How will an "F" affect your life?

[cdn_traveler]

Well, I didn't think this would ever happen to me, but I got an "F" in the second year economics class I was taking at the university. And let me tell you, I am not feeling like the smartest person in the world right now.

So, just wondering if anyone else has had this great experience, and were you able to recover from it?

For the professors and teachers out there, would reviewing my exams and course work with the professor possibly help in getting a higher mark?

Susan

 

[BocaBum99]

I would see if the University has a "do over" program where you take the class again and then they vacate the first grade. If they do, that would be your best bet.

Fs aren't viewed favorably. It pretty much shows you didn't try very hard.

The good news is that after you get your first job, your grades really don't matter that much in your career, whatever that may be. well, at least if you aren't an economist.

 

[TUGBrian]

ive never been a big fan of the F in terms of academic grading

heck I could never show up to class and never take any tests and earn an F.

that shouldnt be given to someone who actually did put forth some effort.

 

[cdn_traveler]

Hahaha, you're right Boca, I will definitely not be pursuing a career in economics .

Having to contend with a 2 year old and being pregnant while attending school this semester may not have been one of the wisest decisions that I have made in my life. Oh to be 18 again ...

 

[Patri]

I thought most colleges didn't let you keep an F. You have to take the class over. Can you take it with another professor if this one didn't teach in a way you could learn? Otherwise, certainly talk it over with him, and next time, use a tutor (many colleges provide free) or work with a study group. You can do it!
Do employers even look at transcripts? I doubt it. Even the GPA? Don't they just trust you earned a diploma in a particular field, whatever you put on your application? Is economics important for your degree or just one of those classes you had to take?

 

[ace2000]

Well, I didn't think this would ever happen to me, but I got an "F" in the second year economics class I was taking at the university. And let me tell you, I am not feeling like the smartest person in the world right now.

So, just wondering if anyone else has had this great experience, and were you able to recover from it?

For the professors and teachers out there, would reviewing my exams and course work with the professor possibly help in getting a higher mark?

Susan

I can tell you from my experience (I've got an MBA degree)... I had one economics instructor who mostly stuck to terminology and I had one other economics instructor who dealt with all the charts, graphs, and calculations.

The course that stuck to more terminology was one of the easiest classes. That course with the charts, graphs, and calculations was one of the hardest classes that I've ever taken!

 

[BocaBum99]

Hahaha, you're right Boca, I will definitely not be pursuing a career in economics .

Having to contend with a 2 year old and being pregnant while attending school this semester may not have been one of the wisest decisions that I have made in my life. Oh to be 18 again ...

Well, at least you have a good reason for not being able to work hard in that class.

 

[cdn_traveler]

No, this was not a mandatory course to complete my bachelors degree in history and political science. It was a course that I decided to take to fulfill my elective requirements for graduation. For the record, I have taken other economics classes previously and did quite well in those. This course was on Strategic Thinking and it was all about Nash Equilibrium.

I never believed that being pregnant affected your brain, but wondering if I could use the "mum dumb" excuse :rofl:

 

[pgnewarkboy]

Can you recover from an F? As long as your alive, you can and will recover from anything. The only thing in the world that could stop a person from moving on after a perceived failure at something is the continued perception by that person that they themselves are a failure. Any person or company that would look at your entire transcript (of life and school) and hold an "F" against you, is a person or company YOU don't need.

As a wise man once said "If at first you don't succeed try again. If you try again and still don't succeed, there you jolly well are aren't you?" And that is perfectly fine.

You will be fine and please don't worry so much.

 

[pjrose]

Depending on the school, you take it over and then the new grade replaces the calculation of the old grade in your average. However, usually the F still sits there on the transcript. Having a few bad grades in with mostly good ones won't matter if it isn't your main area.

I had a few bad ones early on, and now I have a PhD and am a college professor.

 

[pjrose]

The course that stuck to more terminology was one of the easiest classes. That course with the charts, graphs, and calculations was one of the hardest classes that I've ever taken!

But which did you learn more from? From which (if either) do you still understand or remember anything?

 

[Stricky]

I have never had an employeer look at grades (or GPA) for that matter. If you are wanting to continue your education to the next level then it might be a blemish. If all your grades are As and Bs and this is the only bad grade they will look past it. I received an F in calculus when the professor decided it was a self study class. Needless to say she was fired the next year instead of getting her tenure. It never came back to haunt me. I was able to go on and start my MBA after school.

 

[ace2000]

Don't worry about whether you can 'recover' or not... you'll be fine. I would be more unhappy about the money that I spent on the course - that amount of money and your time is where the true loss is.

LOL - I took a 'D' in Business Communications the first time I took the class. The teacher had a 'real' job on the outside, and this was his first class teaching. <- a convenient excuse for me!

Since I didn't want that grade dragging my GPA down, I took it again and got an 'A' the second time. I later finished with a cumulitive GPA of 3.9 when I completed both degrees. I swear, a true story!

I've found for me, the grade I received was proportionate to the amount of work and time I put into the class. I could look real dumb in class or real smart.

Again, think about the loss in monetary terms, and don't let it hurt your ego. With a new little one, you were probably very easily distracted.

 

[ace2000]

But which did you learn more from? From which (if either) do you still understand or remember anything?

Very good question... It was macroeconomics and I slept and dreamt that class the whole semester. I did receive an A in the class, but I had to re-read those chapters several times for it all to finally make sense. My 4-year degree was Computer Science and then I completed my MBA. I'm sure that class had a major impact on sparking my interest in that area.

Do I remember anything? Sure, I definitely think about those concepts all the time - in real life and on my job.

No doubt about it... I learned a tremendous amount more in that class. But, that is probably due to macro-economics being more applicable to 'my' real world than micro-economics. However, one thing that I have completely forgotten is all those graphs that he made us understand!

 

[Hoc]

So, just wondering if anyone else has had this great experience, and were you able to recover from it?

My father died toward the end of my fourth semester in college. I had to go out and support the family for awhile, which required travel, which also meant leaving school. My mother was supposed to get me withdrawn from my classes, but she was too out of it because of my father's death, and did it a day after the last day to withdraw from classes. She was in no state to try to process the bureaucracy involved, so she dropped the ball and I got five "F"s on my record at that point. For my first year and a half, my GPA was in the 3.8 range, so the "F"s dropped my GPA to around a C or so.

About a year later, when we were functioning normally again, I went to my college to see about getting them removed or changing the grades to "incomplete," and was told, as a matter of policy that they did not do it. Nevertheless, I re-enrolled and got almost straight "A"s for the remainder of my college career. I graduated with a B+ average and with honors. Got into a very prestigious post-graduate school (where I graduated in the top 10 percent of my class), but I had to write an essay explaining the five "F"s on my transcript in order to get in.

Ultimately, despite the bit of a hassle getting into my post-graduate school, the "F"s affected me very little. So, don't despair too much.

 

[Hoc]

Oh, yeah. While I have been fairly generous to the journalism department (one of my majors) as an alumni, I have never donated a penny to the school in general, because I felt that they should reap what they sowed.

And yes, the reason for the "F"s was that I never took the final exams in any of the classes. While in many of the school systems out here, that will earn you an "incomplete" as your final grade, at the University of Hawaii system that was not the case.

 

[AwayWeGo]

Then & Now.

While I have been fairly generous to the journalism department (one of my majors) as an alumni, I have never donated a penny to the school in general, because I felt that they should reap what they sowed.

Back when it was mainly fact-based, it was known as Journalism.

Now that it's more agenda-based, it's more like Jerna-Lizzum.

So it goes.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[cdn_traveler]

Thank you....

for sharing everyone. I did allow life to intrude on school this semester and I probably did not exert the effort on this class that I normally would have under different circumstances.

Hoc, your experience - what an inspiration. I do intend to pursue post-graduate studies, and knowing that this F will not hinder me has truly uplifted my spirits.

In the meantime, I have fired off an e-mail to my professor. I'm thinking that it probably wouldn't hurt to review my work and see if there is any opportunity for extra marks or credits. If not, at least, it will help me if I do decide to take the course again.

Thank you Tuggers. As always, you guys and gals are the best!

 

[pjrose]

In the meantime, I have fired off an e-mail to my professor. I'm thinking that it probably wouldn't hurt to review my work and see if there is any opportunity for extra marks or credits. If not, at least, it will help me if I do decide to take the course again.

When I get emails like that after-the-fact, I wonder why the student didn't contact me earlier so we could work together on how to bring up the student's work. Once the grade is in, it's too late for extra credit, another paper, or whatever. I would consider a change to an incomplete in a case such as Hoc's, and would correct a calculation error, but otherwise it's too late. I'll be interested in hearing what the professor says.

 

[AwayWeGo]

Elements Of Guilty Past Revealed.

I stacked up 18 semester-hours of Fs on my way to a earning bachelor of arts degree at a respected major university in only 4 years + 2 or 3 summer sessions.

I'm not proud of that. I'm still trying to live down being such a major serious doofus when I should have been hitting the books instead of wasting a prized educational opportunity. But no one ever gets to go back & have a better past.

I had a fraternity brother who never failed a class but managed nevertheless to flunk out of the university in 4 straight semesters with nothing but Ds in every course he took. By contrast, I was able to swing decent grades in enough classes to stay off suspension, although I was well acquainted with probation.

My 1st 2.0 semester, I had 1 C + 2 As & 2 Fs. Explaining all that to my parents, who were footing the bill for what was supposed to be my higher education, was no easy task.

I got married to The Chief Of Staff right when I should have graduated. Instead, we spent our 1st two months of married life at the university while, in summer session, I completed a required language course (5th semester French -- got a B) & 1 course in my major subject area, English (20th century American poetry -- got an A). I graduated in August instead of June. So it goes.

A college roommate who later was best man at my wedding was an outstanding scholar -- got elected to Phi Beta Kappa when he was just a junior (3rd year student). He majored in German literature & graduated with highest distinction (the equivalent of summa cum laude). He went on to medical school & today is a distinguished research physician with the National Institutes Of Health. When we were roommates, he viewed my shenanigans with disdain & dismay. In self defense, I offered the idea that no college education is complete without failing at least 1 course. He scoffed at such nonsense -- rightly so.

At the time, he was enrolled in a 2-semester independent study honors course worth 2 semester-hours. It started in the fall, went on all through both semesters, & was to be completed in the spring. It involved study & analysis of the poetry of some heavyweight German poet, & my friend & roommate put lots of hours of reading & study into the project -- on top of his regular straight-A classwork & extra-curricular activities (lead role in a Shakespeare play put on by the university players, etc.).

When it came time to write the academic paper (in German) that was the culmination of all that work over 2 semesters, he said To Hell With It (or words to that effect). Despite the effort & brainpower he had expended, he found himself uninterested in completing the project & unwilling to fake it. So he did not complete the paper, did not hand anything in, got a grade of I (incomplete) in the 2-hour honors course, & saw that I change to F on his transcript when he did nothing to remedy the incompletion. He still graduated Phi Beta Kappa & with highest distinction -- albeit with an academic record blemished by 2 semester-hours of F. Nobody's perfect.

In the years after college, I went through life with a well deserved academic inferiority complex based on my awful college record. Even so, I managed to get a civil service job. I showed up every day & did what I was supposed to do. Over 34+ years, nobody asked to see my college transcript -- although I did have to show the personnel officer my diploma before I could start work. Over those 34+ years, I was a moderately successful bureaucrat who rose higher in the ranks than I ever expected that I would on the basis of my non-stellar academic record. Who'd a-thunk ?

My college experience, such as it was, was a long time ago. My graduating class recently held its 45th anniversary reunion, which I blew off so I could participate in a Fairfax Band recording session that was going on over the same weekend. After 5 more years when the old college gang gets together for our 50th anniversary union, maybe I'll show up for that if I'm still breathing air. I doubt anybody there will even remember how bad a student I was. But I will.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[MuranoJo]

I work for one of the biggie high-tech companies and when years ago my resume was pulled from the the pile of wanna-be college recruits, I was told they wouldn't look at anyone under a 3.5 gpa. Check--got the interview.

Beyond that, they were more interested in my years of work experience outside of school that directly related to what they were looking for. In the door, I even had a high-level exec tell me an MBA probably wasn't worth it if you have enough 'real' work experience. I've never had an employer ask to see my transcript, though I have copies.

Bottom line, don't worry about one class--focus on the overall GPA and beef up any work experience that relates closely to the job you want.

 

[pjrose]

As I noted before, I had some blots on my undergraduate record, but redeemed myself later. I did not have an impressive GPA as an undergrad. Can we spell "classic underachiever"?

Instead of doing well in my academic majors, I majored in my future DH (we met the second week of first semester and got married 2 weeks after graduation).

It wasn't till a few years later that I matured sufficiently to appreciate educational pursuits and go to grad school. My undergrad record would normally not have been sufficient to get me into grad school. However, DH was already in grad school, and I knew his profs from department activities. I took a few courses with them and did well, so then I got in, continued to do well, got TAs, RAs, a fellowship, and eventually earned an Ivy League Ph.D.

So....if you have a decent GPA, the F should not be a problem. If you repeat the course it definitely won't be a problem. If your GPA isn't so good, you've got plenty of time to do better later.

 

[ScoopKona]

So, just wondering if anyone else has had this great experience, and were you able to recover from it?

My advice to you is to start drinking heavily. Then throw a toga party, go on a road trip, and totally ruin the annual college parade with 10,000 marbles and a float shaped like a birthday cake -- powered by a black '64 Lincoln "Deathmobile."

"Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?"

"Germans?"

"Forget it. He's rolling."


OK, bad advice. Retake the class. See if you can get the old grade expunged from your record. I was able to do that with the one class I flunked, and graduated with a 3.0. The professor in question appreciated the fact that I gave it another try.

That being said, I learned almost as much outside of class as I did inside. Don't sweat it. But don't let it happen again. Drop courses if you have to. Decrease your work load if you must. It's better to graduate in five years with a 3.xx than in four with a 2.xx.



PS -- By rights, I should have failed two classes. But the other one was given by a professor who thankfully was a firm believer in the "Gentleman's C."

 

[Timeshare Von]

Heck, I even got an "F" in my undergrad major and it didn't sink me. (I did retake the class and pulled a "C" the second time through.) I wasn't there for the GPA or grades, but to get through it with a degree in 5 years while working full time as I put myself through college. I think my final GPA was around 2.8.

I later (about 12 years later) went on for my MBA. Funny how maturity and motivation change. I completed my program also working full time, in 18 months . . . with a 3.83 GPA.

I don't think any of my employers have ever looked at either, only that I had the degrees I said I had.

 

[Janette]

I was an math education major and made an F in German my freshman year. It taught me a great lesson. I lost my scholarship but could get it back if I repeated the course. I took it the next quarter under the same professor and made an A. He was very shocked. I continued on with him for all three courses. I then made an F in a major course. The guy didn't explain anything. I did not take responsibility for this grade. I repeated it under a wonderful professor and then made an A. I always told this to my classes at the beginning of the year. I wanted them to know that I am human and that we all have responsibilities, teachers and students. I asked them to let me know if I needed to explain something in a different way and also stressed that they needed to take responsibility if they didn't do their part. I really think my failures made me a better person. I was accustomed to being an honor student and found it hard to except that I could have academic problems. My university replaced the grade when I repeated the course. They would not replace it if I stopped going to class or didn't take the final. I then would have gotten a WF which would have stayed on my record forever.