Graduate School Decision
It's looking like about a 99% chance that we're going to Utah State, then. The department chair told me he couldn't do anything, but suggested that I talk to the graduate coordinator, and even suggested an argument. That was nice of him.
Anyway, I emailed the graduate coordinator to ask him, and got back this in response (excerpt):
"There are several reasons for these provisions. First, graduate school is demanding and requires a strong foundation in a broad range of topics. Your grades in 370 and 380 suggest you have a weak background in Mathematics and signals and systems. While you may not directly work in this area, you will likely need an appreciation and understanding of this area. We don't want to run the risk that you will struggle in graduate school because you missed fundamentals in these classes. Second, Dr. (*preferred adviser*)'s research does in fact require competency in these areas. During my discussions with him he has indicated that he needs his students to have a reasonable background in statistics and in some cases signals and systems. All of his students need this competency to participate in his research projects.
I understand that retaking these courses impose a risk. However, this is a risk you must take and you cannot expect the graduate committee to assume the risk that your performance in these classes will negatively impact your graduate school experience. If you are not willing to retake these classes then you should consider a different graduate school for your studies."
At the end there it sounded like they were of the opinion that I was trying to foist off responsibility for my grades on them. That was aggravating.
I can't help but feel somewhat betrayed by the tone of this letter. I worked for this guy for over a year, and he's always treated me fairly good to my face. It seems like as soon as I brought this up, though, he all of a sudden thinks I'm some sort of irresponsible jerk that wants something because he feels like it's owed him. Which is not the case.
Anyway, the general gist of the message seemed to be "screw you." I dunno. Am I reading too much into this?
In other news: I'm finished with 2 of 4 tests. (More like 2 of 3.25, but whatever-- the last one will not likely require me to think much, if any).
Anyway, I emailed the graduate coordinator to ask him, and got back this in response (excerpt):
"There are several reasons for these provisions. First, graduate school is demanding and requires a strong foundation in a broad range of topics. Your grades in 370 and 380 suggest you have a weak background in Mathematics and signals and systems. While you may not directly work in this area, you will likely need an appreciation and understanding of this area. We don't want to run the risk that you will struggle in graduate school because you missed fundamentals in these classes. Second, Dr. (*preferred adviser*)'s research does in fact require competency in these areas. During my discussions with him he has indicated that he needs his students to have a reasonable background in statistics and in some cases signals and systems. All of his students need this competency to participate in his research projects.
I understand that retaking these courses impose a risk. However, this is a risk you must take and you cannot expect the graduate committee to assume the risk that your performance in these classes will negatively impact your graduate school experience. If you are not willing to retake these classes then you should consider a different graduate school for your studies."
At the end there it sounded like they were of the opinion that I was trying to foist off responsibility for my grades on them. That was aggravating.
I can't help but feel somewhat betrayed by the tone of this letter. I worked for this guy for over a year, and he's always treated me fairly good to my face. It seems like as soon as I brought this up, though, he all of a sudden thinks I'm some sort of irresponsible jerk that wants something because he feels like it's owed him. Which is not the case.
Anyway, the general gist of the message seemed to be "screw you." I dunno. Am I reading too much into this?
In other news: I'm finished with 2 of 4 tests. (More like 2 of 3.25, but whatever-- the last one will not likely require me to think much, if any).