Not doing so well in classes?

[confusedgradadmit]

Okay, so in my first semester I got an A (4.0) and a B+ (3.3). However, this semester things just haven't been going very well. Both of my course projects just aren't panning out, no matter how hard I try. One of them was a group project, and as per usual, both of my fellow group members have done absolutely nothing all term, leaving me to do the work of three people. My other course is one that has a reputation for being brutal, and though the subject matter is really pretty simple (heuristic graph search), it is a LOT of work. On top of that, the professor hasn't given any feedback whatsoever, all term. Even though we have 3 assignments, a test, a presentation, and a project, I still have no idea what grade I'll get, but I don't think it'll be good, because my project is pretty much a disaster (the problem is that the field is so mature, there really wasn't that much novel work you could do, so I opted for an application-oriented project). However, the latter course has almost nothing to do with my research area. I only took it because there wasn't much choice, with the recent budget cuts and all.

 

I'm just hoping the curve will save me in at least one of the courses. In the first course, they unintentionally made one of the assignments a lot harder than they thought, and I heard that only 8/22 people even handed it in, but I gave it my all and ended up getting an 86 on it. The thing is, I have no idea how I'm doing compared to the rest of the class, so I could be failing for all I know...

 

Talking to other students in the program (including one who is a TA/lecturer for the first course I mentioned), grades apparently don't matter very much. The TA guy mentioned that he did horribly in his own advisor's course (the same one he's now lecturing) just because he didn't have time to do all the work, yet he's now the most senior Ph.D. student in his lab.

 

However, my advisor agreed to take me on (it isn't formalized until two semesters in), but he mentioned that grades are important to him. The thing is, he's already agreed (and filled out the paperwork) to take me on (though he's only seen last semester's grades), and I have full funding from NSERC/AITF for the remainder of my masters anyway ($31k/yr) (note: masters programs are terminal in Canada), so its not like I'm costing him anything. I'm one of only ten NSERC recipients in our department, so I would think there would be some political pressure on my side, at least. Plus I have three conference papers and a journal article in a relevant topic from before I even started my masters... I haven't done any research in my first two terms of masters, but our program requires that you finish your courses first, so that's expected. I'm confident that my grades have nothing to do with my research ability, so is it really that big of an issue, even if he did mention it? My biggest fear is that he could somehow change his mind about taking me on if my grades don't turn out well, but I'll have been working with him for almost a month by the time I even know my grades (plus he's already formally accepted me), so I think that would be a very shitty thing to do, considering that I'm essentially free labour from his perspective...

Edited April 16, 2013 by confusedgradadmit

[booksnlooks]

Step one: take a breath. You are going to be ok.

 

Have you tried talking to the prof in either of the courses you're in? For the group work one, it may be worth meeting with the prof to discuss your concerns. Maybe ask to meet with the prof to discuss the project to make sure you're on the right path then mention your concerns with your group members, so it doesn't come off as tattling or anything. For the brutal course, meet with the prof to discuss feedback to ensure you're on the right path, find ways to improve, and figure out how to get your project to work better. Also note - you got an 86 on an overly hard project, so I'm sure you're doing better than you think!

 

As for your supervisor - you said yourself he already agreed and signed the paperwork. There's no point in worrying what he thinks of your grades right now because (1) you have time to improve on this semester's grades, and (2) last semester's grades were good.

[confusedgradadmit]

Step one: take a breath. You are going to be ok.

 

Have you tried talking to the prof in either of the courses you're in? For the group work one, it may be worth meeting with the prof to discuss your concerns. Maybe ask to meet with the prof to discuss the project to make sure you're on the right path then mention your concerns with your group members, so it doesn't come off as tattling or anything. For the brutal course, meet with the prof to discuss feedback to ensure you're on the right path, find ways to improve, and figure out how to get your project to work better. Also note - you got an 86 on an overly hard project, so I'm sure you're doing better than you think!

 

As for your supervisor - you said yourself he already agreed and signed the paperwork. There's no point in worrying what he thinks of your grades right now because (1) you have time to improve on this semester's grades, and (2) last semester's grades were good.

 

Thank you for your advice. Maybe I wasn't very clear, but the first course is already finished and the project handed in. My grades on the assignments in that course were really variable -- I got high 80's on some, and 50's and 60's on others. Overall, I'm sitting at about 75%, with just the project left to be marked (worth 30%). I think the project was decent, but I'd be surprised if its more than a B-level, because I just couldn't get good results (because of lack of sample data). However, I did propose what (imo) is a novel statistical test for judging the quality of the model I was trying to learn, so hopefully that will give me points.

 

For the other course (the brutal one), I spoke with the prof and he said he wouldn't have things marked until mid-May (semester ends Apr. 25th, classes ended Apr. 11th). There's only about 15 students in the class, so frankly that's just unacceptable, and to the point where he's simply not doing his job, but that's neither here nor there. I asked if he could give me a general impression of how I've been doing, but declined as he hadn't evaluated my submissions yet.

 

Believe me, I mentioned it to my group members plenty of times over the semester, but it never did any good. They just kept giving lame excuses like having crappy internet at home and whatnot (as if that's my problem -- if you can't meet your obligations, you need to move out of your parents' place). I didn't go to the professor as (at the time) I was looking to join his lab, and I didn't want it to reflect poorly on me. In hindsight, that was a bad move, but oh well.

 

The only thing I can do now is work on the project for the brutal course, and hopefully I'll be able to get some results.

Edited April 16, 2013 by confusedgradadmit