Hey,
Just got my mark back for a half year class… It doesn’t count towards my program or anything but I finished with a mark I am not too happy with (65, C). Did I just ruin my academic career or like… (I am in first year by the way, just having a hard time wrapping my head around this mark).
Thanks
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hey there,
no, you didn’t ruin your academic career. i know this kind of thing can send first years crashing into a months-long spiritual and existential crisis, but trust me – this isn’t the end of the world.
i’m not gonna go so far as to say that first year doesn’t matter, but i think it’s important to understand that everybody, from your overzealous chem prof to the admissions board at whatever professional/grad school you think you want to attend, understands that you don’t have everything figured out in first year.
first year is there precisely to figure stuff out. if you don’t fall on your face in first year, you’re gonna do it later on when it really matters (i.e. in third and fourth year), and that’s a whole lot worse (though, even that is still not something you can’t recover from).
so don’t freak out about this. try and internalize this feeling of getting a mark that you’re not happy with. understand that you’re not infallible. i know it doesn’t feel great, but it’s good for you, i promise. it’s gonna help you in the long run.
once you’re nice and comfy with the idea that you’re not immune to mistakes, start thinking about how you can improve in the future. maybe that means taking different kinds of courses, or altering how and how much you study. or maybe this course was just a one-off and nothing to worry about. take time to do some good ol’ REFLECTION – but don’t beat yourself up about it.
here’s to a good rest of your degree,
aska
