Failing a college class

[ACG]

I am going to fail macroeconomics. The final is Tuesday night. I will fail even if I get an A on the class.

Should I take the final?

I know if I take it again I will do fine. I work 40+ hours of a week, have children. I would have struggled with this class even if I had taken it at the age of 18 or 19. It just isn't my subject and more importantly it is the type of class that takes a lot of concentration for me.

It is a necessary class so I will have to take it again.

[goldfinch]

It would be good if you could avoid having the fail on your transcript. Any way to drop the class at this point? Another thing to do is talk to the instructor and ask if you should take the final as life intervened you are are going to fail the class anyway. If you ordinarily couldn't drop the class maybe the instructor could intervene to let you. I have this vision of the instructor letting you drop the class if you pass the final.

[ACG]

You can not drop a class during finals week, this week.

The instructor will not intervene. Not his personality. And as a side note, why should he? People should know there isn't always a safety net out there.

As a side note I am going to night at school. Have a good job in management, lots of job experience, just no degree.

[westtexas]

If you have to take the class again, and it will be the same professor next time, I would take the final. That way you can get a rough idea what questions the prof likes to ask and in what manner. It's like taking a practice SAT or LSAT or NAVLE or whatever. Use it as a tool to find where your weaknesses are, that way when you take the class again you know exactly what you need to study up on and when you need to ask questions. Also, if you study hard for the final and shoot for that A, imagine how much easier the class will be next time around because you've already committed that information to your brain.

[badger]

this is going off on a tangent a bit, but I have noticed a couple of my friends who feel they are somehow at a disadvantage or inadequate for not having a degree, even though they are both in well-paid jobs. I keep telling them that a degree isn't necessary, but they both regret not having pursued a degree.

I'm the opposite. I have a degree but stuck in a dead end job.

[shootingstar]

Well, true a degree isn't everything.

It's what one does from the degree onward, the taken for granted discipline of studying for 3-4 years and graduating. They are still good skills for life.

I currently work for a large municipality and many employees for internal emails, have with their electronic signature, their job positon, dept. ...and their degree initial.

OUr organization is so big that one is not certain of other people's area of expertise.

It makes some difference in our organization.

I had the strange experience of dealing with an employee in our dept., where I was trying tactfully to document/report service statistics..etc. She absolutely refused. She was doing a great job, pulling in revenue for our dept. but we needed actual service counts to do future service staff forecasting and work volume planning. I explained this and also gave examples from other organizations.

I've neve had this response ..at all from other staff in other organizations for the past 25 yrs. I have worked for over 8 different employers.

All of these other staff were formally trained/educated in (in libraries, engineering, etc.). They all knew the value of documenting service statistics. How valuable to track customer feedback, etc. This is taught formally taught in coursework and demonstration how a dept. must survive with objective data.

This person had only high school level education. I found later ...long after she left our organization from my manager. It explains alot of unfounded fears.. (our dept. is growing, so she had no reason to fear....) I may be wrong but conducting survey tools and quantitative research analysis with collected primary info. is learned AFTER high school in coursework.

By the way, my manager had advised strongly that she take some formal coursework. She refused.

[Owlie]

I hated econ.
I would say that you should take the final. If it's the same professor (or if it's taught so that all instructors use the same material and exams), then you know what to expect next time. Also, it shows that you tried hard, and professors like that.

*And yes, I've been there. I failed calc II the first time I took it. I needed a 99% on the final to get a D... The second time I finished the class with only a couple percentage points shy of an A. ;)

[malkin]

You sound very level headed and 'grown up.' I was neither of these as an undergrad or grad student. (and probably not now either, if you get right down to it)

I think you'll be fine whether you take the final or not, but getting a look at it seems like an advantage if you'll be taking the class again.

[szsz]

The instructor will not intervene. Not his personality. And as a side note, why should he? People should know there isn't always a safety net out there.


I love that you said this. Many of my students don't have this understanding and as a prof of a "gateway" class it is an important lesson to learn before the stakes get higher.

Take the final. It shows that you care and it gives you good experience.

[soprano]

You need to check the academic policies at your institution. At many schools, if you retake a course, the final grade for that class that will be shown on your transcript will be altered to show the better grade.

Go and talk to an academic advisor or your dean. Be honest about your situation and don't cry or tell a sob story. If something came up during the semester that prevented your from turning in your homework or studying enough (like a sick kid, injured spouse, increased hours at work, etc.) you might be able to ask for an "Incomplete" grade that would give you more time to turn in assigned work. The thing here is that if you need help, you have to ask. The worst thing that anyone will say is "no."

And, if you fail a class, it's not the end of the world. If your other grades are good, one failing grade will not ruin your transcript, especially if you retake the class and get a better grade. If you are already working in your field, future employers may or may not even be interested in your transcript or GPA. They want to see that you've finished the degree.

Either way, show up and take the final. Adult students stand out from the crowd, and professors talk to each other. You don't want to be the student who they remember because she gave up when the going got tough.

[Catrin]

You might even surprise yourself and not fail the test :cool: Regardless, your best bet is to show up and take the test. It will give you a leg up for the next time you take it and it does look good that you put forth the effort. I am sure that all professors appreciate adult students...

[pll]

My advice, as many here, would be to take the final. Failing a class is not the end of the world (I have done it) and many faculty members, if not all, have the greatest respect for people taking classes and working a full time job.

A degree might not be everything, but it can help in promotions. It is also a personal accomplishment one can be proud of. ACG: I'm sure you will ace the class next term.

[jusdooit]

Definitely take the final. And yes even study for it. It is easy to get overwhelmed as an adult student, sometimes other life responsibilities can make it difficult to study. You don't say how many hours you're trying to carry but, I would also try to retake the course when I can take it alone. That way you'll be able to really concentrate on what is a difficult course for you.
Hang in there..........it's worth it. I got my B.S. at the age of 43. No regrets.

[Crankin]

My son walked in graduation in May 2005, with one class left to take. He had a decent job waiting. He was in an apt. and working in the city, 4 days after he came home. He signed up for an on-line course to finish, during the next fall semester. At this point, he had around a 3.6 average. He had taken an on line class during the previous January term, while he was commuting back and forth between home and Amherst and he got an A.
He failed the class. He just didn't do some of the work; the allure of the working life/having fun was too much. I was furious and refused to pay for another course. He let another semester and summer go by, and we were increasingly concerned he would never graduate; but he signed up to take intro to exercise physiology on line in the Fall of 06, and he managed to pass that, I think with a B. He finally got his diploma in February, 2007 and he still graduated with honors. He got a new job in Sept. 2010, and I don't think the F hampered him in any way. So, I doubt this would affect you.

[shootingstar]

Obviously this is a mandatory course, AG. Best of luck.

I nearly failed my first year economics course, it was mandatory.

What really ticked me off, was that I had to repeat lst year French at university because 2nd university couldn't accept my mark and course content from the lst university when I transferred between 2 universities after 2nd yr. It was mandatory to have foreign language to graduate with English degree. (It's actually an excellent requirement for deepening linguistic and literary appreciation.)

But what did I get out of it? By some miracle I did pass the federal govn't exam for French written skills at the basic level.....25 yrs. later. It was several hrs. long. I did some few days of studying prior to test.

I must have remembered something.

[ACG]

I passed the class!!! He gave me a C even though my test scores averaged a D.

As recommended I e-mailed the teacher and told him that I knew I was getting a failing grade, would still take the final and take my licks. I told him I planned on taking the class again.

I got 29 out of 30 on the final! The homework was never collected the entire class and lucky me the teacher collected it that night. He gave me points for the homework, (15 chapters each having 6-8 pages) I got points for perfect attendance and for participating in all the demonstrations.

He invited me to sit in on his classes next semester if I want to review with him.

Thanks for your advice. All your well wishes and advice pulled me through this.

[Catrin]

Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! Whooohoooo! Congratulations!!!!!!

[Owlie]

I passed the class!!! He gave me a C even though my test scores averaged a D.

As recommended I e-mailed the teacher and told him that I knew I was getting a failing grade, would still take the final and take my licks. I told him I planned on taking the class again.

I got 29 out of 30 on the final! The homework was never collected the entire class and lucky me the teacher collected it that night. He gave me points for the homework, (15 chapters each having 6-8 pages) I got points for perfect attendance and for participating in all the demonstrations.

He invited me to sit in on his classes next semester if I want to review with him.

Thanks for your advice. All your well wishes and advice pulled me through this.

YAY! Congratulations!

[pll]

Awesome!

[VeganBikeChick]

Nice work!

[westtexas]

Congrats!

[jusdooit]

Congratulations. Great job on the final!!!

[szsz]

ACG You are awesome! Good job! http://forums.teamestrogen.com/images/icons/icon14.gif

[jyyanks]

Wonderful news! Congratulations!

[Koronin]

Congrats!

[Possegal]

What a great outcome!! Congrats.

[Blueberry]

Congrats, ACG! If you'll need the info at all in your chosen path, I would take the prof up on his offer.

[Melalvai]

This is so silly but...the happy ending brought a little tear to my eye. :D
I'll definitely tell my daughter this story. She's been struggling with high school physics. She's thinking about going into engineering and I think she'd be great at it, and she likes physics, and she likes the teacher, so it's a little puzzling that she's struggling. Then she was explaining that he gives a test every week but never assigns homework, and covers a new chapter every week. She & I had a talk about how in college, a lot of the time you have to assign yourself your own homework. And that college classes go at a much faster pace.

She read the chapter, worked through the problems at the end, and did much better on the next test. I am thrilled that this teacher is doing it this way because so many smart kids who never had to study in high school really struggle when they get to college.

If only I could convince her to overcome her shyness and TALK TO THE INSTRUCTOR. Maybe your story will help her!

[chosen1]

Awesome!

[jessmarimba]

This is so silly but...the happy ending brought a little tear to my eye. :D
I'll definitely tell my daughter this story. She's been struggling with high school physics. She's thinking about going into engineering and I think she'd be great at it, and she likes physics, and she likes the teacher, so it's a little puzzling that she's struggling. Then she was explaining that he gives a test every week but never assigns homework, and covers a new chapter every week. She & I had a talk about how in college, a lot of the time you have to assign yourself your own homework. And that college classes go at a much faster pace.

She read the chapter, worked through the problems at the end, and did much better on the next test. I am thrilled that this teacher is doing it this way because so many smart kids who never had to study in high school really struggle when they get to college.

If only I could convince her to overcome her shyness and TALK TO THE INSTRUCTOR. Maybe your story will help her!

I think a lot of the problems with physics is the combination of concepts that make sense with math that doesn't (yet). It took a lot of college calculus (as an engineering major!) and really knowing the math backwards and forwards before I could look back on high school physics concepts and really see WHY things work they way they do. It doesn't help that a lot of physics "teachers" aren't really born teachers - it's hard for them to look back and figure out how to explain things in layman's terms.

And great news, ACG!!

[Koronin]

Melalvai, your daughter sounds so much like me with high school Physics. I took it my Jr year and truly enjoyed the class but got Cs in it. Never could figure out why I couldn't get a better grade out of it. Any lab project I aced, but just struggled with the quizzes and tests. What frustrated me was that typically if I liked a class I could pretty much get an A or a high B and not have to work at it or study much. Actually that went for both high school and college. Of course in college both my degrees are BA degrees so I didn't have to take any science lab or math classes. I mostly took geology classes that were lecture only classes and got A's in those.

[soprano]

I think a lot of the problems with physics is the combination of concepts that make sense with math that doesn't (yet).

I agree. Physics and calculus go hand-in-hand.

[winddance]

I passed the class!!! He gave me a C even though my test scores averaged a D.

As recommended I e-mailed the teacher and told him that I knew I was getting a failing grade, would still take the final and take my licks. I told him I planned on taking the class again.

I got 29 out of 30 on the final! The homework was never collected the entire class and lucky me the teacher collected it that night. He gave me points for the homework, (15 chapters each having 6-8 pages) I got points for perfect attendance and for participating in all the demonstrations.

He invited me to sit in on his classes next semester if I want to review with him.

Thanks for your advice. All your well wishes and advice pulled me through this.

Yay! Congratulations!

I had a professor throw me a lifeline once. It was my junior year Finance class, which was a required course for my major. I was sick for two weeks right before the midterm and ended up failing miserably. I had never failed a test that badly in my life, and it was worth a good chunk of my grade.

I also needed some extra time to complete an important project for the class. After I emailed the project in on a Friday, the professor sent it back with some "things I might want to look into." I found some calculation mistakes and sent it back the next day. He sent it back again with comments. I fixed it and sent it back, and ended up with a strong grade on the project as well as a better understanding of the math due to his helping me through my mistakes. It was so much more helpful than my just getting a grade back and never learning what it was I did incorrectly.

I locked myself in my room for days before the final in order to study, but I got an A on the final and left the course really feeling like I had accomplished something. It was the sweetest B I'd ever earned. Nearly 10 years later, I am still grateful for the patience this professor showed me.

[Biciclista]

congrats on your passing the class!! and a great instructor too.
It took me a long time to learn how to be a good student. When i went back to school for the 4th time a few years after my 50th birthday, I finally got it.. I guess I'm a late starter. (or late finisher?)