I'm REALLY freaking out over grades

[tvstvs]

I'm a PhD student and I got the grades for my first semester (grades for one subject got delayed and I only got them now) - B+ and a B. The B was expected because my class project went horribly wrong and I did a bad midterm, but I really expected an A or A- for the other (but got a B+ instead). I feel like a complete failure just waiting to be kicked out of grad school. What should I do now? I really want to succeed in this. Should I talk to my advisor about this? Am I the kind of student that leaves without getting a PhD?

[TheSunnyMan]

It all depends on your program's requirements for making satisfactory progress. I don't know how your program works. Do you already have a MA? Because there might be some leniency for Bs at that stage, but I know you should strive for As in the PhD coursework stage. GPA matters when you consider external/internal fellowships, grants, scholarship, etc. Anyway, you should aim for As in your classes since you're entering a very elite profession and aiming to do superb work and not merely "good" work (not to say grades are accurate reflections of one's entire intellectual potentials, drive, and creativity). But being that that was your first semester, getting Bs won't hinder your continuation in the program, I don't think. Are you in the sciences or humanities? Grade inflaution is pretty rampant in grad school and your school should be no different, I assume...

And trust me, we all (at least me) feel incompetent and defeated during our academic careers at some point, even if you have a 4.0 GPA. Keep your head up!

[purplepepper]

There's already a thread about this on the forum somewhere. My impression is that grades might help you get extra funding, but they matter not when it comes to jobs. Your research is important and as long as you aren't blowing your school work off (which you probably aren't) I'd say you are fine.

I don't know why people keep saying grad school grades are inflated....I work my butt off for my grades, which I think are pretty fairly reflected. I can't imagine a situation where someone throws together a half-assed project and walks away with a good grade just because they are there. (this is a general statement, not about you!) So, don't worry about it, put it behind you and just focus on your work in the future. B's really aren't that terrible you know.

[liszt85]

There's already a thread about this on the forum somewhere. My impression is that grades might help you get extra funding, but they matter not when it comes to jobs. Your research is important and as long as you aren't blowing your school work off (which you probably aren't) I'd say you are fine.

I don't know why people keep saying grad school grades are inflated....I work my butt off for my grades, which I think are pretty fairly reflected. I can't imagine a situation where someone throws together a half-assed project and walks away with a good grade just because they are there. (this is a general statement, not about you!) So, don't worry about it, put it behind you and just focus on your work in the future. B's really aren't that terrible you know.

Agreed. I had to work hard for the A- I got. I worked hardest last quarter in a course which I ended up getting a B in. That was HARD! I freaked out just like the OP had. There was this other class though with this big name professor at this department. I topped his class and I believe I earned his respect (he's been saying good things about me). However, he handed out A's to almost everybody! It differs from professor to professor and from department to department. Sometimes grades are inflated, sometimes they aren't. In the end, I think the overall GPA indicates how hard we worked for it (and exceptions always exist of course).

Now when I was freaking out about that B, I asked a few professors and a graduating PhD student for advice. The student's adviser is the big name prof I talked about above. The student told me that he has a good mix of B's on his transcript but that all that counts during his job search is his research. So I stopped worrying about grades that instant (well, after 3 professors told me the exact same thing..including my adviser. My adviser told me that it doesn't matter in the least). I just had an exam today. One of my friends was freaking out today..she'd had too much caffeine in her system as she'd panicked about the exam. I told her about my experience last quarter..that seemed to help her calm a bit before the exam. The exam today was stressful.. too little time and too much to do, and stats at that! I was however not tensed because of the attitude I decided to adopt. I had done what I could do (realistically, in the time I had left after my research). That's all I am willing to do towards these courses. I will however work extra hard for some other courses which are directly relevant to the research I'm/I'll be doing. Try to have this mindset, might help.