Everyone gets a free livejournal rant every now and then
Basically I'm writing this right now so I dont have the imminent emotional break down I get about this time of year.
Well, I just got out of my programming final. you needed to get any 40 of the 60 points possible. I got 10. maybe. And I'm really fucking pissed at myself, but I really dont know what else I could have done. I've been studying for it a little bit everyday and studied for a whole all-nighter last night.
It was absolutely nothing like the practice tests was the problem. Or like the labs. or like anything...it was just really fucking hard.
The worst part is that the final is worth 50% of your grade. Aka fail the final fail the class. So as a last ditch effort I send my prof this email:
"Kevin,
I have just finished taking the final and I am 100% sure I failed it. I calculated that AT MOST i got 10/12 points. I'm really frustrated because I really did study hard for this final with the practice exams and my lab work but I feel like what I studied didn't transfer over for me. I have around an 85% for the rest of the class, but with failing the final that fails me in the class. I don't know if there's anything I can do about it, but I guess what I'm asking is if there is anything? An alternate assignment? A possible retake? any options at all?
I understand if there's not but figured it wouldn't hurt to ask.
-Sarah"
and he sent back:
"Sarah,
I've got to see what the class did first before I can answer that. Honestly, I haven't liked what I've seen with just a couple early samples, but I have to see everything first.
I'm not sure what options we have, but we'll push to process everything tonight so we can make decisions.
I most certainly doesn't hurt to ask. I'm glad you did.
Kevin"
So there's my glimmer of hope, but other than that I'm so fucking done. SO FUCKING DONE.
Oh and all the locks on my car are broken and I can't get inside. I was so pissed last night I almost cut a hole in the roof to get inside but courtney wouldn't let me and drove me home. It is accumulating tickets in the Balantine lot as we speak BUT NO ONE CAN FUCKING HELP ME. Not one single motorist assistance, locksmith, tow company, or police department. Luckily my dad will be here later so I'm just trying to forget about it until then.
If you couldn't tell, I'm very frustrated.
Today's update:
So things didn't turn out as bad as I thought. we got this message from our professor today:
Exam Takers,
First, I hate OnCourse. The first draft of this I crafted just got eaten. Gone. Poof. For better or worse, you now get the short(er) version:
The exam was a visible train wreck.
Instructors are working on grading so we can evaluate the situation tomorrow
No one is going to fail as a result of this test.
I have much to say on this, but the upshot is that our options are limited by the proximity to the end of the semester and the holiday season. We can't ask you to do something extra to replace a bad result. You have other finals and firm travel plans. All we can do is find a way to work with what we have.
The good news for us is that we do believe there is a distribution of scores we can use. The numbers are lower than we expected, but there is a difference in how you approached the hurdles (intended and unintended) in the exam. The bad news for the grading rubric is that we also can't weight this exam in the way we anticipated. That complicates things for us, but here's what I know:
There will be a curve.
No one who submitted an exam will fail. There will be no D's or F's.
Strong performances will still be rewarded. There will be A's and even A+'s.
We will weight the exam (and project) in a way to help your overall grade, if possible. This means if you did well and it raises your final grade to have a 50-50 split with coursework, we'll do that. If you are hurt by your exam grade, we'll emphasize coursework more.
I'm grateful for the speed and professionalism of the input I have received today. It may be best to wait until the dust settles tomorrow, but if you have thoughts on this, feel free to email me (kmakice@indiana.edu).
Thanks, and sorry the day turned out to be so stressful for you.
Kevin Makice
I'm glad that it won't be a straight curve because that probably wouldn't have helped me because lindsay is right - there are asians in there who definitely got A+'s. And while it probably will bring me down to a C therefore not giving me my 3.0, At least I will not have to retake it. And technically my gpa will still go up, but to like a 2.9999, I bet.
*As another side note for Lindsay - if you can take I211 with this guy I would, I've never had a professor be more understanding of people who don't know the subject well.
Also Idk how but Veronica managed to get 0 tickets even though she was there until like 9 last night. But I'm totally ok with it. My dad ended up having to find a locksmith, and now both of my locks are broken in a way that you can't unlock them from the outside. aka I can't lock my car anymore.
Also I love my car to death but today begins my quest on maybe saving up for a down payment on a reliable car. Because Idk if Veronica is making it much farther than past graduation. Not to mention it will be bad senior year when I'm trying to get a job if something happens to my car and I miss something important. Well, we'll see about all this. It just makes me sad :(
So, here's to a hopefully better day - and I hope finals went/are still going well for everyone <3
Well, I just got out of my programming final. you needed to get any 40 of the 60 points possible. I got 10. maybe. And I'm really fucking pissed at myself, but I really dont know what else I could have done. I've been studying for it a little bit everyday and studied for a whole all-nighter last night.
It was absolutely nothing like the practice tests was the problem. Or like the labs. or like anything...it was just really fucking hard.
The worst part is that the final is worth 50% of your grade. Aka fail the final fail the class. So as a last ditch effort I send my prof this email:
"Kevin,
I have just finished taking the final and I am 100% sure I failed it. I calculated that AT MOST i got 10/12 points. I'm really frustrated because I really did study hard for this final with the practice exams and my lab work but I feel like what I studied didn't transfer over for me. I have around an 85% for the rest of the class, but with failing the final that fails me in the class. I don't know if there's anything I can do about it, but I guess what I'm asking is if there is anything? An alternate assignment? A possible retake? any options at all?
I understand if there's not but figured it wouldn't hurt to ask.
-Sarah"
and he sent back:
"Sarah,
I've got to see what the class did first before I can answer that. Honestly, I haven't liked what I've seen with just a couple early samples, but I have to see everything first.
I'm not sure what options we have, but we'll push to process everything tonight so we can make decisions.
I most certainly doesn't hurt to ask. I'm glad you did.
Kevin"
So there's my glimmer of hope, but other than that I'm so fucking done. SO FUCKING DONE.
Oh and all the locks on my car are broken and I can't get inside. I was so pissed last night I almost cut a hole in the roof to get inside but courtney wouldn't let me and drove me home. It is accumulating tickets in the Balantine lot as we speak BUT NO ONE CAN FUCKING HELP ME. Not one single motorist assistance, locksmith, tow company, or police department. Luckily my dad will be here later so I'm just trying to forget about it until then.
If you couldn't tell, I'm very frustrated.
Today's update:
So things didn't turn out as bad as I thought. we got this message from our professor today:
Exam Takers,
First, I hate OnCourse. The first draft of this I crafted just got eaten. Gone. Poof. For better or worse, you now get the short(er) version:
The exam was a visible train wreck.
Instructors are working on grading so we can evaluate the situation tomorrow
No one is going to fail as a result of this test.
I have much to say on this, but the upshot is that our options are limited by the proximity to the end of the semester and the holiday season. We can't ask you to do something extra to replace a bad result. You have other finals and firm travel plans. All we can do is find a way to work with what we have.
The good news for us is that we do believe there is a distribution of scores we can use. The numbers are lower than we expected, but there is a difference in how you approached the hurdles (intended and unintended) in the exam. The bad news for the grading rubric is that we also can't weight this exam in the way we anticipated. That complicates things for us, but here's what I know:
There will be a curve.
No one who submitted an exam will fail. There will be no D's or F's.
Strong performances will still be rewarded. There will be A's and even A+'s.
We will weight the exam (and project) in a way to help your overall grade, if possible. This means if you did well and it raises your final grade to have a 50-50 split with coursework, we'll do that. If you are hurt by your exam grade, we'll emphasize coursework more.
I'm grateful for the speed and professionalism of the input I have received today. It may be best to wait until the dust settles tomorrow, but if you have thoughts on this, feel free to email me (kmakice@indiana.edu).
Thanks, and sorry the day turned out to be so stressful for you.
Kevin Makice
I'm glad that it won't be a straight curve because that probably wouldn't have helped me because lindsay is right - there are asians in there who definitely got A+'s. And while it probably will bring me down to a C therefore not giving me my 3.0, At least I will not have to retake it. And technically my gpa will still go up, but to like a 2.9999, I bet.
*As another side note for Lindsay - if you can take I211 with this guy I would, I've never had a professor be more understanding of people who don't know the subject well.
Also Idk how but Veronica managed to get 0 tickets even though she was there until like 9 last night. But I'm totally ok with it. My dad ended up having to find a locksmith, and now both of my locks are broken in a way that you can't unlock them from the outside. aka I can't lock my car anymore.
Also I love my car to death but today begins my quest on maybe saving up for a down payment on a reliable car. Because Idk if Veronica is making it much farther than past graduation. Not to mention it will be bad senior year when I'm trying to get a job if something happens to my car and I miss something important. Well, we'll see about all this. It just makes me sad :(
So, here's to a hopefully better day - and I hope finals went/are still going well for everyone <3