So I'm a freshman in college at the University of Rochester this year. My first semester GPA was 3.7/4.0, getting three A's and a single B, and I'm majoring in Biomedical Engineering. I'm in a special 5 year master program called GEAR, where if I keep up an aggregate GPA of 3.3 after every semester for the first 4 years I get free admission into an accelerated grad program, which will be a huge boost to my ability to land (and keep!) high-paying, good jobs doing what I want to do.
It's second semester now, and all of my classes changed. We've just had our first round of midterms, and just a few minutes ago my last grade was reported. I got a 68% on my general chemistry exam and a 73% on my multidimensional calculus exam.
Fuck.
The chemistry one was reported first. It didn't bother me too much after I looked more deeply into things, because that test's average was actually a 62%. Clearly it was hard, and it turns out that the grades were all very tightly focused on 62% so I'm probably one or even two standard deviations above the mean. That means once the curve is applied at the end of the year, that test will probably end up looking pretty okay.
But the math one is what I just saw. Class average was an 88%. A pretty good grade, actually, and that's before any curve. This is the first test I've ever taken where I didn't get a score above the average, to my knowledge. I don't mean that to brag, but simply as a statement of fact. I generally do very well in school, without much effort. But for this test I studied profusely, had plenty of time and a good amount of sleep the night before. I felt extremely good walking out of the test room -- so good, in fact, that I wouldn't have been surprised if I had gotten 100% on it (something I did on my differential equations final last semester, so it's not unheard of.) So to see that I not only did not get a 100%, not only didn't get even an acceptable B+ grade (I only need a B+ average to remain in my master program,) not only didn't get above the average, but actually FAILED the test as far as I'm concerned is... disheartening.
I know we all make mistakes, but I seriously can't write this one off. I went to every lecture. I sat in the front row and payed attention. I felt like I had a good understanding of the material, I blazed through the weekly homework assignments and aced two practice exams. I have never had a history of nervousness on tests. I took my time and checked my work. I studied for hours and attended review sessions. I literally cannot think of any better way to prepare for a test, and experience has shown that these methods all reliably result in solid grades for me.
On February 25 2012 07:17 Bagration wrote: Sorry to hear that. But that 73% is uncurved, correct? Then you might stil have hope.
Yes, but the curve will be against a normal distribution. If a curve is applied to that test it will reduce my grade and sit me at a D or an F.
On February 25 2012 07:18 CecilSunkure wrote: You can always just take out loans for the grad program, can you not?
I can, but then it'll take an extra year, cost a TON, and not look as good in the end. And on top of that, when I go back for a Ph.D., it'll be with way more debt to my name.
On February 25 2012 07:19 Xiron wrote: First world problem: Not scoring higher than average in a group of smart people.
73% is not failing. Did you ever blackout during a test? THAT is failing. The world is not fair, get over it.
I never said it was fair, I said that by my standards this is failing. I can't do what I want to do in life with a 73% average. If that's an insignificant problem to you, so be it.
On February 25 2012 07:18 CecilSunkure wrote: You can always just take out loans for the grad program, can you not?
I can, but then it'll take an extra year, cost a TON, and not look as good in the end. And on top of that, when I go back for a Ph.D., it'll be with way more debt to my name.
I highly doubt it won't look as good. With the school I'm in, nobody gives a damn about your grades ever, except the financial aid department. Nobody cares. What matters is what projects you've worked on, what you've finished, what experience you have. Tangible examples of your skill, not your grades. That's why students from my school have such high success rates (something like 98% hiring rate for grads); we all have tons and tons of projects and experience to place in resumes and show off in interviews.
Who would you rather hire? Some guy with a 4.0 and nothing else to show, or some guy with a 3.0 average with industry experience, and multiple impressive projects to show he can apply his knowledge and skillset effectively?
I assume multidimensional calculus is the same as multivariable calculus, or calc III?
As someone who majored in math, I strongly recommend forming a study group. Make a few friends in that class and study your ass off with them. If possible, find some friends who are also in GEAR, so you can possibly share future classes with the same group of friends over the next few years. It only gets tougher, and it's saved my ass plenty of times.
Trust me on this: Everyone eventually hits a wall in an upper class where they start to struggle with the material- especially in the maths and sciences. Having classmates as study partners is incredibly, incredibly, incredibly helpful. Don't try to ace everything alone.
On February 25 2012 07:18 CecilSunkure wrote: You can always just take out loans for the grad program, can you not?
I can, but then it'll take an extra year, cost a TON, and not look as good in the end. And on top of that, when I go back for a Ph.D., it'll be with way more debt to my name.
I highly doubt it won't look as good. With the school I'm in, nobody gives a damn about your grades ever, except the financial aid department. Nobody cares. What matters is what projects you've worked on, what you've finished, what experience you have. Tangible examples of your skill, not your grades. That's why students from my school have such high success rates (something like 98% hiring rate for grads); we all have tons and tons of projects and experience to place in resumes and show off in interviews.
Well... perhaps it will still look okay after the fact. Still, the extra year and cost will be VERY painful. Two years of grad school is a lot more expensive than one year of free grad school.
On February 25 2012 07:28 DarkPlasmaBall wrote: I assume multidimensional calculus is the same as multivariable calculus, or calc III?
As someone who majored in math, I strongly recommend forming a study group. Make a few friends in that class and study your ass off with them. If possible, find some friends who are also in GEAR, so you can possibly share future classes with the same group of friends over the next few years. It only gets tougher, and it's saved my ass plenty of times.
Trust me on this: Everyone eventually hits a wall in an upper class where they start to struggle with the material- especially in the maths and sciences. Having classmates as study partners is incredibly, incredibly, incredibly helpful. Don't try to ace everything alone.
On February 25 2012 07:13 UmiNotsuki wrote: So I'm a freshman in college at the University of Rochester this year. My first semester GPA was 3.7/4.0, getting three A's and a single B, and I'm majoring in Biomedical Engineering. I'm in a special 5 year master program called GEAR, where if I keep up an aggregate GPA of 3.3 after every semester for the first 4 years I get free admission into an accelerated grad program, which will be a huge boost to my ability to land (and keep!) high-paying, good jobs doing what I want to do.
Assuming the above is an accurate reporting of the facts, you're in no serious danger. In order for your aggregate GPA to drop below a 3.3, you'd need to have a GPA of under 2.9 for your second semester, assuming you're taking as many hours now as you did in your first semester.
So in order for this semester to totally screw you up, you'd need to get three Bs and one C, or one A, two Bs, and one D, etc.
The most important thing to do is get a hold of the test and see what you did wrong. If the professor won't release it, ask him/her if you can meet him during office hours to go over it. From there you can analyze your weaknesses and make a plan for the next test.
I was the same way, always in the top 1-2 students in my class until Sophomore year of college. Its humbling to meet people smarter than you, but in a way its inspiring as well. These people should be your new role models. Finding a study group is a good idea, just make sure that you include a few people who are aceing the class.
On February 25 2012 07:19 Xiron wrote: First world problem: Not scoring higher than average in a group of smart people.
73% is not failing. Did you ever blackout during a test? THAT is failing. The world is not fair, get over it.
While the OP might be overly concerned about this one test score, I still admire his resolve to try to be better than just average. That kind of attitude takes you places.
On February 25 2012 07:40 Zorkmid wrote: Not a big deal unless you had plans of grad school or something like that.
As I said... I did.
On February 25 2012 07:42 FlaShFTW wrote: Wait if the class average is 88 and you got a 73, shouldn't the curve help you? or would they push the curve down?
Is there anyway for you to get a better average? If so, work for it hard and you'll get it.
The curve will be done against a normal distribution. I'm on the left side of the curve, so if the curve is applied it'll push my grade down if anything.
On February 25 2012 07:13 UmiNotsuki wrote: So I'm a freshman in college at the University of Rochester this year. My first semester GPA was 3.7/4.0, getting three A's and a single B, and I'm majoring in Biomedical Engineering. I'm in a special 5 year master program called GEAR, where if I keep up an aggregate GPA of 3.3 after every semester for the first 4 years I get free admission into an accelerated grad program, which will be a huge boost to my ability to land (and keep!) high-paying, good jobs doing what I want to do.
Assuming the above is an accurate reporting of the facts, you're in no serious danger. In order for your aggregate GPA to drop below a 3.3, you'd need to have a GPA of under 2.9 for your second semester, assuming you're taking as many hours now as you did in your first semester.
So in order for this semester to totally screw you up, you'd need to get three Bs and one C, or one A, two Bs, and one D, etc.
That is an accurate report... but I didn't mention that I'm actually taking 19 credits this semester, as opposed to last semester's 16. Still, you're right, but it's gonna be very painful never the less. And it's only gonna get harder...
On February 25 2012 08:04 Hypertension wrote: The most important thing to do is get a hold of the test and see what you did wrong. If the professor won't release it, ask him/her if you can meet him during office hours to go over it. From there you can analyze your weaknesses and make a plan for the next test.
I was the same way, always in the top 1-2 students in my class until Sophomore year of college. Its humbling to meet people smarter than you, but in a way its inspiring as well. These people should be your new role models. Finding a study group is a good idea, just make sure that you include a few people who are aceing the class.
I will get the test back Monday... I really do want it ASAP >.< Gonna be stressing me out all weekend.
It's hard for me to look up to people. I'm strongly an individualist and have difficulty accepting role models. Still, it might be good advice, thank you.
The tests are already over no use worrying just start studying up for the next exams, worrying over exams wont do you any good the grade wont change no matter how much you beg the professor. So your better off just moving on.
may i point out some irony. you made this blog like a week ago.
On February 16 2012 12:28 UmiNotsuki wrote: Just found the world of custom WoW servers. Such a good feeling to be back in the good ol' days when the level cap was 60 and it took three times as long to go from 1-60 as it does to go from 1-85 in Cataclysm. I've started draining my life into this game again, forgot how long it's been since before I had a truly addicting MMO to play xD All free too... >.> Without the drain on my wallet it's hard to find a reason to put the game down.
Look it's not a big deal. You still have many years of school left to maintain or surpass 3.3. Think of it as an early wake up call. Also it is a lot easier to be above average in highschool. It becomes harder as you go into college and becomes even more difficult as you progress (because weaker students are constantly dropping out or being weeded out). It will be even more difficult once you are in grad school. I know because I obtained my BS in chemical engineering being well above average. But in my phd program I am putting in a fair amount of effort and only obtaining the average on exams. It's not a big deal, you will grow as a student with time (especially if being below average upsets you so much). You will take so many exams throughout your time in school that when you look back at this one you will either laugh or not remember it at all.
I think its good to be stressing out a little. But overall it sounds like you are going to be fine. I expect a F*ck yeah blog for your final exams. Good luck!
All you've done is high school so ofc you've never failed to get average at a test you took. School is child's play at that level. When you get to college, if you're taking a difficult major, you're going to have to learn more effective study methods because the material can sometimes actually be challenging. It's quite a normal phenomenon. To say you have experience with academics as a college freshman is kind of ironic.
On February 16 2012 12:28 UmiNotsuki wrote: Just found the world of custom WoW servers. Such a good feeling to be back in the good ol' days when the level cap was 60 and it took three times as long to go from 1-60 as it does to go from 1-85 in Cataclysm. I've started draining my life into this game again, forgot how long it's been since before I had a truly addicting MMO to play xD All free too... >.> Without the drain on my wallet it's hard to find a reason to put the game down.
Haha, aren't we observant I didn't play WoW at all during finals week, committed to studying. Nice try, though!
EDIT: And by finals week I mean midterms weak, something wrong with me >.>
On February 25 2012 08:25 BearStorm wrote: Look it's not a big deal. You still have many years of school left to maintain or surpass 3.3. Think of it as an early wake up call. Also it is a lot easier to be above average in highschool. It becomes harder as you go into college and becomes even more difficult as you progress (because weaker students are constantly dropping out or being weeded out). It will be even more difficult once you are in grad school. I know because I obtained my BS in chemical engineering being well above average. But in my phd program I am putting in a fair amount of effort and only obtaining the average on exams. It's not a big deal, you will grow as a student with time (especially if being below average upsets you so much). You will take so many exams throughout your time in school that when you look back at this one you will either laugh or not remember it at all.
I know you're right, but it's so hard to see the forest for the trees right now.
On February 25 2012 08:36 StorkHwaiting wrote: All you've done is high school so ofc you've never failed to get average at a test you took. School is child's play at that level. When you get to college, if you're taking a difficult major, you're going to have to learn more effective study methods because the material can sometimes actually be challenging. It's quite a normal phenomenon. To say you have experience with academics as a college freshman is kind of ironic.
I know high school is nothing, I'd be the first to admit it. But I'm taking last semester as my history, where I didn't put nearly as much work in and did far better. I don't know if I really suggested I have experience...
Everyone messes up on tests sometimes, especially math tests. Often it's completely unforgiving; if you make one mistake, you get 0/20 on a problem. Don't beat yourself up about it.
Now if this continues happening then you might want to examine your study habits. Are you learning the material at a deep level, or a superficial "this is how one solves this kind of problem" kind of level? Do you keep up with the material consistently, or do you cram? Do you internalize the information, or do you learn quickly in the short term to get through homeworks and study for exams?
On February 25 2012 09:16 AcrossFiveJulys wrote: Everyone messes up on tests sometimes, especially math tests. Often it's completely unforgiving; if you make one mistake, you get 0/20 on a problem. Don't beat yourself up about it.
Now if this continues happening then you might want to examine your study habits. Are you learning the material at a deep level, or a superficial "this is how one solves this kind of problem" kind of level? Do you keep up with the material consistently, or do you cram? Do you internalize the information, or do you learn quickly in the short term to get through homeworks and study for exams?
I felt like I understood it all along, and aced the practice tests without cramming beforehand... Just a little studying and looking up things afterwords (definitions and things.) We actually got to bring a cheat sheet to the exam, and it's not like I didn't bring a full page. And I used it, too... made sure I had a good understanding of all the formulas, everything.
As someone said already, finding what you did wrong on the test is the most important thing right now. You said you felt like you may have gotten a 100% so it's possible you just did a ton of stupid mistakes, which is common in math and what I highly suspect happened. If this is the case, you don't need to worry about studying/grades so much as stop being overconfident on exams and doing the problems carefully, slowly, and reviewing your work. If, on the other hand, the issue is you just completely didn't understand what the questions were asking for despite thinking you did, then some action needs to be taken. Studying in groups, asking for help/clarification/verification, etc. I'm not sure how your specific class weights the exams, but typically 1 poor exam grade is recoverable, though not ideally of course.
A 3.3 is hard to maintain, especially as a bioengineer but it is doable. Remember that for every A you get, that's a C+ you're allowed to have. However, while it's true getting that free year of tuition for your 5 year program is financially desirable, this does not make you more likely to get or maintain jobs. 5 year programs are done for smart people who want to graduate faster and/or for cheaper. I'm actually still debating to enter one myself (also bioengineer) but it's pretty damn intimidating. GPA is a much more important factor (which ends up being a confounding variable when you say getting in the program looks good), but even then grades aren't that important. If your concern is future jobs, then what you want to look into are internships, lab positions, and connections (the truth is it's not what you know, it's who you know). Again, I understand there is a financial desire and concern which is understandable, but you should realize that money is the real reason to get this program and not how good it looks on the resume and maybe it'll lift some stress about it.
Also, curves can work in may different ways; they do not have to be bell curves. In fact, for exams with high averages, it's impossible to fit a bell curve to the scores without having a very strange grade distribution. Sometimes professors even arbitrarily make cutoffs based on the # of A's/B's/etc they want. True, you did relatively bad, but unless your professor said he was curving to a perfect bell curve on his exams regardless of the results, you *might* (don't want to get your hopes up for nothing) not be doing as bad you think. Also, sometimes professors respond to high averages but "averaging" it out with a stupidly hard exam....I kind of hate those but it gives you a great opportunity to fix your grade. Good luck in the future; I've learned that when you fail an exam the correct mindset is to not think about it and instead have the resolve to do better.
On February 25 2012 09:38 KazeHydra wrote: As someone said already, finding what you did wrong on the test is the most important thing right now. You said you felt like you may have gotten a 100% so it's possible you just did a ton of stupid mistakes, which is common in math and what I highly suspect happened. If this is the case, you don't need to worry about studying/grades so much as stop being overconfident on exams and doing the problems carefully, slowly, and reviewing your work. If, on the other hand, the issue is you just completely didn't understand what the questions were asking for despite thinking you did, then some action needs to be taken. Studying in groups, asking for help/clarification/verification, etc. I'm not sure how your specific class weights the exams, but typically 1 poor exam grade is recoverable, though not ideally of course.
A 3.3 is hard to maintain, especially as a bioengineer but it is doable. Remember that for every A you get, that's a C+ you're allowed to have. However, while it's true getting that free year of tuition for your 5 year program is financially desirable, this does not make you more likely to get or maintain jobs. 5 year programs are done for smart people who want to graduate faster and/or for cheaper. I'm actually still debating to enter one myself (also bioengineer) but it's pretty damn intimidating. GPA is a much more important factor (which ends up being a confounding variable when you say getting in the program looks good), but even then grades aren't that important. If your concern is future jobs, then what you want to look into are internships, lab positions, and connections (the truth is it's not what you know, it's who you know). Again, I understand there is a financial desire and concern which is understandable, but you should realize that money is the real reason to get this program and not how good it looks on the resume and maybe it'll lift some stress about it.
Also, curves can work in may different ways; they do not have to be bell curves. In fact, for exams with high averages, it's impossible to fit a bell curve to the scores without having a very strange grade distribution. Sometimes professors even arbitrarily make cutoffs based on the # of A's/B's/etc they want. True, you did relatively bad, but unless your professor said he was curving to a perfect bell curve on his exams regardless of the results, you *might* (don't want to get your hopes up for nothing) not be doing as bad you think. Also, sometimes professors respond to high averages but "averaging" it out with a stupidly hard exam....I kind of hate those but it gives you a great opportunity to fix your grade. Good luck in the future; I've learned that when you fail an exam the correct mindset is to not think about it and instead have the resolve to do better.
This is all fairly comforting, thank you. You are completely correct but it's just disappointing. I don't know if I had overconfidence problems... I didn't go into the test expecting to ace it, I simply became confident as I saw the questions and knew I knew exactly how to do them. Or at least so I thought. I still can't figure out what I might've possibly done wrong...
"I can't do what I want to do in life with a 73% average."
That's honestly a pretty pompous and unintelligent-sounding comment. In a few years you might have some more perspective on this and realize how silly it was.
On February 25 2012 07:18 CecilSunkure wrote: You can always just take out loans for the grad program, can you not?
I can, but then it'll take an extra year, cost a TON, and not look as good in the end. And on top of that, when I go back for a Ph.D., it'll be with way more debt to my name.
On February 25 2012 07:19 Xiron wrote: First world problem: Not scoring higher than average in a group of smart people.
73% is not failing. Did you ever blackout during a test? THAT is failing. The world is not fair, get over it.
I never said it was fair, I said that by my standards this is failing. I can't do what I want to do in life with a 73% average. If that's an insignificant problem to you, so be it.
Look man, its one semester in your first year. To put that in perspective the last semester of my last year straight As would lead to a 0.2 increase in my GPA on a 10 point scale, and D-s straight would lead to 0.3 decrease.
You've got a lot of time to get into a grad program don't worry about it focus on the rest of your exams youll be fine
Also, its ok to have debt in schooling since its an investment when you get a job you can pay it back pretty quick.
On February 25 2012 11:50 ZeromuS wrote: Look man, its one semester in your first year. To put that in perspective the last semester of my last year straight As would lead to a 0.2 increase in my GPA on a 10 point scale, and D-s straight would lead to 0.3 decrease.
I agree with what you're trying to say, but this is just a bad perspective to use. It's because he's only 1 semester into school that he should be worrying about his GPA. Straight D-'s would lead to roughly a 1.7 point drop on a 4.0 scale. As you take more classes, grades have less and less of an effect on your overall GPA. The issue is not the end result; the issue is he can't ever drop below 3.3 and right now is the most likely time his GPA will dip below that.
@OP: not understanding what you could possibly have done wrong is exactly why I think you just did a bunch of stupid mistakes. I remember my friend got a 75% once because he just assumed what the question was asking and his work wasn't relevant at all (25% of the test) lol.
On February 25 2012 11:50 ZeromuS wrote: Look man, its one semester in your first year. To put that in perspective the last semester of my last year straight As would lead to a 0.2 increase in my GPA on a 10 point scale, and D-s straight would lead to 0.3 decrease.
I agree with what you're trying to say, but this is just a bad perspective to use. It's because he's only 1 semester into school that he should be worrying about his GPA. Straight D-'s would lead to roughly a 1.7 point drop on a 4.0 scale. As you take more classes, grades have less and less of an effect on your overall GPA. The issue is not the end result; the issue is he can't ever drop below 3.3 and right now is the most likely time his GPA will dip below that.
@OP: not understanding what you could possibly have done wrong is exactly why I think you just did a bunch of stupid mistakes. I remember my friend got a 75% once because he just assumed what the question was asking and his work wasn't relevant at all (25% of the test) lol.
I guess so. I don't feel like I ever assumed anything, but when each question came up I feel that I kinda instantly knew how to get to the answer. I mean, it was all pretty basic stuff, definitions of dot products and cross products, distance from a point to a line, projections... I feel like I should've gotten it even if I made a couple mistakes.
You took multivariable before diff eq? That's awesome, seeing the vector calculus stuff later will make it easier to jump into pde's... Anyway, its one exam of one course your second semester. Do better than on the second one/final, stop being a baby its not the end of the world
On February 25 2012 13:27 n.DieJokes wrote: You took multivariable before diff eq? That's awesome, seeing the vector calculus stuff later will make it easier to jump into pde's... Anyway, its one exam of one course your second semester. Do better than on the second one/final, stop being a baby its not the end of the world
I think you might've misread the OP, I said that I got a 100% on my Diff Eq final last semester. Diff Eq first, and now I'm in multivariable this semester.
On February 25 2012 13:27 n.DieJokes wrote: You took multivariable before diff eq? That's awesome, seeing the vector calculus stuff later will make it easier to jump into pde's... Anyway, its one exam of one course your second semester. Do better than on the second one/final, stop being a baby its not the end of the world
I think you might've misread the OP, I said that I got a 100% on my Diff Eq final last semester. Diff Eq first, and now I'm in multivariable this semester.
No, I read it correctly its when I read over my post before submitting I forgot what I was saying and changed "later" to "before". Herp
Averages (mean/median) are pretty much useless, you need to pay more attention to s.d. Actually, make a habit to never say the average on its own, always include s.d. with it. Curving is usually done such that most people get B or B-.
Also, don't worry too much about midterms, they don't usually worth too much. As long as you realize you've fucked up (which you have) and pull your shit together, you'll be fine.
To make you feel slightly better, for one of my classes, I got 23/80 (max possible was 105) on my final take home (60 or 70% iirc) with the class mean and median at 62, s.d. 23. Most people fucking cheated by working in a group, while I tried to do it honestly.
I actually had a very similar situation during my 2nd year of college where I had a class where I didn't perform better than most other people on the first of 3 tests and it irritated me to no end. I wasn't used to it but it was one of the most motivating things that I used to improve my studying. I agree with the idea of getting a study group together. The reason isn't because you need other people to teach it to you but that you have others to explain your thought process to and helping them find mistakes in their logic. This is important because you approach the problem differently than if you were simply solving it for an answer.
Teaching people is one of the most effective ways of committing information to memory. It provides the repetition needed to encode information correctly and it activates various parts of the brain that you don't normally use when studying by yourself. The reason behind this is the fact that a teacher must not only have the raw information to present but understand how to logically convey the data and methodology. Explaining a process is much more engaging than trying to soak in facts and thus you will actually learn the material better. In a group built around studying, you should have plenty of opportunities to explain things. When you are in need of someone to help you out, you not only have peers to guide you but you help them understand the material in a more concrete fashion as well.
Don't beat yourself up. Set a goal and work towards it...everyone gets a kick in the gut sometimes. For someone who seems to care a lot about it, you now have a reason to strive for better. High school is autopilot all the way through, it's good to have something that challenges you. You've got 4 years of a challenge and more after that if you want .
On February 25 2012 14:14 Grohg wrote: I actually had a very similar situation during my 2nd year of college where I had a class where I didn't perform better than most other people on the first of 3 tests and it irritated me to no end. I wasn't used to it but it was one of the most motivating things that I used to improve my studying. I agree with the idea of getting a study group together. The reason isn't because you need other people to teach it to you but that you have others to explain your thought process to and helping them find mistakes in their logic. This is important because you approach the problem differently than if you were simply solving it for an answer.
Teaching people is one of the most effective ways of committing information to memory. It provides the repetition needed to encode information correctly and it activates various parts of the brain that you don't normally use when studying by yourself. The reason behind this is the fact that a teacher must not only have the raw information to present but understand how to logically convey the data and methodology. Explaining a process is much more engaging than trying to soak in facts and thus you will actually learn the material better. In a group built around studying, you should have plenty of opportunities to explain things. When you are in need of someone to help you out, you not only have peers to guide you but you help them understand the material in a more concrete fashion as well.
Don't beat yourself up. Set a goal and work towards it...everyone gets a kick in the gut sometimes. For someone who seems to care a lot about it, you now have a reason to strive for better. High school is autopilot all the way through, it's good to have something that challenges you. You've got 4 years of a challenge and more after that if you want .
Let's hope for 5, at least!
Yeah, I do agree with all your points about forming a study group... we'll see if I manage to follow through. It's generally not my style because I like to go it alone (in almost everything, I don't like team games of any kind, prefer soloing in MMO's, that sorta stuff) but I know it's not always the best option.
Who would you rather hire? Some guy with a 4.0 and nothing else to show, or some guy with a 3.0 average with industry experience, and multiple impressive projects to show he can apply his knowledge and skillset effectively?
the person with 4.0 will get a shit ton of grants $$$ for grad school so grades are worth something if you stay academia
experience will def land a job faster than gpa for sure when it comes to a bachelors though, i think entry level jobs (ie easy stuff) need 1 or 2 years lab experience for bachelors for my mbb degree lol
Who would you rather hire? Some guy with a 4.0 and nothing else to show, or some guy with a 3.0 average with industry experience, and multiple impressive projects to show he can apply his knowledge and skillset effectively?
the person with 4.0 will get a shit ton of grants $$$ for grad school so grades are worth something if you stay academia
experience will def land a job faster than gpa for sure when it comes to a bachelors though, i think entry level jobs (ie easy stuff) need 1 or 2 years lab experience for bachelors for my mbb degree lol
I was planning on staying in academia until I got my masters, work for a few years, and then go somewhere for a Ph.D. I'm actually not sure what would be more important, my undergrad/grad grades or m work experience...?
I know we all make mistakes, but I seriously can't write this one off. I went to every lecture. I sat in the front row and payed attention. I felt like I had a good understanding of the material, I blazed through the weekly homework assignments and aced two practice exams. I have never had a history of nervousness on tests. I took my time and checked my work. I studied for hours and attended review sessions. I literally cannot think of any better way to prepare for a test, and experience has shown that these methods all reliably result in solid grades for me.
So, you learned everything the class was about? Then I fail to see the problem
The knowledge is valuable and a number is just a number.
I know we all make mistakes, but I seriously can't write this one off. I went to every lecture. I sat in the front row and payed attention. I felt like I had a good understanding of the material, I blazed through the weekly homework assignments and aced two practice exams. I have never had a history of nervousness on tests. I took my time and checked my work. I studied for hours and attended review sessions. I literally cannot think of any better way to prepare for a test, and experience has shown that these methods all reliably result in solid grades for me.
So, you learned everything the class was about? Then I fail to see the problem
The knowledge is valuable and a number is just a number.
Welcome to academic life. You set goals and sometimes you meet them, sometimes you don't. I know it sucks, but if a road is closed to you, you just have to put it behind you and seek a new path. By the sound of it, you really have something you're working towards so just keep at it man. I'm sure you'll get there eventually. In the wise words of Dr Kelso, nothing in this world that's worth having comes easy.
On February 25 2012 07:13 UmiNotsuki wrote: I know we all make mistakes, but I seriously can't write this one off. I went to every lecture. I sat in the front row and payed attention. I felt like I had a good understanding of the material, I blazed through the weekly homework assignments and aced two practice exams. I have never had a history of nervousness on tests. I took my time and checked my work. I studied for hours and attended review sessions. I literally cannot think of any better way to prepare for a test, and experience has shown that these methods all reliably result in solid grades for me.
I think your problem is that you're studying too much for the test and not the material. Even if you didn't bad tests happen. We get on with life. I can't tell you the number of times I've helped a classmate study for a test only to have them score higher than me. What matters in the end is that you understand the material and can apply it to your overall major.
Chemistry and calculus are hard. You need to study consistently every day for at least an hour to really tackle the concepts.
I'll also advise this: if bad tests bother you this much then spend more time studying and less time blogging about it.
On February 25 2012 07:13 UmiNotsuki wrote: I know we all make mistakes, but I seriously can't write this one off. I went to every lecture. I sat in the front row and payed attention. I felt like I had a good understanding of the material, I blazed through the weekly homework assignments and aced two practice exams. I have never had a history of nervousness on tests. I took my time and checked my work. I studied for hours and attended review sessions. I literally cannot think of any better way to prepare for a test, and experience has shown that these methods all reliably result in solid grades for me.
I think your problem is that you're studying too much for the test and not the material. Even if you didn't bad tests happen. We get on with life. I can't tell you the number of times I've helped a classmate study for a test only to have them score higher than me. What matters in the end is that you understand the material and can apply it to your overall major.
Chemistry and calculus are hard. You need to study consistently every day for at least an hour to really tackle the concepts.
I'll also advise this: if bad tests bother you this much then spend more time studying and less time blogging about it.
Haha, it's funny that you say I'm studying too much and then tell me to study more. I fully understand that the point of that first sentence was actually that I was studying the wrong way and not too much, just made me chuckle a bit
I know you're right that I could study more, but I honestly think studying every day would burn me out quite quickly. I HATED high school with a passion, and I blame that partially on the fact that my schedule was literally the same thing every day, five days a week. I much prefer to mix things up. I suppose that's nitpicking on the idea behind your post, but scheduling it all... just doesn't sound pleasant. I do love being productive but only when I choose to, instead of making myself do it.
EPT
I didn't play WoW at all during finals week, committed to studying. Nice try, though!
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