- #1
murmillo
- 118
- 0
Usually my professors emphasize to students that they should be concerned more about understanding the material, and then good grades will follow. But for some reason that doesn't seem to be happening to me, and I'm concerned because grad schools will only see the letter grade. For instance, I did very well in my differential geometry class last semester, as measured by my understanding of the material. On the first two midterms I got a perfect score and an almost-perfect score, and I got perfect scores on almost all the homework assignments, since I knew the material well. But I blew the final exam, which was worth about 40% of the grade, because it covered material that I didn't know would be on the exam, and so my final grade was not in the A-range. Isn't it true that if grad schools look at my transcript, they'll only see the grade? I'm concerned that they won't see that I worked very hard in the class and had mastered the material (except for the material that I didn't think was important but was the bulk of the final exam).
Another instance is when math professors give short, timed exams rather than take-home exams. In analysis, I had a fairly solid understanding of the material, but I couldn't answer the difficult questions quickly, so I didn't do so well. I think if I had more time, I would have done much better.
It's these kinds of things that frustrate me, because it's like, even if I've mastered the material, the way things work out prevents me from getting solid A's. So, what use is solid understanding of the math when grad schools only see mediocre grades?
Another instance is when math professors give short, timed exams rather than take-home exams. In analysis, I had a fairly solid understanding of the material, but I couldn't answer the difficult questions quickly, so I didn't do so well. I think if I had more time, I would have done much better.
It's these kinds of things that frustrate me, because it's like, even if I've mastered the material, the way things work out prevents me from getting solid A's. So, what use is solid understanding of the math when grad schools only see mediocre grades?