Scared about Grades

[katsharki3]

So one of my classes so far is going really well--at the moment at least I have an A in that class. We'll see what my grade ends up being on the second exam, but overall the material for that class is much easier for me to follow and understand. This class is also directly related to my thesis project, and is actually taught by my advisor, so it's good that this class is going well.

But the other class I'm taking...well, apparently not going so well. We just got back our grades on our take home exam, and I got a 78, leaving me with a B- in that class. I knew I hadn't aced that test or even gotten an A on it, but I genuinely thought I'd understood the material better than that "C" grade reflects. I know the best course of action here (which I plan on doing) is talking to the professor for that class about how to make sure I can do better on the take home final and ensure I'm on track for the paper that is also part of our grade for that class.

But I'm still freaking out. If I really step up my game, then hopefully I can manage to bring that B- up to a B, but I do feel like it's much more likely I'll end up being stuck with that B-. That's the lowest grade I've had in a class in a long long time, which is scary in itself. But even more scary than that is the fact that at my school, anything less than a B is essentially considered failing. Not a B-, but a B. The handbook says if you get a B- you'll be placed on academic probation, and may risk losing your TAship. Which, like, seriously can't happen because otherwise there's no way I can afford to keep going to this school. 

I don't really know that I'm asking for any advice here, because of course the best actions are to talk to my professor and the graduate coordinator to see how serious this really is. But I am very scared and definitely questioning my abilities as a scientist or ability to complete my master's program now. I guess maybe I'm just looking for some reassurance that grades like this do happen to others in grad school, and I'm not just an idiot who clearly isn't cut out for a master's program. 

Anyone?

[rising_star]

I wouldn't talk to the graduate coordinator just yet. Instead, I would talk to the professor about your performance. Maybe the professor can help you identify what you don't understand or how you could have more clearly explained things on your take-home midterm.

[Guest]

I failed my first exam in my master's program - like, got an F. Failed. But you know what? On the next one, I got an A because I talked to my professor, identified my mistakes, and corrected for them. After that it was smooth sailing as far as grades. Grad school is an adjustment, and what tactics worked before may not necessarily work now. I wouldn't worry just yet. Talk to the professor, identify your mistakes and then go from there. Resilience weighs more than straight A's. 

[katsharki3]

I wouldn't talk to the graduate coordinator just yet. Instead, I would talk to the professor about your performance. Maybe the professor can help you identify what you don't understand or how you could have more clearly explained things on your take-home midterm.

Well, as it turns out the professor for this class is also the graduate coordinator. So thus the graduate coordinator is clearly aware of what my grade is in this class. And I figure while I'm asking him for help with the class specifically, it can't hurt to check with him about how serious they tend to be about receiving a B- and keeping the TAship since I'm concerned and he'll have an answer.

I failed my first exam in my master's program - like, got an F. Failed. But you know what? On the next one, I got an A because I talked to my professor, identified my mistakes, and corrected for them. After that it was smooth sailing as far as grades. Grad school is an adjustment, and what tactics worked before may not necessarily work now. I wouldn't worry just yet. Talk to the professor, identify your mistakes and then go from there. Resilience weighs more than straight A's. 

Thanks for this. I'm definitely going to talk to the professor for help so I can try to correct my mistakes, make sure I'm on track for the paper, and definitely at least make sure I keep this B- if not raise it up to a solid B. I'm not expecting straight As in grad school, I really do want to learn and understand what it is I'm not quite getting. Improve my knowledge and grow in different areas.

But since this class is just our 2 tests and a paper, getting a C on one fo those is concerning, and for grades I'm more concerned about the fact that if we receive a B- in a class (which I have right now) then we risk losing our TAship. So yes, definitely going to talk to the professor and work hard to correct my mistakes. And try not to freak out too much, because while being aware of my shortcomings will help me do better, freaking out over them too much won't really help in the long run.

But thanks for the reassurance. I do imagine Cs on tests in certain grad school disciplines is more common than people want to discuss, especially in a (tough) course in one's first year. Doesn't really make me feel better about myself, but it helps to know I'm not the only one who showed a poor performance on a first exam in grad school. 

[shadowclaw]

Katsharki, I don't have any advice for you beyond what was already suggested, but I can relate. In my first semester of my masters program, I took a current topics course related to neuroscience because there weren't a lot of ecology courses offered that semester and I thought it might be interesting. I bombed the second exam even though I thought I knew the material well (I think I got around a 75). I still got a B+ for the course even though I didn't get an A on any of the exams. Thankfully, my paper and presentation both earned me A's and helped boost my grade. I'm still mad about that class, though, because I missed the A- by two points. 

My second semester, my advisor and I agreed that I should take an animal physiology course... boy was that a mistake. It was a comparative course and I had little experience in anatomy and physiology beyond what we covered in general biology lab (which wasn't much). I had such a rough time. I started with a 70 on the first exam and slowly my exam grades went up until I finally got an A on the final. It was another instance where a great paper grade saved me and I got a B.

I know that you're worried about losing your TA position, but aside from that, make sure you don't get hung up on having that B. One or two B's amongst a sea of A's really doesn't matter.

[katsharki3]

Katsharki, I don't have any advice for you beyond what was already suggested, but I can relate. In my first semester of my masters program, I took a current topics course related to neuroscience because there weren't a lot of ecology courses offered that semester and I thought it might be interesting. I bombed the second exam even though I thought I knew the material well (I think I got around a 75). I still got a B+ for the course even though I didn't get an A on any of the exams. Thankfully, my paper and presentation both earned me A's and helped boost my grade. I'm still mad about that class, though, because I missed the A- by two points. 

My second semester, my advisor and I agreed that I should take an animal physiology course... boy was that a mistake. It was a comparative course and I had little experience in anatomy and physiology beyond what we covered in general biology lab (which wasn't much). I had such a rough time. I started with a 70 on the first exam and slowly my exam grades went up until I finally got an A on the final. It was another instance where a great paper grade saved me and I got a B.

I know that you're worried about losing your TA position, but aside from that, make sure you don't get hung up on having that B. One or two B's amongst a sea of A's really doesn't matter.

Thanks for your reassurance. In general, reading your other posts and knowing you got into a good PhD program even with a couple Bs from your master's programs, that alone makes me feel better. I'm still not sure if I want to go on to a PhD myself, but I was also freaking out about the multitude of people that seem to say that PhD programs expect a perfect GPA in a master's program, and one B essentially kills your chances to get into a PhD program. Your experience seems to prove that wrong though.

I did go talk to the professor for the course today, and got a chance to look at my exam. I ended up making a bunch of rather stupid mistakes on some of the problems, so I definitely do deserve that 78.5, despite the fact I thought I had understood everything when I turned it in. I'm just definitely going to have to make sure I clarify any questions I may have on our take-home exam and work consistently hard on my paper for that class. I'm kind of doubtful I'll be able to raise my grade to an A- or even a B+ (though I suppose it is possible), but hopefully I can at least get it up to that B grade and avoid academic probation. 

I'm not so much concerned about the grades in that, well, yeah, clearly I didn't understand everything, so I deserve that grade. And I'm working now to go through the problems I missed, make sure I understand everything, and do a better job with analyzing what some of my answers mean. My goal here definitely is more to make sure I understood the material well by the end of the semester, though of course having the high grade is nice...

Definitely am still scared right now about that B minus grade and academic probation. But it is good to hear that this happens to other people and they are able to work up from this point. Getting a C on my first exam just made me feel very defeated and like I'm not cut out for a master's program.

Hopefully I can work hard to prove that feeling I have right now wrong, and build up from this point. Going to keep trucking on. 

[shadowclaw]

Thanks for your reassurance. In general, reading your other posts and knowing you got into a good PhD program even with a couple Bs from your master's programs, that alone makes me feel better. I'm still not sure if I want to go on to a PhD myself, but I was also freaking out about the multitude of people that seem to say that PhD programs expect a perfect GPA in a master's program, and one B essentially kills your chances to get into a PhD program. Your experience seems to prove that wrong though.

Your masters GPA doesn't matter as much as you might expect. The research and publications you get as a masters student are more important, as is finding an advisor that you fit well with when you seek out potential programs.

While anecdotal, another girl in my masters program applied to several neuroscience programs and ended up getting into one of her top choices. She definitely did not have straight A's and she didn't defend her masters thesis until a few weeks before her PhD classes started (she also won't officially have her masters until this December). I've also heard from a variety of sources that in the sciences, you're not expected to get straight A's, just to maintain the minimum requirements.