Courses Dealing with non physics/math courses

  • Thread starter Thread starter QuarkCharmer
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Courses
AI Thread Summary
Achieving A's in all courses so far, the individual expresses concern about potentially receiving a B in a humanities course due to ambiguous final exam questions that favor the professor's opinions over objective answers. Despite having the highest grade in the class, the subjective nature of the exam questions complicates the grading process. The individual seeks advice on managing courses of little interest and questions the impact of grades on GPA, noting that schools may consider the type of classes when evaluating academic performance. Financial aid restrictions prevent retaking the course with a different professor unless a failing grade is achieved. The individual contemplates intentionally underperforming on the final to qualify for a retake, concluding that a single B is unlikely to affect future academic opportunities, especially if strong grades are maintained in core subjects.
QuarkCharmer
Messages
1,049
Reaction score
3
I have somehow managed to accomplish A's in every course that I have taken so far. The humanaties course that I am taking this semester is about to end soon and I fear that there is a possibility that I will get a B. My math calculates my grade out just under the border from an A.

The only thing left is the Final, and the Professor is very particular. I probably have the highest grade in the class, but that just does not seem to be enough to get an A. All of his questions are ambigious, rather than asking direct questions, he picks things for the tests that are opinion based. Basically, your opinion must match his in order to get the question right. Everytime we review a test, 90% of the class objects to the "correct" answer on 5 or 6 of his questions, it's almost like he hasn't read the material himself in 50 years.

I am certainly not placing the blame on him, I am sure that I can work harder, but I always encounter a question where there could legitimately be 2 different answers. To make things worse, they are multiple choice questions, so it is impossible to explain my answer. His "opinion" is often different from the opinions of "expert critics" on the subjects too.

How do you deal with courses that you just have no interest in? How much impact will these grades have on me? Do schools take into account what type of classes each grade contributing towards your GPA are?

To top things off, I won't be able to re-take the course with a different professor because my financial aid will not pay for it unless I basically fail the class. I am almost tempted to just bomb the Final and hope that it damages my grade enough to score a D, and then re-take it with a professor who is more realistic. I honestly don't know how this guy has a job.
 
Last edited:
Physics news on Phys.org
No graduate school will care if you got a B in one humanities class as long as your math and science grades are As. If you're consistently getting Cs or Ds in gen. ed. classes, then it might be an issue, but one B is irrelevant.
 
I’ve been looking through the curricula of several European theoretical/mathematical physics MSc programs (ETH, Oxford, Cambridge, LMU, ENS Paris, etc), and I’m struck by how little emphasis they place on advanced fundamental courses. Nearly everything seems to be research-adjacent: string theory, quantum field theory, quantum optics, cosmology, soft matter physics, black hole radiation, etc. What I don’t see are the kinds of “second-pass fundamentals” I was hoping for, things like...
TL;DR Summary: I want to do a PhD in applied math but I hate group theory, is this a big problem? Hello, I am a second-year math and physics double major with a minor in data science. I just finished group theory (today actually), and it was my least favorite class in all of university so far. It doesn't interest me, and I am also very bad at it compared to other math courses I have done. The other courses I have done are calculus I-III, ODEs, Linear Algebra, and Prob/Stats. Is it a...
Back
Top