Comprehensive exam post-mortem?

[TheSquirrel]

Hi all,

I just sat for my comprehensive exam in my two subfields (international relations, comparative politics), and passed my writtens and orals for my first subfield (international relations) and still have my oral for my 2nd subfield.

It was super-stressful for me, and I was so stressed that at some points I kinda went blank on some questions and said stupid stuff, and on the whole, I didn't do too well. But I did enough to pass, and my writtens were super strong.

My supervisor just told me we should do a post-mortem on the comprehensive exam (he was on the examination/oral committee ). Is that a bad sign , or just standard procedure? I 'm dreading that it's gonna be him telling me that it wasn't very good, that there were huge gaps in my knowledge, and that I should present better, look more confident, etc., that I can't get on the job market like this... etc.

I just feel like I may have disappointed him... because this really was the first time that he's actually tested me. I've taken a class with him, but during seminars, you really speak when you feel comfortable... whereas on the orals, they really get the chance to test you.

I feel like a complete failure. Is this normal? Is this what most people feel like after their comps? Is it supposed to erode your confidence like this?

[StrangeLight]

some people lose confidence through the process of comps, others gain it. depends on how you do on them. take solace in the fact that everyone usually sucks at one part of the grad school process. no one does great at everything, and comps are one of the least consequential things to do poorly on. on the job market, no one ever asks you how you did on your comps. they assume you passed and that's enough. even when people do well on them, no one knows other than the profs that examined them.

but... your prof will probably tell you that your comps weren't very good, that there were huge gaps in your knowledge (or what you demonstrated to be your knowledge during the oral), that you should present yourself better (and not get angry or defensive when the ship is sinking), that you need to work on your comportment and recall of your field before you're ready to handle a job talk Q&A. that's all true, though, isn't it?

i've known other grad students that passed their comps by the skin of their teeth, and their professors met with them afterwards and told them that they need to do better and will be more demanding of their dissertation prospectuses. so that's probably what's ahead of you. but if you can demonstrate in your prospectus that you really do know your stuff (and if you can handle the oral defense of the prospectus better than you did during the comps), then that will erase any bad taste the comps left in their mouths.

you'll be fine. comps are not supposed to erode your confidence, but they often do. it's not unusual to feel this way after comps, but that's not their purpose. it sucks but you'll survive.