I am the best student in a certain class. The professor knows me like a son. Just before the semester began, I found out the class was closed. I begged my professor to open up a slot for me. He agreed, and went through hell in doing so, but at the end, I was in.
He did it because, at that moment, he had said he knew I was a "serious guy" and "would excel without a doubt." But I just had a test today, and I failed it, and horribly.
Now, with what kind of face will I show up to him on Monday? Where the hell will I hide? I sit right in front of him; I feel there is no escape.
To me, it is not about passing or failing, but about acing. That is what I have been doing for the past three years. Please understand that this is my nature, this is how I am, I love being like this. Yes, I am an antisocial and have no girlfriend, but I'm willing to postpone all of that just to get out of here with good marks and into grad school.
However, all of a sudden I am starting to feel like I will flunk my senior project as well as the four other classes I am currently enrolled in. There is so much pressure going on around me, both in and out of school. I respect the "chillness" within you guys and wish I was like that at times, but please understand my "nerdness" as well.
For this test, I studied everyday for more than a week. I have no idea what just happened.
So you failed one quiz, big deal. Rather than sulk, go over the test (maybe with your professor) and see what you did wrong cause you obviously did something. There's really no reason to be embarrassed, everyone has a bad day.
Take a deep breath, get a good night's sleep, look at your test and find out what went wrong, there is nothing you can do about it, but you can recover. Don't make it too hard for yourself, stuff like this happens. Good luck though and I'm sure your teacher will understand
Did you forget to answer the back page of questions? Because I find it hard to believe that a straight-A student who also studied for a test everyday for a week could just all of a sudden get a F.
Otherwise, shit happens. Count it as fluke bad luck, don't let one test ruin your confidence, and just ace the next test. Not a big deal at all.
The second I got out of class I got two guys and went over it (He let us take the test with us. All we did was give him the scratch paper). I already know what I did wrong and how to solve everything he asked.
The problem will be the bone-breaking punch in the face (grade) and having to sit in front of him on Monday.
In 11th grade I failed a math test. That was very uncharacteristic of me (I was always good at math and wasn't even on the advanced track).
In the morning I was walking down the hallway (didn't get the test back yet so I didn't know my score) and my teacher sees me and says, "yo, <name>, you ever fail a math test before?"
I say "no"
and he yells back "YOU DID NOW!" He then made one of these faces and walked away:
I then went on to get an A+ in his class, ace the final and SAT math, etc, and he wasn't surprised for a second.
Don't assume because you did poorly that the instructor is thinking what you'd expect. Most likely he's not going to judge you by one bad performance... especially if a lot of your lost points were ones where you understood 75% of the material but only earned 50% of the points due to the way it was graded.
The class is called "Neuro-Fuzzy Systems" and yes, I found my hands were shaking all throughout it. Time flied; it felt as if we had only 15 minutes to complete it. My self-esteem just went down the drain even after knowing everyone in there didn't even do the second problem (It was a two-problem test).
fml
edit 1: But thanks for your comments, I really needed them as well as venting this out ._.
edit 2: To answer one of your questions, micronesia, the best reason for my failure, which I could see after going over the test, was that I focused more on other chapters.
Your nervousness about disappointing your instructor is probably what's getting to you. Maybe everyone else bombed also, we'll see right?
In the future treat yourself like a normal student... not one who should do well because an exception was made to let you join (btw instructors open new seats all the time for students it's very common and I've had it done before).
I don't know about you, but I'm much rather an underdog. There is no pressure, pressure is usually what kills you. Just act like as if there is none, and see how you do your next test
You're putting too much weight on yourself, no-one expects you to ace everything 24/7. In fact, no-one probably cares what grades you get. Do you really think the teacher will break out in tears at the mere sight of you? That he'll cry out "Why have you forsaken me!?" in a a dramatic Titanic-esque scene?
No, he'll probably just say "wut happened?" and you'll say "dunno, nervous I guess?" and he'll be like "can't win em all" and you both continue your lifes. No need to overthink this, he's there to teach and you're there to learn.
That's ok happens to everyone at one time and another.
I'm one of the best student (top3, hard to be more precise) in my promotion at the university, I too got some really bad results in my scholarship at a point or another (like 20-30%), I even got some during the university. You just recover because this is no bigdeal, you don't go to school for grades (it just matters if they are a prerequist for where you want to go next) you go there to learn, if you fail a test, you recover and ask why what you did is wrong.
Now the thing is facing your professor, just tell him you didn't understand it and want to go over it (ask about specific things). I don't know about every teacher but having taught myself at the university the students that I liked the most were not the one with good grades but the one that were interested in finding why they were wrong etc.
Anyway, pretty well agree with Micronesia here. It happens. I just almost failed an exam a few weeks ago which I totally did not expect, expected a pretty good mark actually.
I wouldn't stress it, just try a bit harder for the next one that's all.
Usually when top students said they did horrible on a test it just turns out they got like A-....... wtf? Maybe you should wait til you see what you actually got on the test before you kill yourself mentally
The more descriptive term is "asocial". Antisocial refers to an extreme position, typically involving steps towards the destruction of social constructs (think unibomber).
The word antisocial means that exact same thing in Spanish, but I thought it had a different meaning in English. Thanks for the clarification. XD
Though, it would make more sense if I threw in the fact that I'm the kind of student that listens to the likes of Disturbed and Limp Bizkit to get pumped up for an exam, or while simply studying. I treat academia much the same way many people treat working out; you want to rip shit apart. Test days often feel like getting in the freaking octagon itself against Cro Cop or Fedor.
lol
If someone had recorded what happened today, it would've looked a lot like this:
On October 28 2010 06:04 AnodyneSea wrote: Usually when top students said they did horrible on a test it just turns out they got like A-....... wtf? Maybe you should wait til you see what you actually got on the test before you kill yourself mentally
A: Oh I did SO bad on that test What did you get? A: I don't want to tell you <she hems and haws and finally tells me he got like a 85 or 87 or something, and I got something like 65-75> A: Yeah you fucked up that test... I thought it was ezpz /walks away
lol thats like every other asian at school.
Seriously, it's only one test don't freak out about. Since the professor knows you like a son, you should talk to him. he should knows how hard you work and will probably weigh the midterm less for you if you get good grades for the final and everything inbetween.
^ That's not fair though, Raptor gets where he did wrong and he can make up for it and bust his ass, plus if no one did the 2nd problem there's the possibility of having the midterm curved. If the prof. were to wight the midterm less just for him then it jeopardizes the accuracy of the curved scores for the class and it's unfair. Sometimes you just have to learn from obvious mistakes.
I wrote a philosophy paper last week in which we had to be as concise as possible about our arguments (500 words). I assumed the prof would understand the arguments and positions he himself argued in class; turns out he decided to play devils' advocate and from the perspective of someone with no knowledge on the matter I left many things unexplained. I got a B on that paper when it could have been an easy A... boy was I upset, but after you got fucked over for 1 wrong assumption (mistake), then you (being a top student) should learn to never make that mistake again, and if the test does end up being curved then you'll destroy the final and subsequent assignments. Everyone else said it: "1 test is not that big of a deal, even if it's a midterm you can still make it up" It's just gonna be that much harder and that means you'll put much more effort and be more careful about not committing the same mistakes.
You should stop worrying about how to act and instead try to figure out why you failed and what you need to work on to understand the material (possibly seeking additional help from your professor).
You need to relax. I'm a 3rd year Physics undergrad and up until now I excelled in all my classes, major and non-major, without an outrageous amount of time spent or focus in any particular area. Now this year I find myself swamped 24/7, always working to the point of not actually having time to truly study and understand the material (which I enjoy) and my grades on tests have slumped well below what I would like.
If I could give any tips I have discovered or others have taught me, it would be:
- Push yourself to be the best, but don't always go too far. Compare yourselves to others. Sometimes teachers and classes will just totally blast everyone on exams and shit for no reason. If you didn't do well, find out why and improve yourself, instead of worrying about the grade way too much.
- Find a way to enjoy it. You said it yourself you study a lot and actually prefer it, so you have to find some aspect of the learning fun. This could be the good rewards of being studious, could be that you really enjoy the material/area you're studying, could be that you find a way to study that works well for you and isn't totally stressful... etc. I spent about 40 hours between Friday and Monday writing a lab report, and the whole time I had Proleague vods running in the background. I could just glance over and keep myself occupied, then use the chatter as white noise when I was really in the zone. Music is obviously fantastic too, depending on what your style is. Just find anything that makes your studying even less of a chore and more enjoyable (probably sounds so nerdy to some but whatever, some people actually enjoy what they're in school for >_>), it'll improve your overall retention of the shit in the first place, but also take a load off your shoulders and not psyche you out about info overload.
- Take advantage of the relationship between you and your professor. If you feel bad about it, be honest. Profs almost always have office hours and time to chat, and some of my greatest learning experiences have come from 1 on 1 questions with a teacher I actually like and/or vice versa. If he really could pull strings and all that stuff, don't get all depressed and tell yourself that he's all SON I AM DISAPPOINT forever now... Go meet with him and be honest, that you studied crazy hard and really wanted to do well, but just couldn't pull through. Ask him about the stuff that gave you the most trouble and really try and connect. GREAT professors will try and dig to find a way to explain something that just clicks perfectly for you personally.
Good luck bro. Honestly, if you have the drive (which you certainly do I can tell, putting off other things others would deem infinitely 'cooler than school'; respect) to do great then you can, and you have until now. If you keep working at it it'll click. Now I need to take my own advice and pick my ass up lol
Sometimes a class is too difficult to pass by just reading the required material and alternative sources on the topic are hard to find. When you still find yourself struggling, it is a good idea to seek out help, primarily from the professor and also teaching assistants. Maybe fellow students if you feel there are some that are doing alright (the ones who like answering questions in class). In this regard being asocial is not a skill, but a liability. It is something I've been struggling with myself, not being particularly attracted to the social side of student life. And because I'm not an obscessive student and enjoy "wasting" time on video games, it made the last years of school very hard for me.
As for failing as the "best student", you just need to get over it and move on. As time goes on there are several times life will give you a slap in the face and you just have to smile back at it. In the grand scheme of things one F is not a big deal if you handle the situation right.
On October 28 2010 06:15 heyoka wrote: The more descriptive term is "asocial". Antisocial refers to an extreme position, typically involving steps towards the destruction of social constructs (think unibomber).
You're correct. However, in common speech "antisocial" is used as a synonym for "asocial."
Everyone does poorly on tests and quizzes once in a while simply because there's not enough time to learn all the materials from all courses properly; ergo, tests are more or less like lotteries especially if they cover advanced/abstract/difficult topics.
also to add on if you're one of top students if you did bad you can be sure that everyone else did bad too. Like I had a calc exam which I thought I did decent on and saw I got a 53 on it. I was so surprised and was feeling pretty bad until I realized the class avg was 55.
On October 28 2010 06:19 travis wrote: i don't understand how u fail a test if u study all week for it
how exactly were you studying?
Same. If you studied for more than a week and still failed, you either need to ask for help as you don't understand the material or need to learn how to study.
And, it's one test. Just accept it and move on. Study better (not necessarily harder) for the next one.
I would be straight up with him. Go see him during office hours, and talk to him about it. Ask him what you need to do to understand the material so that it doesn't happen again. Some professors might get annoyed by this but if you know him as well as you say you do he should jump right on that opportunity to help you out.
Everyone struggles at some point. If you enjoy this then go talk to the professor about what you can do to do better. It sounds like your nerves didn't help.
On October 28 2010 05:17 SubtleArt wrote: So you failed one quiz, big deal. Rather than sulk, go over the test (maybe with your professor) and see what you did wrong cause you obviously did something. There's really no reason to be embarrassed, everyone has a bad day.
This. If you studied as well as you could, then just accept that there's nothing you could have done better. You just had a bad day or something. The professor won't think less of you if you go talk to him and just explain your situation.
If you are the best student in a class but failed the test everyone else probably failed harder.... It just means that the prof. didnt prepare the class for the test well enough.....
Just an off day, happens to the smartest of us. Actually something I feel happens to really smart students you will always end up getting one really bad mark once and a while just so then you don't totally wreck everyone else, and so you don't get bored acing everything.
It's like you are in gold league playing bronze league players all the time but they have to throw you against Huk once and awhile so that way you realize you can be better. (bad analogy maybe :O)
I read this thread 2 days ago and didn't think much of it. Then just today I got my midterm mark back (just online, I haven't seen it physically yet) for one of the courses I'm taking and got an F (25/100) on it. I was just totally shocked as like the OP I'm usually a good student and dilligent (read: nerd) at the least. I emailed my professor right away and she's letting me talk to her about it tomorrow morning.
I can't unfuck my fuckup but at least I think talking to the professor should help and relieve some of the anxiety.
Just keep your head up OP, nothing else we can do about it other than just adjust studying and test-taking strategy and then ace the shit out of that final.
P.S. I got pretty angry so I hit the weights extra hard today. I think it helped release some of the negative energy pent up
EPT
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