Failed my first class ever [Archive] - Two Plus Two Older Archives

Aloysius

12-16-2005, 02:27 PM

DKK - Your life isn't over. There are many factors that will weight the importance of this failing grade. It is not good though, obviously.

In general, the earlier in your academic career the better. So if this is your freshman year... it's an easier thing to explain (for any grad school or employer that requests a transcript), chalking it up to being a frosh jackass.

Is this class in your major? If it is, and you're looking to apply to grad school specific to your major... obvioulsy this hurts alot. You would likely have to append an explanation for this failing grade in any app.

Bottom-line: Hopefully this F is an anomaly. This is good because 1) easier to explain as an outlier in your otherwise successful academic career and 2) obvioulsy won't affect your GPA that much.

Study Harder!
-Al

Edit - Hahaha yeah Sam, I've NEVER heard of an undergrad that allows you to "take a class over", meaning you get to replace the "F" with the new grade. That's ridiculous.

My brother went to Brown, which had a thing where if you are about to fail, you can switch it to "no grade" or something gay like that. Lame, also.

Edit 2 - Yasher/Melchy - I am seriously surprised that decent undergrads allow their students to repeat a failed class, and wipe out the previous F with the new grade.

The fact they got an F isn't somehow recorded, at all, on the transcript? Lame.

12-16-2005, 02:27 PM

I'm looking at a couple universities here in Texas, and they're gonna allow me to replace my grade from another university, after I retake a similar course and pass it. So, its not DeVry and ITT. American University does it too!

But seriously, I believe this to be a not-so-uncommon practice. This is how I'm getting back into college. Hooray for being a 22 year old college freshman all over again. That'll be a trip report for the ages.

MelchyBeau

12-16-2005, 02:28 PM

Repeat Delete is actually quite common at decent universities samjjones. Schools will either have an extended drop section, or they will have repeat delete.

Melch

12-16-2005, 02:28 PM

I failed a 5 credit calculus class as an Undergraduate and now have an Master's degree. Take it over.

LLL

12-16-2005, 02:39 PM

I failed out of college the first time around, so dont sweat it. It a very short time your college life will be far far behind you. I dont know the field you are thinking of going in to but in my world no one cares about individual grades. If you gots the sheepskin you are in.

Boris

12-16-2005, 02:41 PM

if you're in grad school you are 99% screwed.

Aloysius

12-16-2005, 02:42 PM

Acme - yeah good point. Only for on-campus recruiting and grad schools do individual undergrad grades have alot of weight. (Even for on-campus recruiting for undergrad, it's more your overall GPA). And as you advance in your career, undergrad GPA (and by extension individual class grades) mean very little if anything at all.

-Al

12-16-2005, 02:43 PM

[ QUOTE ]
How, exactly, did you fail this class? What class was it? Why didn't you drop it when you found out you were over your head? What level of education are you at?

[/ QUOTE ]

I failed the class because I wasn't smart enough to read the syllabus and realize that if I don't pick up all of my quizes from the professor during his office hours then they become zeros. It's not like I didn't do the work or wasn't doing well in the class. I didn't drop it when I found out I was over my head because I was never over my head, I did decently in the class so my failure had nothing to do with the quality of my work, but more with my stupidity. As for level of education, first semester freshman. The class was kind of a joke anyway. It was about witch hunting and witch trials. It did however fulfill part of a gen-ed requirement. So I'll have to take another class to fulfill that requirement.

Warik

12-16-2005, 02:54 PM

Have you ever failed a class?

I haven't.

Ha ha.

asofel

12-16-2005, 02:55 PM

[ QUOTE ]
The class was kind of a joke anyway. It was about witch hunting and witch trials.

[/ QUOTE ]

dude, that's sweet. not quite as good as my luckbox friends who took "pool" as a course...

edtost

12-16-2005, 02:56 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
How, exactly, did you fail this class? What class was it? Why didn't you drop it when you found out you were over your head? What level of education are you at?

[/ QUOTE ]

I failed the class because I wasn't smart enough to read the syllabus and realize that if I don't pick up all of my quizes from the professor during his office hours then they become zeros. It's not like I didn't do the work or wasn't doing well in the class. I didn't drop it when I found out I was over my head because I was never over my head, I did decently in the class so my failure had nothing to do with the quality of my work, but more with my stupidity. As for level of education, first semester freshman. The class was kind of a joke anyway. It was about witch hunting and witch trials. It did however fulfill part of a gen-ed requirement. So I'll have to take another class to fulfill that requirement.

[/ QUOTE ]

this is perhaps the most retarded policy i've ever heard.

12-16-2005, 02:58 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I failed the class because I can't read

[/ QUOTE ]

But seriously... whatever, its one damn class. Wouldnt worry too much.

Al,

From what I understand, the F never disappears from your record. For example, I have 12 credit hours of Fs from my one attempt at college. If I can find 4 classes out here (my first attempt was in New Mexico, now I'm in Texas) that are a close match to the title/course description of the 4 classes I failed, I can take those, and have the grade I receieve in those classes count toward the classes I failed. The Fs are still visible to anyone looking, but they don't get counted toward my GPA. The new grades do, AFAIK. My information comes from the head of the admissions department at a large public Texas university, so I may have certain details wrong, but the gist of it is correct. Its not like the Fs vanish, but they won't drag my GPA into the dirt, thankfully.

I can see why you might have an aversion to the practice being allowed, but if someone wants to burden themselves with retaking classes they did poorly in, why not allow it? If, in fact, college is about [blearning[/b], then this should even be encouraged. Maybe.

edited for: I failed - or got Ds in - a good 1/3rd of my high school classes, and I completely bombed out of the one semester of college I went to. I went to class just enough at the beginning of the semester to make sure I got on the rolls, and then I promptly neglected to go to any classes, any exams... in fact, I think I forgot where all my classes were. Go me. If I knew then what I know now... I'd be a dorky little bastard with a degree in Comparative Theology or something equally useless.

yasher

11t

12-16-2005, 03:00 PM

Welcome to college.

diebitter

12-16-2005, 03:03 PM

[ QUOTE ]
The class was kind of a joke anyway. It was about witch hunting and witch trials. It did however fulfill part of a gen-ed requirement. So I'll have to take another class to fulfill that requirement.

[/ QUOTE ]

What a mean-spirited course /images/graemlins/frown.gif

I /images/graemlins/heart.gif http://www.emerchandise.com/images/p/PNS/pdSTPNS0003.jpg

dcasper70

12-16-2005, 03:16 PM

in 10 years, you won't even remember taking the class...

Not that it would have mattered anyways. Employers don't really give a crap, just pick up the slack and bump up that GPA. Get the diploma and move on.

12-16-2005, 03:44 PM

question: will this one failure affect my chances of getting into Law school granted that all my other grades are pretty good?

PoBoy321

12-16-2005, 03:50 PM

[ QUOTE ]
question: will this one failure affect my chances of getting into Law school granted that all my other grades are pretty good?

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm going to guess yes, but hope the answer is "Yes, but there are ways you can make up for it" because I'm in your boat right now.

theghost

12-16-2005, 03:59 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I failed the class because I wasn't smart enough to read the syllabus and realize that if I don't pick up all of my quizes from the professor during his office hours then they become zeros.

[/ QUOTE ]

You should try to fight this. Make an appointment with your dean.

HopeydaFish

12-16-2005, 04:00 PM

[ QUOTE ]
question: will this one failure affect my chances of getting into Law school granted that all my other grades are pretty good?

[/ QUOTE ]

At Canadian Universities (and I'm assuming that American ones are similar), each University uses it's own weighting system in judging applicants. Some Universities only take your 10 best marks (which would be great for you), some Universities look at your total GPA (which still isn't horrible for you, provided the rest of your marks are spectacular).

You also have to factor in your LSAT score as well. If you do phenomenal on the LSAT, it may make your GPA almost irrelevant. Just like with other criteria, some Universities weigh the LSAT more heavily than others.

You extra-curricular activities and your charity work etc... are also weighed by many Universities as well. The point is, one failing grade won't sink your chances at getting into each and every law school. It might severely hurt your chances at some, but it probably won't affect your chances one way or the other at most.

Btw...did you talk to the professor after your received your failing grade? It never hurts to throw yourself at their mercy in times like these.

Riverman

12-16-2005, 04:01 PM

Yeah this is bad for law schools. I would write a letter to some dean and explain that it was a simple oversight if I was you. Also schedule a meeting with your professor and explain that you were riveted by the class as shown by your good marks and say you really would appreciate if he would consider passing you given the impact of an F. Youd be surprised how often this can work.

12-16-2005, 04:02 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I failed the class because I wasn't smart enough to read the syllabus and realize that if I don't pick up all of my quizes from the professor during his office hours then they become zeros.

[/ QUOTE ]

You should try to fight this. Make an appointment with your dean.

[/ QUOTE ]

What exactly would you plan to say? "I didn't bother to read the syllabus and realize that I had to do X, Y and Z to pass"? I'm betting most of the students in the class passed, because they picked up their quizzes, and that leaves him with not much to stand on.

PoBoy321

12-16-2005, 04:03 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Yeah this is bad for law schools. I would write a letter to some dean and explain that it was a simple oversight if I was you. Also schedule a meeting with your professor and explain that you were riveted by the class as shown by your good marks and say you really would appreciate if he would consider passing you given the impact of an F. Youd be surprised how often this can work.

[/ QUOTE ]

No, this was a course last year, which was just bad for me in general, so it's over and done with. I'm kind of hoping that my other marks and some incredible internships I've had will make up for it.

bdmcgraw

12-16-2005, 04:05 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I failed the class because I wasn't smart enough to read the syllabus and realize that if I don't pick up all of my quizes from the professor during his office hours then they become zeros.

[/ QUOTE ]

You should try to fight this. Make an appointment with your dean.

[/ QUOTE ]

What exactly would you plan to say? "I didn't bother to read the syllabus and realize that I had to do X, Y and Z to pass"? I'm betting most of the students in the class passed, because they picked up their quizzes, and that leaves him with not much to stand on.

[/ QUOTE ]

I was thinking more like "I obviously understood\learned all of the material. It isn't my fault that some stupid [censored] has a ridiculous rule in his class."

12-16-2005, 04:07 PM

I failed one my first semester. A) GPA is meaningless unless you want to go to grad school, or join certain organizations B) It probably is a good indication you should not be in the class, cuz either u cant do it or dont want to C) Nobody really cares, and lots of peeps fail classes. I had 1.4 gpa after my first semester, and im above a 3 now, and i do no work. School doesnt even matter that much, but thats a whole other story. Good luck, dont worry about it.

Aloysius

12-16-2005, 04:10 PM

OP - I believe there is a fairly straightforward, simple metric, that weights your LSAT and your GPA to come to a raw number for admissions purposes. Most US law schools go strictly by this metric I think. Ask your academic advisor, or just search online or go to a bookstore and you will find this.

Other considerations are factored in (e.g. if you were an Olympic athlete). Most notable other non-score consideration is quality of your undergrad education. There is a reason why at, say Columbia Law, like 80% of the admittees are from 10 schools.

The F will impact your chances at law school as it will be calculated in the above metric... but is also a red flag. You will have to think of some clever way to explain it away - again ask your academic advisor, or get some law school handbook crap, to assist you.

-Al

Edit - by "quality" of undergrad, I mean prestige, obviously the quality of say a Harvard education and a less prestigious undergrad education can be quite similar.

Sephus

12-16-2005, 05:37 PM

i took a class in the "american culture" department called "american values" for my "race/ethnicity" requirment. i took it pass/fail (so no affect on GPA). they allow 4 absences before you fail. i felt pretty dumb when i overslept and accidentally got my fifth.

ah, sophomore year.

Chadt74

12-16-2005, 06:07 PM

If you can't follow directions you should fail

Ulysses

12-16-2005, 06:32 PM

donkey,

http://www.mcdonalds.com/images/global_splash/arch.jpg

Sephus

12-16-2005, 06:32 PM

i assume that was a quickreply to the OP.

Al P

12-16-2005, 06:35 PM

I failed Object Oriented Programming and now for the past two years my job has been programming objects and methods.

Edit - Also, in the book "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" Robert quotes his rich dad as saying, "My banker and accountant have never asked to see my college grades".

DoomSlice

12-16-2005, 06:36 PM

Ohh... I'm taking OOP next semester... any tips?

xorbie

12-16-2005, 06:38 PM

[ QUOTE ]

I failed Object Oriented Programming

[/ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]

Ohh... I'm taking OOP next semester... any tips?

[/ QUOTE ]

Get tips from someone else?

swolfe

12-16-2005, 06:41 PM

dude, you should have dropped it two weeks ago...or didn't you realize you were going to fail?

Aloysius

12-16-2005, 06:56 PM

Yasher - I have an aversion to an F being completely wiped from your transcript. The method as you described it (F is visible to anyone reviewing the transcript, but is not calced into GPA) seems OK. I am sort of from the tough-love school of academics, and believe that one should be accountable for stuff.

But then again, I remember how much of a jackass I was in undergrad... so getting some breaks is OK. In the system my undergrad used, you could drop a class with >=2 weeks to go. It would be marked as a "W" (for Withdrawn), but would not be an F and not count towards GPA. The W was seen by anyone reviewing the transcript (and I believe viewed as an F by any discerning grad school/employer). I never had a problem with this really, and your system is basically the same thing, provided you are not so retarded that you forget to withdraw from a class you will most likely fail.

-Al