<p>I just finished (mostly) my first semester in graduate school. I got a C in one of my classes and B's in the other three. Everyone else seemed to do fine with the classes and even had some free time during the semester but I worked really hard, and still failed. I just feel really stupid and extremely sad. Now my quals are in January and I'm feeling completely hopeless. Any advice on how to deal with all of this?</p>
<p>im currently a senior in college but i have a couple first year grad school buddies. they had a successful first semester (As and Bs) because they had study groups and did everything together. two people will finish the same homework and understand things faster by helping each other even if someone is ‘smarter’ than them and works alone. if you did have a study group then sorry for assuming, just sharing what i know. hope it helps</p>
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<p>Are you MS-terminal or MS/PhD?</p>
<p>The only real advice I can think of is to speak with your professors about it as soon as you can. Comparing yourself to your peers is not necessarily productive.</p>
<p>This is sound advice. Seek advice from your professors, as well as more senior graduate students, about a strategy to succeed in your qualifying exams. Your first term wasn’t great, but nor does it mean that you can’t make it through the program with some adjustments. Good luck.</p>