I Almost Didn’t Graduate

In my last post, I gave the basic update of my life but I I do have to share the story about how I thought it was all going to fall apart. I gotta say that I didn’t think I was going to make it through this last semester, because of Research Methods Lab. The bane of my existence. At some point, years ago, I took the Research Methods class; but somehow, not the lab. I’m guessing I got overwhelmed and dropped it. Which is what I wanted to do this time around, too.

Taking The Dreaded Class

When I started this “finally finish my BA” project, my gpa was…not good. Like really not good. I worked really hard to get good grades this time around but i was coming from a pretty low number. We don’t need to talk specifics, haha.

So, my last semester, I finally signed up for this incredibly intimidating 1 credit class. I dropped it in the 90’s and I dropped it my first semester back. I instantly was confused and overwhelmed and decided I should stick to 2 classes at a time. But there I was, my last semester, having no choice but to take this damn class.

I have to say that my teacher was very good. She talked about how she understood the challenges of the class and how she remembered being where we were. I thought “Ooh, maybe she is going to go easy on us.” I was incorrect. She was fair but she definitely held us accountable. Thankfully, her videos were super helpful and not hard to follow. But the assignments were so long. Because it was a short semester, the assignments were both super long and close together. Every other night, at least, an assignment that took several hours to complete was due. This was a lot with working, as well. But I was all in.

The first half of the semester, she walked us through the assignments. Even though, she was walking us through, it was still very complicated stuff and there was a lot of me pausing, replaying and whining to Brian. But the second half, we had to complete the research paper on our own. This is when I nearly blew it all. Undoubtedly, I must have made a mistake on the data early on because when it came time to run the tests, I couldn’t get the correct results. I tried and tried. I watched the videos my teacher made, watched you tube videos and got the help of my super smart sister. I understood the concepts. I could write up the results in APA form. I knew how to perform the tests but I just couldn’t get the correct results.

As this was happening, I was falling further behind. I was spending each night, trying to get it figured out. I was communicating with her and she gave me suggestions, but nothing worked. I started to panic. With one night left in class, I completed the rest of the assignments using the wrong statistics. I figured it was better than not sending anything in. I hoped that the incorrect results in correct APA form would be my saving grace. It wasn’t.

She graded my work and advised me that all my stats were completely wrong. (I know, lady, I know.) I emailed her and explained again how hard I was trying and asking if there was anything I could do to make sure I secure my C. My goal had not been a C but now the bigger goal was to graduate. She didn’t answer at first and then sent out the final grades. I had a 69.69.

Am I Going To Graduate?

I was freaking out. Was she going to round up? Was she really going to give me a D and cost me my degree and my upcoming teaching job? I wasn’t looking for a handout, but I knew how hard I had worked. And I definitely had earned at least a C. I obsessively read and re-read the syllabus. I googled how often teachers round up grades. I found nothing that was particularly reassuring. She said very clearly in the syllabus that these were the exact cut-offs. And the internet had mixed answers. I was sure that it was over.

When I looked again at my assignments, I saw that I didn’t get full credit for completion of one of the assignments. It was a five part assignment worth one point each and I only had two points. As it was a completion type assignment, I didn’t understand why I hadn’t get gotten complete credit. As a last hope, I emailed and asked her if I did something wrong on the summaries. About an hour later, after I spent that hour continuing to google if most professors round up; she emailed and said that she had added the three points in. It was apparently an oversight and she thanked me for making her aware. I instantly checked and saw that my final grade was now 70.5. I had my C!

If that wasn’t an example of the importance of self-advocacy, I don’t know what is.

OMG, I’m Really Going To Graduate.

I ran downstairs to the kitchen, yelling Brian’s name like a lunatic. I frantically told him the news. He was appropriately excited for me. He then hugged me and I cried in his arms for a few minutes while he was forced to stir the mashed potatoes with one hand. 🙂

Later, I saw that she had responded to my other email, saying that the grades were posted and I could check the grading chart to see the exact grade. So, yeah, I don’t think she was going to round up. And if I hadn’t been obsessive and found her mistake, I wouldn’t have graduated.

I’m Happy To Be Average

After the last few semesters of being disappointed if I even got a B, I had never been so thrilled to have a C in my life. And last night, I was looking at my complete transcript and saw that I had to have a 2.0 to graduate. I checked and saw that I had ended with a GPA of 2.04.

So that gives you an idea of how bad my GPA was going in, lol.

I am proud of my C, maybe more than I am proud of my A’s. I worked my butt off in a class that I was intimidated by and that was most definitely not my forte.

I got the C, I get to graduate, and move on with my life. I’ll take it!

Any More School?

I had been thinking of applying to grad school. I probably would not be accepted with my C average. But, if I end my college education right here, I will be content. No, actually, I will be ecstatic. Not finishing my BA has been my greatest regret in life. And I’m very proud of myself for finally changing my regret to a success. (Too cheesy?)

I guess I’ll have to find something else to regret now, haha.