Yes, I need more advice. :) Pretty please.
First of all, let me give you some background info. I graduated from undergrad in 98, and have wanted to go back to grad school but circumstances have not yet permitted it. I did, however, get to take one class last semester. I was hoping for a chance to prove myself, strengthen my application, and get a good recommendation (since it's been a few years since my undergrad work I'm not in touch with many people there), so that I can get in this fall.
The plan didn't work quite as well as I'd hoped. I took a class at one of the best schools, in a program I'm no where near qualified to be in. I really enjoyed the class, and I think I held my own, but I didn't get the grade I'd hoped for. First of all, they threw me for a loop by having only three grades H (High), P (Pass), L (Low). Is this pretty common at the graduate level? I got a final grade of a P. I had a P+ on my midterm, and an H- on a presentation, so I must not have done too well on the final, though I thought it was my best work. I have had a problem all along with not being on the same wavelength as the teacher. Still, I held my own in a class that I wasn't even qualified to be taking.
The program I'm applying for is much easier to get into and at a school that only offers an MA, whereas the class I was in had both MA and PhD students.
So, do I ask the teacher for a recommendation? I just don't know whether she's going to be happy that I made it through a class that was above my level, or if she will compare me to the other students and say I was a the bottom of the class. I'm going in to talk to her; any advice as to how to approach the subject or even if I should? Also, there was a previous discussion on As and Bs in grad school and how a B looked on your record. Do you think a P is worse than a B or looked at the same as a B?
Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks again. This list has been a great help to me.
The plan didn't work quite as well as I'd hoped. I took a class at one of the best schools, in a program I'm no where near qualified to be in. I really enjoyed the class, and I think I held my own, but I didn't get the grade I'd hoped for. First of all, they threw me for a loop by having only three grades H (High), P (Pass), L (Low). Is this pretty common at the graduate level? I got a final grade of a P. I had a P+ on my midterm, and an H- on a presentation, so I must not have done too well on the final, though I thought it was my best work. I have had a problem all along with not being on the same wavelength as the teacher. Still, I held my own in a class that I wasn't even qualified to be taking.
The program I'm applying for is much easier to get into and at a school that only offers an MA, whereas the class I was in had both MA and PhD students.
So, do I ask the teacher for a recommendation? I just don't know whether she's going to be happy that I made it through a class that was above my level, or if she will compare me to the other students and say I was a the bottom of the class. I'm going in to talk to her; any advice as to how to approach the subject or even if I should? Also, there was a previous discussion on As and Bs in grad school and how a B looked on your record. Do you think a P is worse than a B or looked at the same as a B?
Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks again. This list has been a great help to me.