I'm Eating Crow

Several months back I made what I understand now to be an incredibly naive assertion concerning the challenge of graduate school. At the time I expected that given my past performance (I have a 4.0 GPA with the CS program at FSU and my GRE scores are 800m/650v) that I would have some difficulty finding a program that would be challenging enough for me.

Let me just say my mea culpas now. I am taking my first graduate course this semester from the University of Florida and it is kicking my you know what! I'm starting to doubt whether or not I even belong in a graduate program. It took me 54 hours to complete my first homework set of 4 problems and I don't think I got more that 50% of the problems correct. On top of that, I have my first exam next week and I am having an extreme amount of difficulty understanding the solutions to the practice exam.

The funny thing is that the professor is incredible. His lectures are very clear; however, the level I'm expected to take the knowledge from our lectures and readings and apply it to tangential areas is daunting.

Oh well, I'm going to stick this course out and see how I do. Grades are based on a curve so I have to see how well I do with respect to my fellow classmates. I'm starting to get the feeling that I just want to crawl into a corner and wimper.

--
JoAnn Peeler

 

JoAnn

For what it's worth. Hang in there! We all feel like your feeling at different times in our programs. It comes in waves.

When I get the feeling that I don't belong in my program or I can't do it, I just dig in. Slow it all down and take it one day, one assignment, or one exam at a time. It gives you a chance to re-energize.

Clearly you belong in your program and you will be very successful! Just stay focused on what you can do!!! And then... get it done!

 

Sure, JoAnne, and if you do a search, you'll see where I said that, since I finished my J.D. with a better than 3.0 gpa, the London LL.M. program shouldn't pose much of a problem...

And the J.D. IS a post bachelor's program!

My rump is smarting, too. I've paid to enter my first set of exams in August but there is no way I can possibly have read the MOUNTAIN of original material I'll need for Jurisprudence alone. AND I haven't even begun to follow the annual symposia as I will have to do in order to write creditable answers.

I'm not even talking about my second subject, which carries LOTS of statistics and research.

I'm going to have to "eat" that entry fee rather than waste one of two shots at passing.

Master's level work is an order of magnitude harder than undergrad/professional study because it requires a LOT more reading and thinking and a LOT more work with original sources. Memorized textbooks won't cut it.

Well, don't dispair! I am TOLD that it is hard in part because we are now trying to learn to be scholars OURSELVES instead of merely mastering what OTHERS have said. It's new. But it's worth it.

I think.

 

Hang in there. Remember, you were good enough to get in, and the program is filled with people who will succeed in it. You might as well join them.

What does crow taste like? I heard it was a cross between a bald eagle and a spotted owl....

 

C'mon, Dr. Douglas, are you telling JoAnne and me that YOU never tasted crow??

 

Its definitely NOT tasty. I'd love to spit it out, but I'm afraid I'm better off just washing it down with what pride I have left.

 

I'm not really glad that anyone else is feeling my pain, but at least you're not alone. My textbook really just scratches the surface of all the material I'm responsible for. Most of it comes from lecture and all those research papers that are on reserve in the library.

A nice, formulaic MBA is starting to look better and better.

 

JoAnn,

I found that in my graduate programs some courses just didn't seem to click. I suck at higher level math but have managed to do no worse than a B in any of these classes. Don't sell yourself short, if you are having problems most likely others are too. Make use of the internet and especially .edu sites. I found that many professors post their course materials on the web and I was able to gain different perspectives that helped. Essentially I convinced myself that I was capable of learning the material. I would also recommend that you get detailed feedback from your professor. Even offer some already worked problems ahead of time to see if you are on the right path. From what little I have gleaned about you I doubt much is outside your ability.

Good luck on your studies,

Kevin

 

It's weird how different classes cause different stresses. My Applied Statistics class was ridiculuous but I managed and A. My current marketing class is comparatively easier, yet I barely have a B.

 

Welcome to my life, or somewhat lack of it. Are you an on-campus or online student? The summer semesters can be pretty brutal because of the shorter time frame. Visit the professor's office hours when you have trouble with problems. They will usually help you a lot.

Hang in there!

 

Re: Re: I'm Eating Crow

Yes -- it seems I will be VERY busy of the next 3 years or so. Unfortunately, I'm a DL student so I don't generally have face-to-face access to my professor. On top of that, this course was pre-recorded from last spring. The TA has been fairly quiet and I haven't tried to approach him with some of my difficulties (he's a PhD student so at least he's been through this before.) Lastly, UF doesn't really provide a mechanism other than private email for students to interact. It would be nice to hear how other students are doing.

I'm committed to finishing my MS degree. In fact, the only way I'll quit is if they ask me to leave. Of course, since this is just my first course, things may get better after I have a better feel for where I stand amongst my peers.

 

I'm with you JoAnn…

The course I am in now didn’t sound too bad when I started. A little bit of calculus, a little calc-based physics, and a little programming…no problem. I started out grasping the course material with so much ease that I thought my first quiz was going to be a joke. The “quiz” took me the full duration of the class and left me with a real uneasy feeling afterwards. This week we started with ordinary differential equations and I can already tell that the rest of the semester is going to be an uphill battle!

From those of us currently in the trenches…hang in there!

 

On the issue of exams, on my course web site the TA posted that we would be given 60 minutes for our first exam. Then today, he says we have 50 minutes. I had to at least fire off an email asking for clarification. He confirmed that we would be given 50 minutes (but I'm sure I really need more than twice that much!)

 

When I was working on my master's degree in linguistics, I was required to take a graduate-level course in phonology. Suffice to say that as an undergraduate I really truly didn't understand the subject. So having me do this at the graduate level was not a good thing. Yet I passed the class with a 'B'. A couple of things attributed to this:

1. In many, many graduate programs not a lot of 'C's are given.

2. The final was take home. Give me a take-home exam in nuclear fission and I can pass.

I probably truly and with no humility only understood about a 25% of the class. The one thing I discovered is that you have to play to your strengths. Do well on the things that you can do well.

So my only ultimate concern was that phonology would show up on my comprehensive exams at the end of the program.

It did.

And yet here I am with an M.A.





Tom Nixon

 

Dear Joann,

Your posts indicate you are a very intelligent and educated person with an excellent command of the English language.

I am very confident you will do well in your master's program. When I was working on my M.S., I basically breezed through it with only some difficulty in the few courses with math components.

Yet, I managed to graduate with a 3.4 GPA. When I enrolled in my current M.A.T.S. studies, I thought I would breeze through it also. I had planned on having three courses completed by now.

I will only have one completed by the end of this month. It is not easy and yet both (the M.S. and the M.A.T.S. schools) are DETC institutions.

The way I also view difficult situations is that they are challenges and I like being challenged. You also sound like one who likes challenges.

I certainly realize none of my master's studies can even compare to your subject matter in difficulty but each of us has strenghs and weaknesses and I like Tom's suggestion to focus on your strengths.

Best of luck and blessings to you!

 

Well, JoAnn,

I guess the "been theres" have spoken. We would be well advised to put our heads down and SLOG.

The funny thing is, now that I've decided to put off my first set of exams until next summer (I have plenty of time left in the program), I'm studying more, getting more out of it, and wigging out MUCH less. I'm even starting to remember WHY I wanted to do this!

Keep us posted. Oh, and crow is easier to eat when you remember that you are eating it because you are backing your words with ACTS.

 

I'm with you there -- SLOG I WILL!

Thanks to everyone for your kind words and your wise advice. However, these two deserve special thanks:

Thanks for your kinds words and I would like to accept your compliment and keep my mouth shut but ... I'm not very proud of my command of the English language. I suppose that's because its always had a lower priority in my list of things that were important. I do try to do my best, but I don't fret over my mistakes (while some others seem all to happy to point out my mistakes.) Thanks for the kind thoughts though.

Wow! And I started this thread so I could apologize for being too full of myself and here you go and say this! Thank you for saying this though.

 

Crow Feast!

I think that is it safe to say that there will a lot us joining you at the table for your crow feast.

Time to break out the card table for the overflow.

 

Re: Crow Feast!

Good luck with the PhD Corey.

 

Re: Re: Crow Feast!

Thanks JoAnn.

I need all the luck I can get! I struggled though my master’s degree and now I am struggling with the doctorate. I keep asking myself why I decided to put myself though this unnecessary torture.

Good luck to you and keep us informed of your progress.