I have linear algebra class this semester. And this week is the last week before the final. Today my professor gave us a difficult test. I made several calculation errors which messed my mind for the rest of the test. And I know I will not get A in this class just because I will get a super low score on this test. I had a solid A before. And he will not curve or discard the worst grade. It’s a 7 a.m. class. I wake up so early every day, and did a lot of things for this class. And for all these, I will end up with a B.I feel so bad right now. One idea in my mind is that fail this class by not taking the final and retaking it in fall. Does it sound stupid? Need some suggestions
Intentionally failing a class so that you don’t get a B is easily one of the most ridiculous things you could do. A B is a fine grade. Don’t waste the time, effort, or money on retaking the course.
Yes it does. A B is better than an F. Let’s be real, you will likely not have all A’s in college.
A B in a linear algebra class is a good grade. Dont drop it.
Just remember to plan out your future classes with an eye to what time they are going to be taught. - look at the catalog and see which semesters classes are scheduled . then look at past schedules and see what times those classes were taught. If you are not a morning person then avoid early morning classes.
Thank you for the comments. I guess I need to work harder on the final.
You’ll be okay, OP. It’s hard to get less-than-optimal grades, especially when you put in the work and one little slip-up messes up the high standards you set for yourself. I’ve been there, and I’m about to be there again with my Stats course, haha. But yeah, give your 100% to prepping for the final, and when you get the final grade, know that it doesn’t say anything about your intelligence or work ethic, and it doesn’t mean that all you did for this class wasn’t worth it.
Also, take a breath, because you might be catastrophizing, and you may have done better on the exam than you think you did.
Take a moment to think about it. What is better? Getting a B in a difficult class? Or getting an F in a difficult class? There’s really not even a choice to make here. Do as well as you can and get a B in it.
I’ve known students who have intentionally failed a final or who asked their professor to drop their grade to an F, but that was only when the best grade they could get (or the grade they did get) was a D. I don’t know anyone who would consider intentionally failing an exam because they were getting a B in the course.
What is your motivation behind this? Do you just want to prove that you could do better? In that case, do better in the more advanced courses and no one will doubt your math capabilities (not that anyone would seriously doubt them now). Do you want to feel like all of this effort wasn’t wasted? It wasn’t. This is just one class in the many classes you will be taking as a college student. What would be a waste is if you worked so hard in this class, failed it, and then retook it again. That would be a waste of time and effort. Are you worried about your GPA? One B won’t kill your GPA, unless you were hoping this class would be a GPA booster (and if you were, there are much easier classes you can take as a GPA booster). Are you worried about having a B on your transcript? Straight A’s can be difficult to achieve in college and no one is going to fault you for having a handful (or more) of B’s.
I just can’t figure out what your reasoning is to fail the class. It can be frustrating to do worse than you feel you could have done in a class, but intentionally sabotaging yourself is not going to make you feel better. Do something to cheer you up, brush it off and do your best to do better in the future.
Yes, to reiterate the point made by baktrax, there are cases where it can make sense for a student to intentionally fail a class, but this would only really be the case if the best grade they’d be able to manage is a D. A B isn’t a bad grade though. I can almost guarantee you that it won’t be the last one you get in college.
Take the B and run with it. You can’t expect to get straight-A’s in college. If you had a D, then that would be another story. A B in a difficult course is a solid grade. Be proud of it.
If you are taking Linear Algebra, then you should be good at math…good enough to know how quickly an F can drop your GPA. Also, if you were going to grad school in the future and then a B would be no big deal but an F would raise many questions.
Hey. I just want to say thank you guys.
I did super well in my final. And I finally get a ‘A’.
Congrats! @CocoaChan
Congratulations. Having reached a conclusion; I am closing this thread.