I might be in over my head academically? Advice?

<p>Hello there, </p>

<p>I know the semester is young yet, but I foresee some problems with my current work load, and I'd really appreciate some advice on how I should navigate this. </p>

<p>I'm a freshman currently taking 18 credits: 4 credits in language A grammar, 4 credits in language B grammar, 2 credits in language B conversation, 4 credits in ancient rhetoric, and 4 credits in a global politics class. I had 16 credits last semester and earned a 3.95 GPA, which I'm both surprised and proud of. </p>

<p>I know 18 credit hours are a lot to handle, but the language classes are seriously not a problem. My mother is a professor of language A here and I'm already somewhat proficient in it, and I'm doing great with language B since it's my major and my passion. These classes are honestly the only things I look forward to right now since the upper-level rhetoric and politics classes are pounding on me. </p>

<p>They're really, really hard, but the thing is, I'm doing somewhat well and I do generally like them. It's a LOT of work and I spend HOURS reading and writing, but I'm learning so much and am participating in class the best I can. I just get a knot in my stomach sometimes because I want to do really well but am afraid that I won't be able to, especially since most of my classmates are brilliant juniors and seniors. </p>

<p>Specifically, the global politics class worries me. The professor isn't the best I've ever had since her assignments are vague and since, honestly, she grades rather harshly... As an example, I got feedback on a paper that said "excellent examples and content; well done!", yet I got a 3.7 92%. I know this is still an acceptable grade and of course I'm proud of it, but wouldn't her comment indicate that I did really well? How can I improve if I don't have any feedback telling me what I could have done better?</p>

<p>I told my mom a summed-up version of all this, and she said to just do my best and stay out of trouble. I don't think she really understands, though, and I don't want to worry her since she has enough on her plate with her chair responsibilities. </p>

<p>So basically, I'm working really, really hard and am feeling like I'm getting nowhere. Do I tell my professors this? Do I tell my mother? I am determined to NOT drop anything since I don't have a job and my only responsibility is school, so I know it's doable. I just don't want to feel mediocre or doomed when I might not have to. </p>

<p>Thanks, and I'm sorry that this is so effusive.</p>

<p>Do I understand correctly that you are getting mostly A grades with an occasional A- grade? Seems like you are doing just fine.</p>

<p>But if the workload seems too high, just be a bit more careful when choosing courses in later semesters. In theory, credit units are proportional to workload (3 hours per week per credit unit, including both in class time and out of class time, is the nominal workload, although actual workloads in most colleges are lower), so backing down to normal loads of 15 or 16 credit units (whatever is 1/8 the total for graduation) can help. However, some courses can be more or less workload than others of the same number of credits, so you may want to find out about them when choosing courses.</p>

<p>If you want to know how you could improve on the paper, go to office hours and ask. Not “how can I get a higher grade,” but “I’m glad you liked the paper. I’d like to know what I can do to raise my work to the next level.”</p>

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<p>Go to office hours or make an appointment. But first look at your paper, or ask an upper class student in the class read it and provide you with feedback. (Upper division courses generally have majors in them, who have already taken the intro courses, to their analysis may be more in-depth.)</p>

<p>How is the grammar? Critical analysis? Organization? Length?</p>

<p>Some 18-credit courseloads are OK. Some are not. It depends on the specific courses and professors.</p>

<p>If your workload seems too high, drop a class before the drop deadline. It can even be a 4-credit class. You had 16 credits last semester; it’s OK to have 14 credits this time.</p>

<p>When I give a 92, it means that the paper is conceptually strong yet marred by petty errors. I won’t give a straight-up A to any paper that has any punctuation, usage, spelling, or grammar errors that I can see. I know I am not alone here.</p>

<p>Do not, under any circumstances, attempt to get your mother to run interference for you. I bet she understands perfectly well. </p>

<p>I second the suggestion to go to the professor and ask.</p>

<p>You’re doing fine and you’re not always going to get 100 on everything. If you were, you wouldn’t be challenged enough. Adjust your expectations.</p>

<p>Nice to see a student who reached instead of taking it easy. You are learning your limits. Later in the semester things may go more smoothly for you. IF the load seems too heavy by the drop deadline go ahead and drop a class. If you can handle the work load go ahead and do all of the courses as long as you don’t feel overwhelmed or have no time to recharge.</p>

<p>Your mother is definitely supposed to be out of the loop. Keep your life private. It sounds like she has the right attitude- keep out of trouble is something I would say. Notice she wasn’t concerned about grades but just that you do your best instead of being a slacker.</p>

<p>Getting A’s, or even a B is certainly not “mediocre”. Learn to deal with not being perfect. HS can be easy for top students, college is not meant to be. It sounds like you have a good fit- you are able to be challenged.</p>

<p>Follow the advice to use office hours and ask how to improve. Don’t be surprised if there is little you can do. And don’t worry about perfection.</p>

<p>Thanks for all of the replies! </p>

<p>I know not to to get my mother involved with the professor, especially since she’s in a different department and so wouldn’t be able to help anyway. I was just wondering if I should tell her all the details of my worries. And also, I know that there didn’t seem to be anything wrong with my paper (she liked my content and I know that my grammar and style were on-par), so I think it might just be that she’s really tough and expects perfection. This was our only assignment thus far and so my only indication of my progress. I talked to my classmates and they too received A- or under 100% marks even though she only wrote positive comments. I like the idea of having them go through my paper, so I think I’ll ask. </p>

<p>I don’t know how much harder I can work since I did produce a high-quality paper, so this kind of upsets me since this might just be a picky professor problem. I’m hoping that it’ll all work out if I keep working hard, but if it doesn’t, will it matter if I get a B+/A- when I know that I personally learned and grew a lot? I did challenge myself this semester, and I hope to learn some life skills as well. </p>

<p>Again, thanks for your time. I appreciate everything. </p>

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<p>Welcome to college. </p>

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Apparently you really don’t understand why you shouldn’t get your mother involved. It has nothing to do with the dept. It’s time to put on your big-boy/girl panties and fly on your own. Your grades are the result of YOUR work, not your mother running interference.</p>

<p>With all due respect, I sincerely DO understand that. I was merely responding to others who told me not to get my mother involved. Of course there’s nothing she can do since she’s not me and she has nothing to do with the Political Science Department. </p>

<p>But she is my mother, so I’m just wondering how much a college student is supposed to tell their parent about school. Of course this bothers me, but I don’t want to continually lean on my parent for emotional support. </p>

<p>I know I may sound like a whining freshman who’s pouting about not being perfect, but this is sincerely a case where I don’t even know what to expect from my professor. I admit that it might be because I’m still new to college, but it might be something more. </p>

<p>Whatever it may be, I guess I can only talk to the professor and ask her what I’m doing wrong. </p>

<p>If you are a freshman, and you are in a class with “brilliant juniors and seniors,” and you got a 3.7 on your first paper, the odds are that you do not have a “picky professor” nor one who expects “perfection.” The odds are that you have a professor who is able to recognize the difference in intellectual maturity and background knowledge between a freshman (even a very good one) and an upperclassman. Did you not expect to learn anything during the next two years that would make the papers you write as a junior more substantive? A problem that I see with your initial post is that you feel like you “are getting nowhere.” This is because you think that an A- in an upper-level class is the default grade, and to “get somewhere” you have to have an A? I hope you see the problems with this way of thinking.</p>

<p>It is good that you discussed it with your mother. Her experience will provide you with good advice. I have been in the same position for two of my children and her reaction is just the one I would have had. She has probably seen lots of students who would be simply happy with “B’s” and “C’s”. She knows that getting straight “A’s” in college, particularly taking a demanding courseload as early as you are doing is very hard. </p>

<p>It is good that you are unhappy with your grade, it means you want to do better. That is the reason that going to the professor with the right attitude is important. I like it what students come to my office hours for help and they genuinely want to do better. i am not as enamored with a student who wants to argue about a grade…</p>

<p>grabble, normally I think that it is a good idea to talk with faculty members during their office hours about your papers, and about class topics in general. However, before you go to talk to this professor, perhaps you should talk with your mother about expectations for college classes. You seem to have the viewpoint that if there is nothing “wrong” with your paper, you deserve an A; and if you only got an A-, the problem is probably due to a “picky professor.” If this attitude becomes apparent during your conversation with the professor, I think it will do you more harm than good. You really need to rethink it. In college, it is not the case that a paper starts out with an “A” grade, and then there are deductions for doing things wrong. Instead, a paper needs to build a case with depth, background knowledge, sophistication, and analytical thinking, to earn an A. Intellectual maturity is supposed to be cultivated during college. This is a good opportunity to begin to cultivate it. You might ask the professor how you could make your argument stronger or more nuanced. That would probably be useful. Or you could ask about the choice of topic itself–perhaps you selected a topic that does not lend itself well to depth of analysis.</p>

<p>I agree with QuantMech. I’m really worried about your probably inflated opinion of the quality of the paper. Though you never know. I took a class freshman year where the professor put copies of A papers on file at the library so we could see what an A paper looked like. After I read a few jargon filled papers I realized I didn’t even want to write like that. I got a B+ in the course. It was funny because in other fields I was regularly complimented on my writing style. I was clearly not cut out to be a political scientist. And that’s okay. You don’t have to get A+'s in everything. In fact if you do, you probably aren’t stretching yourself enough.</p>

<p>I think is completely reasonable to swing by to chat with the professor about what you were marked off for. This isn’t arguing your grade, it is simply understanding the grade you did receive. By the tone of your post I’m sure you would approach the professor in a positive way that wouldn’t rub the wrong way. If your goal is to to produce A level work, rather than A-, ask the professor what you should do differently. I teach part-time at the college level and from my perspective there is absolutely nothing offensive or wrong with asking what you were docked points for. I also think there is nothing wrong with continuing to share things with your parents once you are in college. It just so happens that your mom teaches where you attend…that doesn’t mean you can’t continue to bounce things off of her for advice. With all of this said, I’m not sure you should worry about the A- but rather just keep moving forward.</p>

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<p>Many posters have given you good advice with regards to the academic side of things, but it sounds like a particular concern is how much you should share with your mother. And the answer is: whatever you want.</p>

<p>Your mother can be as much of a support as you both feel comfortable with, and there’s no reason that once you go to college, she can no longer be that emotional support. She doesn’t stop being your mother once you leave the house. It’s good to have a strong support system, and that can be made of family, friends, co-workers, roommates, or anyone else that you feel particularly close to.</p>

<p>So tell you’re mother as much as you want to. Sometimes, you just need to vent and complain, and that’s fine. It sounds like you’re not trying to run to her and get her to solve her problems, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with talking to your mother about what’s going on in your life. If she’s normally someone you talk to, feel free to keep talking to her. If she’s not normally someone you talk to, don’t feel pressured to tell her every little detail. It’s whatever you feel comfortable with that matters.</p>

<p>One thing to bear in mind is that the comments might not reflect what the teacher ‘really’ thinks. Some teachers get drawn into overpraising work, especially if there’s not much specifically wrong with it. Maybe the teacher thought your paper was competent, but boring or unoriginal or uninspired. Not exactly things you can write in the margins. Many students would not take such criticism well. And there’s little point writing long involved criticisms, because most students just look at the grade and not the comments.</p>

<p>I think going to meet with the teacher is a good idea. Once you make clear that you want your next paper to be an improvement and are not just grade grubbing, she might be more willing to give her real opinion of it.</p>

<p>Go speak with your professor how you might improve on your paper. It is not surpring to get an A- on the first paper then end up with an A for the class. A lot of professors do not believe in giving an A for the first few papers. I would also encourage you to meet with your professor next time you have a paper due, show him/her the outline and get his/her feedback.</p>

<p>As far as how much to share with your mom, my kids share (“vent”) all of their ups and downs with me. I don’t get too concerned when they do share. I just figure they’ll get the grade they deserve as long as they work hard. There is also not much I could do about it, so I just listen. Your mother probably will do the same also if she is a professor - she’ll just let you vent.</p>

<p>Hi Everyone,</p>

<p>I just wanted to share that I did speak to my professor about my paper/writing and that she offered me some great advice and tips. She said that my paper was good but that she wanted to push me more. In fact, she said that my coming to her office hours proved to her that I was motivated enough to successfully improve. She went over different ways I can word things and other stylistic approaches, and I’m now doing really, really well in the course.</p>

<p>So to any other students who have this problem, it really helps to meet with your professors and talk about how you can improve. It made a world of difference to my style and my approach to writing, and it also helps your professors recognize that you truly want to learn and get more out of the course than just a grade. I may have been grade-obsessed at first, but I’m totally learning to appreciate and accept critiques so that I can use them to improve as a whole.:)</p>