"B's for Ph.D.s" motto

[SeaSquirt]

What does everyone think of it?

I used to be extremely driven about making 4.0s during undergrad, but right now, I'm just aiming to make straight B's in my three grad courses. The reading load is too immense to read meticulously while working in the research lab, teaching Stats labs, grading tests, and meeting with students. I resort to skimming or reading the abstracts.

The instructors are also grading extremely rigorously. I thought I did a great job on a few assignments and was only given fair grades on them. They would've been A's in undergrad.

My student manual says grades should fall second to research and the connections we form, but there's still this undergrad in me who wants a 4.0.

Thoughts?

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[erg923]

I think the best advice would be to aim for the "A"......but not worry if you dont make it. It really jsut doesnt matter all that much anymore. And other things should probably take priority on occasion. However, always aim to do the best you can in every class.

 

[JockNerd]

In undergrad you had good reason to go for A's; that was an important part of getting into grad school. But now (I don't know what you're going for, I'll assume academic but you can easily switch things around if it's something else) publications and research are what matter. No one will care about the grades. So, maybe try to transfer that "want to do well" feeling onto research if it feels like you need something to really focus on. Bookmark a page of the Chronicle of Higher Ed.'s job postings, and look at all the mentions of "publication record" and the absence of "good grades" if you need a reinforcer.

 

[SeaSquirt]

Okay. I'll try my best to get an A in one of those classes, but I guarantee anything above a B is improbable in the other two. I wouldn't let it dip below a B; I'd probably get kicked out of the program if I got a B- or anything less.

Yes, I'm planning to go on an academic / research track post-graduation.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

Classroom training is one part of your training (an important part), but sometimes you hit a point of diminishing returns, whereas the amount of effort it takes to get from an 86 to a 91 is better spent doing research, assessments, and/or therapy.

 

[Ollie123]

If it were easy to give up the attitude, they wouldn't bother telling you

I've been lucky thus far since I feel like grading isn't too harsh here. I think the faculty backed off as a way of convincing people to spend their time elsewhere. That said, you absolutely should not put much thought into your GPA. Based off everything I've heard, chances are small anyone will even see your GPA when you are on the job market, let alone care what it is. Look at the CVs of young faculty. How many of them have GPA listed? Probably zero, or near-zero.

Do well enough to keep your funding. Don't slack off in class to the point that faculty start wondering if you've developed a serious neurological problem. Beyond that, don't worry about it.

 

[PsyDr]

i focused specifically on what i was going to do when i graduated. as a result i pulled straight B's in the classes that were in an area that i held no interest. i also pulled high A's in areas i was interested in.


As a result, i am able to refer pts whom i am 100% incompetent to treat/assess with the "i am not competent in that area" rationale without any fear of legal repercussions. as i have 0 interest in treating all sorts of patients, this has served me fine.

i imagine this would not work as well with a generalist model.

 

[SeaSquirt]

"Based off everything I've heard, chances are small anyone will even see your GPA when you are on the job market, let alone care what it is. Look at the CVs of young faculty. How many of them have GPA listed? Probably zero, or near-zero."


What about for internships, though? If they have two students with the same number of publications, and one has a salt and pepper mix of A's and B's and the other has straight A's, wouldn't that give the one student a leg up?

 

[Neuro-Dr]

They don't make any PhDs I would refer to or hire. I would tell you to ask your chair for the average GPA for your program and be above that.

 

[Cosmo75]

Just as an FYI, my GPA did come up at one of my internship interviews. I have a high GPA and the interviewer asked "which class did you get a B in?" Not really sure if it *really* mattered, but just mentioning it.

 

[Thrak]

Cognitively, I know that B=Ph.D.
Emotionally, I can't accept that. Not as a first-semester student. So, yeah, I'm staying up until 4 in the morning reading (and highlighting) articles so I'm prepared for class.

This has been a semester of distractions, too. Beyond the fact that I'm taking 4 classes instead of 2, I'm visiting family every weekend, and my attention has been sidetracked by the election, the market crapping out, and oddly enough, the closing of Yankee and Shea Stadiums (I'm a NYer and a baseball fan, so I've actually had an emotional reaction to this).

Barring another fiasco like 2000, my head should be on straighter by mid-November. And god knows, come next spring, I'm only taking two classes!

 

[psychanon]

"Based off everything I've heard, chances are small anyone will even see your GPA when you are on the job market, let alone care what it is. Look at the CVs of young faculty. How many of them have GPA listed? Probably zero, or near-zero."


What about for internships, though? If they have two students with the same number of publications, and one has a salt and pepper mix of A's and B's and the other has straight A's, wouldn't that give the one student a leg up?

No. Some self-disclosure: I have a 4.0 GPA in grad school, and when making my CV for internship, and after a lot of self-debate, I decided to leave off my GPA. It just looked out of place on there, and it just doesn't matter, for two reasons: 1) there are much better indicators of your performance on internship, including publications, experience, academic pedigree, etc., partially because 2) grad GPAs don't have the same kind of meaning as undergrad GPAs---they're inflated (rarely does a grad student get less than a B, and frankly it's much easily to pull off a grad GPA than an undergrad GPA). I for one will I had spent less time staying up late to read everything for my classes first year and more time cranking out publications. If that had left me with a 3.8 or 3.6 GPA but one or two more publications, I think I would be in better shape for internship.

 

[lesleeannc]

I feel exactly the same way, except I'm still an undergrad sophomore.
Between my Child Development teacher giving a "pop" 15 page quiz and my Neuroscience teacher taking 14 points off my test (resulting in a B-) for spelling the names of amino acids, etc wrong... I actually had the answer right but the words are so long that sometimes I mixed some letters up or something... BOO!

I guess its all just getting to me already. I transferred to a new school this year so that might be getting to me also but man, I'm already burnt out and have no clue how I'm going to get above a 3.5. I hope one semester won't hurt my GPA too bad. I had a 4.0 at my last school but that didn't transfer over and now I have to re-establish my GPA.
I just took too many classes this term.

Ah. Sorry. Had to vent. But between too many classes and Research Assist. stuff and not knowing anyone I'm just about to give up and just try to get all B's!

Any advice? I know most of you on this thread are talking about grad school but still...

 

[cara susanna]

If you want to get into a clinical PhD program, you need to get above a 3.5 GPA. Time management is an important skill to learn.

 

[mlwg1]

I'm in my first year, I just do as much as i need to get by. My research and clinical skills are sooo much more important to me at the moment. I'm avoiding B-'s and hoping to end up with B+s for the semester, but so far getting straight As just doesn't seem to have a pay-off.

 

[irish80122]

While you don't need to have straight A's, your GPA requirements vary by program. At mine, it seems to be an unwritten rule that you better have more As than Bs.