Possibility of Straight C's?

[EducationalAnomaly]

Hi all,

 

I recently just finished my first quarter at a quant-heavy MPP program. I went into this program right after undergrad, and happen to not really be good at all when it comes to quantitative stuff--I'd gone into this program hoping to change that.

 

This first quarter was tough, considering how the program requirement classes for this quarter are all quantitative, I won't make any excuses but I just didn't do well. Between a mix of probably being a little burnt-out as well as not being able to adapt as easily with the grad life (I was working multiple jobs as well), much of this quarter just did not go as I had hoped. 

 

I just got my first grade back and it's a 'C' (I absolutely hated the course, but hadn't been expecting worse than a 'B-') and now I'm quite worried (and expecting) similar  B-minuses/C's in the other couple of classes as well.

 

I'm sure this question gets asked all the time, but how bad will straight C's affect me later on?  I know that if I try extremely hard in the next quarters I still probably will be able to mostly get B/B+'s with a scant sprinking of A-'s.  How can I recover from this situation, both academically as well as within my narrative for when I'm looking for full-time jobs?

[TMP]

C is fail in graduate school. I'd look in the handbook to see what the Graduate School has to say about maintaining a minimum GPA.

[PhDreams]

C is fail in graduate school. I'd look in the handbook to see what the Graduate School has to say about maintaining a minimum GPA.

 

Yep. This is true. I'd take a look at that handbook quick because Straight C's might fall into academic probation territory. I'm sorry. Grad school is tough, but you made it through the first semester which is notoriously the hardest since you are still figuring everything out. Hopefully, you've figured out some strategies that work for you and are better equipped to deal with next semester. Hang in there! You can do this! It will all work out.

[michigan girl]

Have you thought about switching into another graduate program? For instance, if your interest is education policy, why not switch into an education policy master's program at a school of education? I avoided generalist programs like the MPP because they were too quantitative-focused. If you're interested in a specific type of policy (i.e., education policy), other schools tend to require fewer quantitative courses.

[Zorah]

I got one or two C's the first semester of grad school. No job will ever consider grades and I'm now in a Doctorate program. Don't worry about it but don't flunk out.

[SumEsseFuiFuturus]

I'd caution against that last piece of advice.

 

I work in my university's graduate office for my assistantship, and I know that here, at least, your second C is your last C before you must leave the program. Check your handbook and the university catalog to see if this is true for you! As long as your grades show a trend of getting better by the end of your program, you should be ok in terms of going on, but the other posters are right: a C in graduate school is more like a D or an F in undergraduate education.

[33andathirdRPM]

I went into this program right after undergrad, and happen to not really be good at all when it comes to quantitative stuff--I'd gone into this program hoping to change that.

 

Yikes.