What should I do if I fail my qualifiers?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the anxieties and potential outcomes related to failing a qualifying exam in graduate school. Participants share their thoughts on coping mechanisms, humorous alternatives to academic success, and offer encouragement to the original poster facing the exam.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • The original poster expresses significant anxiety about their upcoming qualifier and humorously lists various unlikely career alternatives if they fail.
  • Some participants encourage the original poster, asserting that they are capable and should focus on positive outcomes rather than failure.
  • Several replies emphasize the importance of maintaining a positive mindset and suggest that the original poster will perform well.
  • A later reply discusses the original poster's experience during the exam, indicating they felt confident despite concerns from peers.
  • The original poster later shares that they received a high score on the exam, prompting congratulations from other participants.
  • Another participant expresses their own anxiety about an upcoming exam, reflecting a shared experience among graduate students.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the importance of a positive mindset and offer support to the original poster. However, there are varying degrees of anxiety expressed regarding exams, with some participants sharing their own experiences of stress and uncertainty.

Contextual Notes

Some participants reference personal health concerns and stress levels, which may influence their perspectives on academic performance and coping strategies.

Who May Find This Useful

Graduate students facing qualifying exams, individuals interested in academic support strategies, and those looking for community encouragement during stressful academic periods.

What should I do if I fail my qualifiers?

  • Start my kangaroo farm and create the kangaroo economy

    Votes: 6 31.6%

  • Be the primary caretaker of Dick Cheney's Death Star

    Votes: 5 26.3%

  • Crash at Evo's place for a while

    Votes: 8 42.1%

  • Video editor for Kim Kardashian

    Votes: 2 10.5%

  • Go on tour with the Beach Boys and become a professional groupy

    Votes: 1 5.3%

  • Be a "barista" serving overpriced cups of hot brown water to noobs

    Votes: 3 15.8%

  • A member of the Geek Squad at Best Buy shortly followed by getting fired for being too geeky

    Votes: 1 5.3%

  • Penguin-pooper-picker-upper

    Votes: 4 21.1%

  • Be an insulter at Walmart

    Votes: 1 5.3%

  • Become a business major

    Votes: 2 10.5%
  • Total voters
    19
Topher925
Messages
1,563
Reaction score
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I've got my first qualifier early tomorrow morning and it will by far be the most difficult exam I will ever take in my life. So, what should I do if I fail and my committee laughs me out of graduate school?

EDIT: There's suppose to be a poll this this thready but PF is deciding to be lame, so we're going to do this the old fashioned way until a mod can fix it.

1. Start my kangaroo farm and create the kangaroo economy

2. Be the primary caretaker of Dick Cheney's Death Star

3. Crash at Evo's place for a while

4. Video editor for Kim Kardashian

5. Go on tour with the Beach Boys and become a professional groupy

6. Be a "barista" serving overpriced cups of hot brown water to noobs

7. A member of the Geek Squad at Best Buy shortly followed by getting fired for being too geeky

8. Penguin-pooper-picker-upper

9. Be an insulter at Walmart

10. Become a business major
 
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Topher925 said:
I've got my first qualifier early tomorrow morning and it will by far be the most difficult exam I will ever take in my life. So, what should I do if I fail and my committee laughs me out of graduate school?

No, don't think those things. These are evil thoughts. They will only make you nervous and uncomfortable.

You already got into grad school, so you're obviously no idiot. The ones who let you in grad school know that you are capable. And you really are capable!

Don't think about failing the exam, think about how happy you'll be once you've passed it.

And good luck!
 
Topher925 said:
I've got my first qualifier early tomorrow morning and it will by far be the most difficult exam I will ever take in my life. So, what should I do if I fail and my committee laughs me out of graduate school?
You're not going to fail. What micro said. :smile:

Good luck!
 
Ok there's suppose to be a poll with this thread but its not working. grr...
 
Topher925 said:
Ok there's suppose to be a poll with this thread but its not working. grr...
I can put up a poll for you, just post what you want in it.
 
Evo said:
I can put up a poll for you, just post what you want in it.

Done and done! Thanx Evo.
 
I voted
Be a "barista" serving overpriced cups of hot brown water to noobs
Penguin-pooper-picker-upper

I always dreamed of becoming a janitor but that wasn't in the options. Researching in Artic/Antartic is also one of my dream jobs, Penguin options was closest to that.

Good luck :biggrin:

P.S. Janitors' job is awesome too!
 
You'll do fine, I'm sure. But that doesn't mean that you can't still crash at Evo's place :biggrin:.
 
lisab said:
You'll do fine, I'm sure. But that doesn't mean that you can't still crash at Evo's place :biggrin:.

You forgot to activate mommy mode. :biggrin:
 
  • #10
lisab said:
You'll do fine, I'm sure. But that doesn't mean that you can't still crash at Evo's place :biggrin:.
It'll be empty soon, my blood tests came back with this
Comments - Relative risk for Future Cardiovascular Event

High >3.00

My results 4.77

:frown:
 
  • #11
Evo said:
It'll be empty soon, my blood tests came back with this

Oh my God, Evo :cry: That's not good...

You should see a doctor to see what you can do about it. Maybe take some medicines or something?
 
  • #12
Ditto to mm, Evo and lisab.

Best wishes for success!



and Good health to Evo!
 
  • #13
Evo said:
It'll be empty soon, my blood tests came back with this
I hope you mean it will be empty soon since you're moving at the end of the month. Better not be because of the test results.

But we're here for you.
 
  • #14
So, how did it go topher?
 
  • #15
micromass said:
So, how did it go topher?

Either very good or very very bad. I felt like I really knew what I was doing flew right through the exam. I actually finished about an hour before everyone else and spent the rest of the time triple checking my answers and playing with my TI89. All the other students (who have higher grades in math than me) said it was really difficult and didn't have enough time to finish. So, I'm guessing that I'm screwed.



Evo, maybe I should move in just to take care of you. We've got to get that blood pressure down. Do you own a stress ball? Greg should sell a PF stress ball in the shape of Einsteins head.
 
  • #16
OK so I finally found out today that I got an 87%, which was the second highest grade on the exam. So I guess I did alright and my blood pressure can now return to normal levels.
 
  • #17
Topher925 said:
OK so I finally found out today that I got an 87%, which was the second highest grade on the exam. So I guess I did alright and my blood pressure can now return to normal levels.

Great! Congratulations! :smile:
 
  • #18
That's just so awesome, I bet you're walking on air - I'm happy for you! YAY!
 
  • #19
Topher925 said:
OK so I finally found out today that I got an 87%, which was the second highest grade on the exam. So I guess I did alright and my blood pressure can now return to normal levels.

Congrats man, even I was getting stressed out reading this thread. hahaha
 
  • #20
Topher925 said:
OK so I finally found out today that I got an 87%, which was the second highest grade on the exam. So I guess I did alright and my blood pressure can now return to normal levels.
:cool: Excellent!
 
  • #21
Work for me for minimum wage.
 
  • #22
I've got my next exam tomorrow and I'm not feeling so great about it. I didn't even find out what was going to be on it until a few days ago. I asked the professor writing the exam what it will cover and he basically just said it will cover "the basics" and wouldn't provide much of any details.

I'm getting to the point where I don't even want to study anymore...just say to hell with it and sit around and play video games all day.



flyingpig said:
Work for me for minimum wage.

No thanks. I'd rather just mooch off of Evo.
 
  • #23
LOL. I used to piss of everyone with the same attitude on high school. 'I flunked it! I flunked it! OMG, I am never going to go to uni!' And then I ended with one of the highest grades sometimes.

You'll do just fine. Success.