My first (and only) F in Undergraduate What do I do?

[HSnell]

I'm sad to say that I got an F in an upper level class that I took this semester. I decided to try my hand at a graduate class (as an undergrad) and I severely mistook the difficulty and rigor of the class involved. I think the thing that bothers me the most is that I did so poorly in a class involving a subject that I enjoy so much (Matrix Theory), and I will most certainly retake the class in graduate school after I relearn my basics properly.

I'm concerned however, for the consequences that this may have. I'm a senior and have already finished my math major, and I primarily took this course as an opportunity to see what lay ahead for me in graduate school, and it didn't go so well. This was my first F in college, and will not appear on my major courses list, but nonetheless, it's still an F, and will still stand out when I apply for graduate school...

 

[Vanadium 50]

Yes it will, I am afraid.

From a graduate admissions committee's point of view, you have demonstrated that you cannot handle a single graduate class, much less several at once. The rest of your application needs to make it clear that this is not the case.

I think you also need to answer the same question - if you couldn't handle just one graduate class, why do you think graduate school is for you?

 

[viscousflow]

Just retake the class and you better get a decent grade the next time. Just say you mistook its rigor and depth, you've learned your lesson and that was a one time mistake. As vanadium stated, the rest of your transcript needs to make it clear that was the case.