. so i'd say the "no one sees your grades" and "grades don't matter" thing varies by discipline.

in my own field (history), if you get a B+, that is a warning that you're really fucking up. anything below a B+ is a signal that you're going to be kicked out (eventually) unless you right the ship quickly. A- is considered "okay" for masters students, but not for PhD students. PhD students don't need As on every assignment, but they should aim for As as final grades in every course in their field. profs are more generous with their As than in the sciences, but the work does need to be good in order for the grade to match.

[katerific]

I just need to vent. I sucked in all my classes this past year (due to a variety of factors). Eff grades.